A 12-year-old half-blind dog named Honey became an unlikely hero in northern New Mexico when she fought off a bear alone at night to protect her family’s farm and dozens of animals.
Among all the animals God created, dogs hold a very special place in our hearts. Their selfless love and loyalty is just something else.
We have all heard those stories that make you tear up a little. The dog that waited at his owner’s grave for months. The dog that sat outside a hospital waiting for his sick owner to come out. Dogs that woke up sleeping families from house fires.
These stories remind us just how remarkable they really are. In so many situations, they are the ones standing between us and real danger.
Honey is one of those dogs. This aging, half-blind girl took on a bear in the dark to protect her family’s farm, and she paid a serious price for it.
It happened on the night of March 3 on the Martinez family’s land in Cordova, New Mexico, where they raise horses, chickens, and other dogs.
Honey had been tracking something that night. The family noticed but had no idea what she was after. The next morning they found her in the driveway with injuries that stopped everyone in their tracks.
Leanna Martinez turned Honey’s head and saw it. “Her whole neck was just ripped from the back all the way down,” she said. All 60 chickens and every other animal on the property were completely safe.
Darren Martinez said it was just devastating seeing her like that. He never imagined seeing their dog in that condition.
Bear tracks and scratches on the fences and trees confirmed what happened. Honey had gone up against a full-grown bear by herself in the dark. And she won.
The vet bills for Honey were way more than the family could handle, so they reached out to Española Humane’s lower-cost clinic in Rio Arriba County.
Mattie Allen and her team cleaned and treated Honey’s neck wound and kept up with regular bandage changes and medication.
Honey still has an open wound that has to heal from the inside out. Her family says that process will take months. But she is home, she is loved, and she has a nickname now. “She’s our little savior,” said Denise Martinez. “She’s been nicknamed the bear slayer.” And then Denise added the detail that honestly made everyone smile. Turns out the bear slayer is completely terrified of the vacuum cleaner.
We serve a God who uses the most unexpected things to protect the people and places He loves. A 12-year-old half-blind dog with a ripped neck and a fear of vacuum cleaners just proved that.
Please keep Honey and the Martinez family in your prayers as she works through the long road of healing ahead.
WATCH: 12-Year-Old Dog Takes Down Bear to Protect Her Family
