Bear kills 2 unleashed dogs in Juneau

A black bear killed two dogs in Juneau on Tuesday after it was attacked by the unleashed pets on a local trail, the Juneau Empire reports.

The Gastineau Humane Society, which provides animal control services in Juneau, wrote in a Facebook post that the bear acted in self-defense. The agency reminded people that their dogs should remain on a leash unless they're well trained and respond to voice commands at all times.

"We try to remind people that you're living in Alaska, you're living near wildlife and if you really want to keep your dog safe, keep it in sight, keep it under voice control and if you can't do that, keep it on a leash," Samantha Blankenship, executive director of the humane society, said in an interview Wednesday.

Juneau's Animal Control director told the Empire that a group was hiking on the Montana Creek Trail with two dogs when they saw a bear in the distance with its back to them. Before the group could do anything, the dogs charged the bear and jumped on it, the newspaper reported.

"The bear quickly turned in self-defense, immediately killing the 2 dogs," said the humane society's Facebook post. "The owner of the dogs was eventually able to gather the dogs' remains and bring them home."

Blankenship said a witness told Animal Control that the bear went back into the woods.

Less than a month ago, a wolf killed an unleashed dog along a different trail in Juneau. The wolf was likely protecting a deer carcass, KTOO reported.