PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — A woman is sharing her story after a bear attacked her and her dog.
Our sister station in Pittsburgh spoke with her about the terrifying story of her survival that started when she went to save her dog.
“She had me down and she bit my arm, and she was on top of me. I thought – I thought I was gonna die,” Lee Anna Galante said.
Galante came face to face with a bear and survived, and she has the scars to prove it.
“She was pulling so hard on [her hair], I thought I was gonna get scalped. And turned out, she pulled so hard I did pull the skin from the back of my ear and I have stitches back there,” Galante said.
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Galante, a 55-year-old Dental Hygienist was at her home Tuesday evening and let her 7-year-old Pomeranian, Smoky, outside around 8:30 p.m.
Black bears had been spotted in the neighborhood recently, but Galante had no idea a mom and her three cubs were in her backyard.
She heard commotion outside and realized Smoky was in danger, she tried to get him inside which became a fight for their lives.
“I’m screaming, I’m screaming someone please help me. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs. It was terrifying. I really thought that was gonna be it,” Galante said.
She doesn’t even remember how she made it back inside to call 911.
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“I don’t even know how I moved that fast. I thought I’m not gonna make it. She’s gonna get me. And she’s very, very powerful and very, very angry,” Galante said.
Smoky got away with a few scratches and went to the vet today to get checked out. Galante’s doctor says she’s lucky.
“She has a fair amount of puncture wounds on the back of her neck, on her arm itself and pretty significant tears or lacerations across her scalp. She also has several broken bones on her nose or face,” AGH Trauma Surgeon Dr. Jennifer Chen.
Still, she expected to make a full recovery. She has a trip to Italy planned in a month and doesn’t plan on letting a little bear attack ruin those plans.
“I gotta make it happen, even if I look this,” Galante said.