Bear Talk: A New Tale 2015

       The Mayor had coffee with his friend Denny yesterday in downtown Tahoma at Where We Met Espresso.   Denny has lost a little weight over the past few months, much due to his bout with pneumonia in March.  During our conversation, he explained the good care he received at Reno's VA hospital; "they took good care of me", he said.  He mentioned when he went in for treatment of his wounds from the attack that the staff was skeptical of his claim of wounds caused by  bear attack.
      "What bear attack?", I asked. 
The Story
     One night a few weeks ago, about 4am, one of his dogs started barking out front.  He knew it was a bruin and was concerned for the dogs.  he got up and went outside into the dark.   As he exited the front door, the uninvited bruin slipped past him and entered the house.  True!  The dogs were right behind it, and Denny realized the change in the situation.   The door had closed somehow behind the bear.   He opened the door and entered, and saw the bear start upstairs where his wife was asleep.  He yelled a warning which startled the bear.   The bear turned and came at him.  With a swipe of a paw, Denny went flying.  He managed to reopen the front door and Yogi got the message and exited the premises.
      His shirt was shredded at the shoulder and when he turned on the light, the 4 stripes of the swipe were revealed.  From experience, he decided that a trip to the ER was necessary.   After some temporary bandaging was in place, he drove himself to Reno(45 miles) to get some medical attention.
Results: positive-4 gashes, but no stitches required.  Lesson learned: locate bear before exiting house in dark.
     Thanks, Denny, for bear story of year.