The day before yesterday, The Girl chased a black bear that bolted across the trail not ten feet in front of us. It was blasting down the hill and she was off before I could even react. There was no calling her off.
Fortunately, the bear was faster. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard her heavy breathing before I caught sight of her. She was working her way back up the hill, totally gassed.
I gave her time to return to me, then checked her over carefully. I found no wounds, but for a couple of light scratches from bombing the brush.
It was too steep to put out water, so we humped back up the hill to more level terrain. Then, I doffed the pack, retrieved her bowl and water bottle, and gave her as much water as she wanted.
We then proceeded back to the trail and then back to the rig. I took the pace easy and she recovered on the way back.
It was a fright that I did not need. I spent much of the afternoon in a state of mild shock, after thinking it likely that I lost her. We stayed pretty close together the remainder of the day.
The following day, yesterday, I had a full schedule and it was relatively cool. So, we walked the linear parkway not far from my apartment. She was able to run about a bit and sniff plenty. We got in a couple of miles of hiking on the flat.
It was good enough.
Along the way, I saw a bunch of birds scatter from the trees in front of us. I figured a hawk had flow in, looking for lunch. Sure enough, the Coopers Hawk above was perched in the tree. It waited patiently for me to make the capture.
Life is good.