Glade County, Florida

From the Palm Beach Post of September 1, 2007

Neighborhood horrified as bear attacks beloved dogs

The commotion started about a quarter to seven, as Tiffany Barnes dressed for a day of beauty school. It would take 22 hours, a shotgun blast and a dead black bear before her Moore Haven neighborhood would feel safe again.

Missy, the Jack Russell terrier, whimpered and growled at Tiffany's feet on Thursday morning. She pulled her curtain back and looked into the back yard.

Clear as the sunrise, she saw one of her father's puppies, the one she called Lucius, hanging from the mouth of an enormous black bear.

She called to her mother. Her mother screamed for her dad.

"Sam, there's a bear outside!"

Lucius was gone. His litter mate, the one Tiffany called Asisaly, lay dead with her skin ripped away. Under the bushes lay Sam Barnes' faithful Catahoula Leopard dog, the best hog-hunting dog he'd ever owned. It was eviscerated.

"I've never seen my dad cry until that bear took his dog," said Tiffany Barnes, 18. "He was my dad's best friend."

State wildlife officials believe the bear killed five pets on the outskirts of Moore Haven in Glades County this week. They set a trap and planned to euthanize the animal. But a hail of buckshot cut short the bear's final meal early Friday morning.

Dennis Griffin, Barnes' neighbor, turned his shotgun on the bear after losing his second hunting dog in four days, state wildlife officials said. Fearing reprisals from environmentalists, Griffin said he didn't want to talk about the incident.

Florida black bears are a threatened species. A spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that because shooting them is a third-degree felony, information on the incident would be passed along to the state attorney's office. It was undecided whether charges would be filed against Griffin.

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