There’s something endlessly satisfying about watching the natural order of things rearranged by a six-pound puffball with a questionable sense of its own size. In West Vancouver this week, a home security camera caught a scene that, at first blush, sounds like a fever dream: a bear breaking into a house, only to be chased right back out by Scout—the resident Pomeranian, weighing in at about as much as a large cantaloupe. As detailed in a UPI report, this micro-marvel defended breakfast, home turf, and possibly the dignity of small dogs everywhere.
The Bear Facts (and Footage)
According to UPI, Scout’s human, Kayla Kleine, had left her West Vancouver door propped open for circulation during an unseasonably hot spell. The open door proved welcoming to a bear, who—after what UPI describes as a casual inspection of the TV—decided to raid the breakfast meant for Scout.
Security footage cited in the article captures the pivotal moment: Scout bursts from a side room and confronts the intruder, barking with enough conviction to tip the balance of power. The startled bear abandons its culinary ambitions and bolts, chased by Scout through the yard and finally over the fence. Kleine, who emerged just as the bear fled, was quoted by UPI after the incident: she observed that Scout was apparently unhappy about losing his breakfast, and expressed a mix of surprise and amusement at just how intimidating a feisty Pomeranian can appear under the right circumstances.
Kleine added, through UPI’s reporting, that Scout is “super cuddly and affectionate but he’s really feisty and really protective.” The pint-sized hero escaped unscathed, leaving the bear—one presumes—to reconsider its choice of easy targets.
Too Small to Fail?
UPI notes that bear break-ins are not exactly rarities these days. Just recently in Colorado, wildlife officials released footage of a bear deftly opening a door and strolling into a Telluride-area home. Northward and southward alike, it’s been a surprising summer for unexpected ursine visits—another bear, as mentioned by UPI, managed to get its head stuck in a plastic jar in Wisconsin before finally being rescued.
Yet, in the crowded field of modern animal deterrents, the tiny, indignant house dog would not make most people’s top ten. In this case, size proved largely irrelevant—Scout’s keen sense of injustice (or at least hunger) outweighed any instinct for self-preservation. One has to wonder if the bear will update its home-invasion tactics or simply steer clear of properties with visible chew toys.
Reflections on the Ordinary Absurd
The image of Scout pursuing a startled bear is hard to beat for sheer strangeness—a testament, perhaps, to the physical comedy that unfolds when animals refuse to behave as expected. How many bears, one wonders, have their dignity undermined by dogs that could comfortably fit in a backpack? Is there an evolutionary advantage to being both fluffy and bold—or is this just another case of breakfast bringing out the best in us all?
For those of us who spend far too much time piecing together odd stories from security footage and unlikely moments, this one stands out. Sometimes, the least likely sentries turn out to be the most steadfast. It’s almost enough to make you look twice at every passing Pomeranian.
