A bear attacked Jeff and Mallory Wilson at their rural northern California home on 19 September, leaving him with two broken ribs and other wounds and her seriously injured. Their French bulldog Cassie died two days later after intervening to protect Jeff.
A cinnamon bear, a subspecies of black bear, appeared after Jeff had let Cassie outside in the early hours. When he went to bring her in, it slammed him against the house. Mallory ran out after hearing the struggle and hit the bear with patio furniture; it knocked her down, grabbed her by the back of the head, injured her neck and fled.
A friend’s GoFundMe appeal said the couple faced continued medical treatment and recovery. The article also notes increased bear-human conflicts across the American West, saying changing climate conditions have squeezed food supplies in some cases and prompted bears to seek food near homes before winter denning; it does not identify that as a cause of this attack.
