Pastor saves Peyton Manning the pooch from black bear attack in Mt. Pleasant Township

It was a frightening night for a Mt. Pleasant Township pastor who fended off a black bear that had the family dog clutched in its teeth.

The Rev. Tim Stradling said Tuesday that Peyton Manning, a 9-year-old Maltese/silky terrier mix, is recovering at a Monroeville animal hospital. The dog has a fractured leg and puncture wounds around its neck.

“It all happened in a matter of two minutes,” he said.

It started when Stradling, the 56-year-old pastor of Armbrust Wesleyan Church, let Peyton outside about 10 p.m. Monday. The dog started barking shortly after outside the home near the church, located at the intersection of Route 819 and Stone Church Road.

Stradling said he thought it might be the deer that sometimes frequent the woods nearby. When he looked out, however, he saw a bear with Peyton in its mouth.

“I just had the thought of how is he being bit there. Is he on the back of his neck or around his neck?” Stradling said.

At any rate, he wasn’t going to let the dog be taken away.

“To drop it was my goal,” Stradling said.

That started frantic moments of quick decision-making. Stradling tried to look bigger and made loud noises, screaming at the bear to drop the dog, to no avail. He ran toward it at one point and backed away. The bear stood its ground before finally letting go of the dog. But that wasn’t the end — the bear appeared to leave, only to come barreling back when Stradling tried to find Peyton.

He fell at one point and his wife, Beth, came out on an upper porch to yell at the animal. Stradling said he believes he may have seen a cub run by as he came outside, which could have prompted the bear to act aggressively. The animals may have been headed for a late-night meal at his chicken coop.

“It was a good medium-sized bear,” he said.

Peyton was scooped up from his hiding spot underneath a car and wrapped in a shirt for the hospital trip. Veterinarians were determining whether the fractured leg could be repaired or if amputation might be a better option.

“The back of his neck is like a row of teeth,” Stradling said.

Chris Bergman, a game warden with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said black bears are emerging from their winter dens now and they’re hungry. They are opportunistic eaters and will focus on trash, bird feeders or other easy-to-get food sources.

Bergman said residents should turn lights on and make noises when letting a pet outside in the dark. A bear encounter can escalate if the animal feels surprised or threatened, he said, but many are easily scared away.

“Black bear attacks in Pennsylvania are pretty much nonexistent,” Bergman said.

Stradling’s family has lived there for about 17 years and has seen plenty of wildlife, though bears just twice.

Stradling said his reaction was “a mixture of being brave and being stupid,” but he was doing what he could to save his dog. He realizes he was lucky to get away with just minor injuries during the fall, even after going toward the bear in an effort to rescue Peyton.

“I remembered to get big and to get loud, but that didn’t work,” he said. “In the moment, I thought I can’t let my dog get taken like that.”

Adult bears usually weigh about 200 pounds, according to the game commission. Females give birth in early January while hibernating and cubs can leave the den when they are 3 months old. Those cubs will stay with their mother for another winter and then separate during the following spring, according to the commission.

People who encounter bears should make noise and back away slowly while facing the bear.