An 11-year-old husky charged a bear to save a boy

Bella, an 11-year-old husky mix, charged a black bear in her family's Torrington, Connecticut, yard last week to protect a 6-year-old boy. Colton Tazzara was playing in the driveway with a Nerf gun when the bear emerged from the woods and headed toward him. His dad, Jeff, lunged for his son. Bella got there first. She rocketed across the yard and clamped down on the bear's haunch, which so confused the animal that it backed away, bumped into Jeff's boat, and bolted into the trees. Jeff scooped Colton to safety. When Tara Tazzara walked out to say she was ready, her family tried to explain. She rolled her eyes. "Surely you're exaggerating," she said. Then she pulled up the security footage. "Dear God," she murmured. "She is getting a lot of treats," Jeff declared. That night Bella slept in her usual spot, on the end of Colton's bed.