Puppy found almost two weeks after Kenai bear attack
KENAI - Colleen Sinnott of Kasilof may have had her scalp torn off, three ribs broken and numerous puncture wounds and scratches, but there was only one thing on her mind after she survived a recent brown bear attack.
"From the time I picked myself up off the ground, my only thought was 'Get the dogs!"' Sinnott said, referring to her two 7-month-old Newfoundland puppies - a male named Bud and a female named SweetPea - that had fled during the incident.
According to Sinnott's husband, John Poljacik, the couple was hiking the Skilak Overlook Trail off Skilak Lake Loop Road on Oct. 9. Poljacik heard a deep guttural roar and the sound of crashing foliage behind him. He turned to see a big bruin burst from the brush. It took Sinnott down and began violently shaking her on the ground.
Poljacik began yelling at the bear and was reaching for pepper spray when it pounced from Sinnott to him. The brownie knocked him down, scratched him, then ran back into the woods.
After the bear fled, Poljacik picked himself up to run to his wife's aid. He was still holding Bud's leash, who was flattened on the ground in sheer terror.
"Bud didn't want to go near where the bear was. He slipped his collar and bolted," Poljacik said.
Poljacik helped Sinnott up and back to the road. Despite her injuries, she asked her husband to go look for the dogs.
"Even though I was hurt, I understood what happened, but they didn't," she said.
Poljacik honored his wife's request, despite knowing there was a bear in the area that was not afraid to attack humans, while Sinnott flagged down a ride to the hospital.
By the end of the evening, Poljacik had been reunited with Bud after the dog was found near the trail head by three young women. However, there was no sign of SweetPea.
On Saturday, six days after the dog had gone missing, a Soldotna couple buzzed the area by plane in hope of spotting SweetPea. They were successful. But by the time Poljacik made the drive from Kasilof to the Skilak Lake area, the dog had disappeared.
"I knew she was close by. I could hear her bark at times and occasionally Bud would put his nose up, testing the air, like he had caught wind of a familiar scent," Poljacik said.
On Wednesday Poljacik brought dog food with him. He left the kibble for a few hours and upon returning to the scene, found it had been eaten.
On Thursday Poljacik left food in the area again, this time in a live trap he had acquired, courtesy of the city of Soldotna, due to the unusual circumstances of a dog being lost on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
"I came back later and the food was gone and it looked like she had lay by it for a few hours by the way the grass was matted down," Poljacik said.
But the trap hadn't sprung closed on SweetPea and the pup was nowhere in sight.
Poljacik baited the trap again and left the area. A few hours later, just before dark, other hikers looking for SweetPea gave Poljacik good news.
"SweetPea was in the trap," Poljacik said. "I got her out and she practically bowled me over she was so happy to see me. She was energetic and seemed fine, just a little bit skinny."