May 1 (UPI) -- A Florida woman protected herself and her small dog from a bear by throwing the hungry bruin a bag of cookies.
Kristen Savage said she and her chihuahua mix, Ringo, were walking near their home in the Markham Woods area of Sanford when they had a close encounter with a wandering bear.
"I heard a bird. I was looking for a bird in a tree, and then I saw a black thing come at my leg," Savage told WKMG-TV. "I thought it was an off-leash dog at first, and then I realized it was a giant head."
She said the bear was particularly interested in 13-pound Ringo.
"I hauled him like a piñata in the air, and I spun around to get away," she told WOFL-TV.
Savage said she kept spinning to keep Ringo away from the bear, causing her to fall and incur bruises and scrapes on her legs.
She said the encounter ended thanks to a bag of cookies from her mother.
"My mom, she lives just down the street, and she had just stopped and handed me a bag of cookies for my kids. When I remembered I had them in my hand I took the bag and I whacked the bear across the face with it, and then I threw it," Savage said. "She came forward and then she sniffed and she put her head down and sniffed the cookies and we ran to the front door."
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said they learned the bear was a mother with cubs nearby. The FWC is working with neighbors to make sure trash and other attractants are secured.
"I don't put blame on the bear. I'm sure she was just as scared as I was," Savage said. "As a mom I would do whatever I could to protect my babies and I'm sure she was doing the same."
