larry l

.. Leave the shotgun behind, you won't be able to bring it in.


That made me flash on a time trailer camped at the big Soda Springs meadow
( very near Donnor Summit ), training dogs to get out of the valley's summer
heat.

I had a Rubbermaid Action Packer tote that was just the right size to hold
40 pounds of IAMS and 12 stainless steel dog bowls with me.

I fed the pups, left the tote just outside the door of the trailer (
thoughtless) and settled in for the night. Later, the dogs woke me up
"intruder" barking ( very different than the not-allowed "just to bark"
barking ) so I grabbed the flashlight, opened the door and looked out. A
small black bear was crunching away at the corner of the tote ( I still have
it, tooth holes and all ) and continued to do so even after I yelled at him
and with the dogs now really upset and noisy.
I didn't want to open the door too wide for fear he'd invite himself in <g>
and my noise making efforts didn't seem to phase Mr Bruin. I briefly
considered my nearly always present shotgun, but it's most often a 20 gauge
and some dove loads .... even at point blank range ( I would have had to
jump over the bear to get out of the trailer ) I doubted it's capacity to
more than irritate my guest. Bear spay would have been ideal, I bet.

In case you ever wanted to know, a small bear can eat about 25 pounds ( tote
wasn't full ) of quality dog food in one sitting <g>. I bet his coat
looked lots better on IAMS than garbage can faire.