A New Jersey couple got the scare of a lifetime when they went to check on their barking dogs — and met up with a feisty bear chasing the pooches and nearly breaking into their house.
Joseph Damiani told CBS News on Wednesday he was barely dressed when he heard the dogs making a commotion outside his Annandale home the night of May 15.
Footage from the porch shows the moment a bewildered Damiani stands outside — clad in a white shirt and black underpants –peering into the night for his noisy pooches.
The dogs are then seen scrambling past him and into the house, with a young black bear in fast pursuit — ramming its head against the door as Damiani’s petrified girlfriend screams and tries to keep it slammed shut.
With the young bear distracted in its persistent push to get inside, Damiani makes a swift exit off the porch and toward safety before the intruder finally gives up and saunters away.
“They say you’re supposed to back off and look the entire time. I didn’t do that,” Damiani said. “I just turned around and without even looking back, I went down the steps there, came in through that gate, that white fence and came around the front.”
Joseph Damiani found his dogs frightened and running for cover on the night of May 15. CBS
He quickly saw the cause of the commotion was a charging black bear who tried to run into his home. CBS
Damiani said he quickly fled the scene while the bear was distracted. CBSShirley Perlinsky, Damiani’s girlfriend, said she tried to lock the door after the dogs ran in, but couldn’t because their leashes were caught on the door.
“So I was fighting, I was fighting the bear. The bear was pushing the door this way, I was pushing the door that way,” she told CBS.
She added that she felt guilty about closing the door on Damiani, who jumped away when the bear rushed in. “That’s my boyfriend, and I love him very much, but I couldn’t let the bear inside my house,” she explained.
No one was hurt during the mayhem — and after reporting the encounter with state wildlife officials, the couple said they were told the bear was likely there to raid their birdfeeders.
The bear that he encountered that night was never captured by wildlife officials. CBS
Shirley Perlinsky, Damiani’s girlfriend, said she fought to keep the door shut as the bear tried to get inside. CBSThe couple says they have since gotten rid of the tempting outdoor treats and have sealed all their trash to avoid any repeat confrontations.
The young bear made a clean getaway and hasn’t been spotted since.
“We had a trap set up for eight days … Unfortunately, they couldn’t catch this beast,” Perlinsky said.
