On our daily walk, Jake and I cut through the park next to the Borough Hall. Within the park is a lovely statue of a black bear holding a trout.
Once Jake caught site of the bear, he began to growl and hunch down (attack mode). At first I wasn’t sure what Jake was growling for; I was busy searching around for what was bothering him. Not finding any danger, I commanded Jake to cease with his growling and continued on through the park, advancing towards the statue. Jake stopped in his tracks and started growling again. Looking back at him, I realized he was growling at the bear statue.
Of course, I giggled at him. Determined not to have a dog scared of inanimate objects, I advanced to the bear without Jake. I knocked on the statue, proving to Jake that the bear was hollow and not real. Jake advanced cautiously, but soon agreed with me; it didn’t smell like a bear.
Though I tried to get a picture of Jake with the bear, Jake proved unwilling. It still looked like a bear. One can never be too sure. Apparently, when meeting a bear, you are supposed to growl at it, letting him know you are voracious hunter. Then, you walk briskly away.
I’ve never felt so safe in my life.
PS. This picture was taken by a fellow Flickr user.
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