A woman was attacked by a bear but her terrier’s 'ninja moves' may have saved her life – Upworthy

'If the dog wasn't there, the bear may have caused more damage to her.'
A black bear and a Jack Russell terrier.
Jack Russell terriers are dogs that were bred to hunt. They’re also extremely stubborn, prone to fits of uncontrollable barking and need a lot of exercise. They may seem like a lot of trouble but they are so loving that their intensity is easy to forgive.

Jack Russells have such an innate desire to hunt that Hill’s Pet Nutrition says that the “instinct cannot be trained out of the breed.” In fact, the Jack Russell terrier in the story we’re about to share was so fearless that it was able to chase off a black bear.
Now, that’s a stubborn and brave pooch.
The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department reported that on August 20, Susan Lee, 61, was walking her Jack Russell terrier and labradoodle on a trail at her Strafford property when she noticed she was being watched by a black bear.
Imagine how frightening it must be to feel a bear staring at you.

Lee tripped on a stone and the bear charged, jumped on top of her and bit her leg. Her Jack Russell terrier could have run, but instead, it stayed right beside her and barked at the bear. The bear backed down and walked away into the woods. Lee was able to run away and was followed to safety by her two dogs.
The dog must have put on a pretty impressive display of yapping to drive the bear away. A black bear can weigh up to 660 pounds and a Jack Russell terrier won’t get much larger than 17.

Game Warden Sgt. Jeffrey Whipple, who responded to the incident, told USA Today that the dog performed “some ninja-like moves” to avoid the bear.
"If I were to predict what would have happened if the dog wasn't there, the bear may have caused more damage to her," he said. "But most likely, when she was knocked down and was out of the fight, the bear would have got off of her and retreated."
Sgt. Whipple and Bear Biologist Jaclyn Comeau inspected the area where the attack occurred and concluded that the bear was a female with cubs and was startled by Lee and the two dogs.
It’s estimated that there are between 4,600 and 5,700 black bears in the state of Vermont.
“Bear attacks are extremely rare in Vermont,” said Comeau, adding that the department only has records of three black bear attacks in the state. “However, at this time of year black bears are moving in family units and mothers will be protective of their cubs. If confronted by a bear it is essential to remain calm and back away slowly, and to fight back immediately if attacked.”
The Jack Russell terrier probably found it impossible to stay calm.
Lee was given a ride to the hospital where she was treated for the bite wound and a few cuts resulting from the attack. The dogs weren’t hurt in the incident. There’s no word on what happened to the bear.
Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.
This article originally appeared on 02.02.22

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.
But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.
Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.
The library Facebook page shared that it had officially added the book to the collection at the branch, writing, "Imagine our surprise yesterday when Dillon's mom called to tell us that her son had authored an entire book, shelved it at the Lake Hazel Branch, then announced to his family later that he had written a book and it could be checked out at the library."
The library also announced that Dillon's book had won the first-ever Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist—an award created in his honor.
Dillon told local news station KTVB that the book features him, his mom, Santa, a bomb, a portal and a giant carnivorous turkey. Because of course.
"I've been wanting to put a book in the library since I was five," Dillon told the station. Nearly half his life, in other words.
Dillon said there were a lot of librarians he had to sneak past with his book to surreptitiously put it on the shelf, but he did it.
"I'll always be sneaky, like how I get chocolate," he explained. Classic.
The adults on every front handled this kid's creativity and determination the best possible way. His mom called the library to let them know the book was there so it wouldn't get lost or taken. And rather than just returning the book, the librarians actually put it into circulation.
"His parents were worried we would find his book and we would get rid of it," Lake Hazel Branch Library manager Alex Hartman told KTVB. "Which was an unfounded fear because if there's ever a place a book would be safe, it would be here."
The librarians loved Dillon's book.
“It deserves a spot on our library shelves,” said Hartman. “It’s a good story.”
At the time of this local news report, the book had a handful of people in line to check it out. But The New York Times reports that as of the end of January, the waiting list has grown to a whopping 56 people. If each person kept the book for the maximum four-week checkout period it would take four years to get to the people at the bottom of the list.
The experience has made Dillon decide to become an author, his mom said, and he even has some career goals laid out.
“I’m going to stop writing when I’m 40,” Dillon said. After that, he will switch to game creation. In the meantime, he has a sequel to his first novel in the works.
“My next book is going to be called ‘The Jacket-Eating Closet,’" he said, "based on actual events.”
Amazing. Kudos to Dillon for following his dream and making it happen, kudos to his mom for encouraging him and kudos to the librarians who saw an opportunity to support a child's creativity and ran with it.
"Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."
Kids react to Halle Bailey playing Ariel in Disney's live-action "The Little Mermaid."
It has been seven years since Disney first announced its plans for a live-action version of "The Little Mermaid," and four years since Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the film.
Director Rob Marshall commented on her casting in a statement in 2019, saying in a statement, “After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."
He didn't mention her race, but others did—for better and for worse.
While some celebrated the choice of a non-white actress, the hashtag #NotMyAriel revealed that a segment of the public took issue with the casting of a Black actress to play Ariel. Some claimed the character was supposed to be a fair-skinned redhead and making her Black wasn't true to the Danish origins of the story. In a Variety profile, Bailey shared with Variety that she relied on the support and encouragement of her family members, including her grandparents, to handle the racist backlash directed her way.
“It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,’” Bailey told Variety.
As for the criticisms, as many have pointed out, Ariel is a fictional mermaid in a fantasy world in which race plays no part. Danish people can be Black, Black people can be redheads and the colors of Ariel's features aren't relevant to the storyline anyway.
Casting a Black actress does matter, though, especially for young Black viewers who rarely see themselves physically reflected in the world of Disney princesses. The first Disney princess, Snow White, was introduced in 1937 and we didn't see a non-white princess until Jasmine in "Aladdin" in 1992. In the past 30 years, Disney has had some catching up to do to create a more diverse and representative offering of its iconic characters.
Parents have been sharing the reactions of their kids to seeing the new teaser trailer for the live-action "The Little Mermaid," which show why that representation really does matter.
Here is a small handful of them:
I love this for my 3 years old 🤎 #littlemermaid #toddlersoftiktok #hallebailey #girlpower
My daughter’s reaction 😭 to the little mermaid trailer. #littlemermaidtrailer #representationmatters
Mayas reaction to #thelittlemermaid trailer. #representationmatters #representationinthemediamatters #blackgirls

As an Upworthy commenter shared on Instagram, representation can be powerful for kids. "As a ginger who was little and getting teased relentlessly for the color of her hair and skin when little mermaid came out, I felt represented when the Disney princess looked like me and she was and is still my favorite. Ariel making a new generation of little girls feel seen and represented is beautiful. 😍😍"
For people worried about how this casting choice might impact representation for redheads, never fear. First of all, the live-action Ariel played by Halle Bailey actually does have red hair, so there's that. Secondly, considering redheads only make up 1% to 2% of the population, they are already well-represented in the land of Disney princesses. Aside from Ariel, we have Merida (from "Brave") and Anna (from "Frozen," though she isn't technically considered a princess) on the animated front, as well as Giselle from the live-action film "Enchanted," (though she's not considered an "official" princess, either). The only official animated Black princess has been Tiana in "The Princess and the Frog." For a live-action Black princess, we had singer Brandy playing Cinderella in a 1997 live-action TV film.
Now we have Halle Bailey cast as Ariel, a welcome choice for Black Disney princess fans who have rarely gotten to see themselves as "part of that world." And if this trailer is any indication, it's going to be truly magical.

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