A bear encounter outside a Trinity County home on Sept. 19 left Jeff and Mallory with serious injuries. Their French bulldog, Cassie, died on Sept. 21. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the circumstances.
Details of the encounter come from a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family, cited by CBS News. The fundraiser says the bear attacked Jeff outside the home, and Mallory was injured when she ran outside to help him. It also says Cassie got between Jeff and the bear and describes her as a deeply loved member of the family.
Cassie was badly hurt and died two days after the encounter, the report says. The exact nature of Jeff's and Mallory's injuries has not been detailed publicly.
Wildlife Officials Confirm Active Investigation
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed it is investigating the Sept. 19 encounter, according to Lost Coast Outpost. Department spokesperson Peter Tira said the agency is looking into the circumstances; details about the bear's fate or whereabouts have not been released.
Trinity County, where the attack took place, is a mountainous part of far northern California west of Redding — roughly 200 miles by road from Sacramento and about 260 miles from San Francisco. It's rugged, heavily forested terrain where black bears are a familiar, if usually unremarkable, presence.
Rare Attacks Amid a Large Bear Population
Black bears are the only bear species currently living in California, and the state's wildlife agency estimates the population at around 60,000 animals. Despite that sizable number sharing the landscape with rural communities, bear attacks on people remain rare in California, as noted by KION Central Coast.
What is known about bear injuries?
Local reporting offers one limited point of comparison: LAist reported that black bears injured four people in separate incidents in Sierra Madre between 2016 and 2020; two of them required stitches. That local account does not establish how often people are injured statewide or whether reported incidents have changed over time.
The available reports do not explain what led the encounter to escalate. The investigation continues, and no further details have been released.
