Couple rescued after dog takes on brown bear

“He’s got the bear … and now he’s going to get killed.”

Greg and Teresa Groeneweg pose with their dog, Ace, who is wearing a lifesaver medal Greg received from the Anchorage Fire Department years ago. He said Ace deserves it now more than him, for fighting off a bear. (Courtesy Greg Groeneweg)

Greg and Teresa Groeneweg pose with their dog, Ace, who is wearing a lifesaver medal Greg received from the Anchorage Fire Department years ago. He said Ace deserves it now more than him, for fighting off a bear. (Courtesy Greg Groeneweg)

KENAI — Greg Groeneweg and his wife Teresa were enjoying an evening walk with their dog, Ace, near their Sterling cabin last week like they always do in the summertime. Only this time, they heard a snapping noise in the alder foliage near the road they were on.

“It happened extremely, extremely fast,” he said. “From the moment of ‘It’s there,’ to ‘It’s going to be on you.’”

It took only seconds to register that they were in danger, Groeneweg said. He froze, his wife fled. A brown bear had emerged from the woods and started charging the couple.

“I mean, I was just like ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’” he said. “I’ve never even seen a brown bear run here, let alone had one close to me ever in my life.”

Both Groeneweg and his wife are lifetime Alaskans. In fact, Groeneweg was born on the cusp of statehood 1958.

The two have been married for 40 years, and have owned their vacation cabin in Sterling for around seven. Groeneweg said he and his parents used to vacation on the Kenai Peninsula all the time as a child — they’re from Anchorage — and he’s never once had a run-in with a bear. He’s also relatively accustomed to high-stress situations, as he worked for the Anchorage Fire Department for 40 years.

But in this situation, he stood there flat-footed.

“The face is burned in my mind, that bear and me looking at each other,” Groeneweg said.

Once the bear started to charge, he said he never could have expected what happened next. Ace, the pair’s 7-year-old pitbull and American bulldog mix, lunged toward the bear, body slamming its right side. He watched as Ace continued to fend off the attack, trying to get at the bear’s back and neck.

“Ace is not barking, he’s like full-out fighting,” Groeneweg said.

He didn’t have time to react, and he wasn’t packing a horn, spray or a firearm. By that point, he said he remembered feeling most scared for his dog.

“Ace is going to die,” Groeneweg remembered thinking. “He’s got the bear … and now he’s going to get killed.”

But surprisingly, the Ace came away from the altercation basically unscathed. Groeneweg said there’s no doubt the pup saved the couple that day, but still, it was unexpected. Ace is a sweetheart, a pacifist even.

Groeneweg said Ace always wags his tail, and goes out of his way to meet new people. The dog rarely ever even barks. He wants people to remember that pitbull mixes aren’t innately aggressive or violent.

These days, Ace has been given more pets and treats than usual.

“I’m so proud of him, I just couldn’t believe he did that,” Groeneweg said. “I mean, I just didn’t know he had it in him.”

• Contact reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

(Juneau Empire File)
Aurora forecast for the week of Nov. 27

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Wade Bryson, a Juneau Assembly member, explains why he favors giving local businesses a “sales tax holiday” for at least one day next year, targeting Feb. 29 as a suitable date, during the Assembly’s Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night. The committee voted to hold onto the proposal for further study rather than sending it to the full Assembly. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A local sales tax holiday? Don’t pack your shopping bags yet

Proposal to waive taxes for a day or two each year isn’t a quick sale to most Assembly members

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Choir members rehearse Tuesday night for a Bach holiday concert at Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Quartet of Bach compositions joins lineup of local large-ensemble performances this season

Concerts this weekend part of resurging “wealth of riches” by choruses and orchestras, director says.

The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry LeConte at the Auke Bay Terminal on Monday, March 5, 2018. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Petition seeks name change for LeConte state ferry

Petersburg man calling attention to what he calls Joseph LeConte’s racist history.

The deadly landslide that struck Wrangell on the night of Nov. 20 is seen the next day. Southeast Alaska is, by nature, vulnerable to such landslides, but climate change is adding to the risk by bringing more precipitation and more extreme rainfall events. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Deadly Wrangell landslide is part of a pattern in vulnerable Alaska mountainous terrain

Scientists warn climate change, by increasing precipitation and extreme rainfall, adds to risks.

Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire File
Even the Grinch got into the holiday spirit at last year’s Gallery Walk on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022.
An abundance of traditional and new ways to capitalize on this year’s Gallery Walk

More than 50 events scheduled Friday afternoon and evening from downtown to Douglas.

This view is from Wrangell on Sept. 11, 2022. (Photo by Joaqlin Estus/ICT)
Conservation group supports formation of new Alaska Native corporations

The conservation group the Wilderness Society has changed its position and now… Continue reading

From her hospital bed on Friday, Nov. 24, Christina Florschutz demonstrates how she pulled pajama bottoms that she found in the landslide debris over her legs, arms and head to keep warm. Her house was destroyed in the landslide, and after spending the night in the wreckage, she was rescued the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 21. (Caroleine James / Wrangell Sentinel)
Elementary school aide who survived Wrangell landslide calls circumstances a miracle

Christina Florschutz trapped overnight by landslide that killed at least 4 people, with 2 missing.

Most Read