A 12-year-old, half-blind dog has successfully kept watch over her family’s property in Cordova, New Mexico. Honey had been a survivor; years ago she had a nasty run-in with a porcupine and shortly before that, the Labrador retriever mixed breed had survived a bout with Parvo virus.
And then March 3 came along, and the casual sentry patrol Honey dutifully performed every morning turned into a battle of life and death. Little did Honey realize at the time, guarding the family farm consisting of more than 60 chickens, two horses and her humans nearly cost her – her life.
The Martinez family knew Honey had been tracking something on the farm but had been unaware of what it could have been.
Early the next morning, there was Honey, and she was in critical condition. What her family didn’t know at the time was that Honey had fought off a bear just waking up from hibernation and very powerful and hungry. The bear had wandered over to the family’s farm ready to pluck some chickens from inside their coops for a feast.
No doubt Honey was having none of this; not her chickens and not on her farm. Although the details of Honey’s bravery will never be known, she didn’t hesitate to fight. Her injuries indicated she had been involved in a fierce fight for survival. She managed to drive the bear away from the chickens, and via the security camera footage and the tracks from the bear and the dog, the entire struggle had been formidable.
Honey had been seriously injured. Her back up to her neck had been ripped deeply, a wound to her face swelled up, deep punctures and lacerations told Honey’s story.
Honey survived, and all of her chicken friends were unharmed, the horses were fine and her human family rushed to get her help the moment they spotted her. Everyone is so thankful for Honey’s bravery and loyalty.
Recovery has been a daily battle for Honey, and she is in the care of the Española Humane Animal Clinic where she has undergone surgery to repair her back, has frequent bandage changes every other day, takes her medications, and arrives with the determination to heal of a hero.
Honey, however brave she is, has her own adorable quirks according to her mom Denise:
She’s our little savior. She’s been nicknamed the bear slayer, and we’ve just come to find out that the bear slayer is afraid of the vacuum cleaner.
Honey shares her home with Velma, who was adopted from the same rescue, and Zoe. They all stay close to Honey, and life pretty much goes on as it used to with smiles, little antics and lots of love.
Española Humane said urgent care is only available in Rio Arriba County right now, and the organization hopes to expand that care in the future.
A link to donate and help Española Humane is available here.
Special thanks to our Drs. Jasmine Olivas and Denise Montrose for Honey’s continued care and to Toyota of Santa Fe for sponsoring the lifesaving work of Española Humane.
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Daisy and the shoe.
