VIDEO: Half-Blind Senior Dog Earns Nickname ‘Bear Slayer’ for Protecting Family

A New Mexico farming family is safe thanks to their senior dog who fought a bear and protected their livestock from danger.

Honey is a tough, 12-year-old half-blind pup who got into a battle with the bear after tracking it on March 3 in Cordova, KOB reported Friday.

The Martinez family said her actions protected dozens of animals from harm, including their 60 chickens. Denise Martinez said Honey tracked something deep into the night and when the sun came up, they found her on their driveway with extensive injuries. Other signs around the farm pointed to the presence of a bear.

“Her face was swollen on the left, so I turned her head like to the right, and that’s when I saw, like her whole neck was just ripped from the back all the way down,” Leanna Martinez recalled.

The family got help from Española Humane’s clinic for her care because it was going to be more than they could afford to pay. The clinic was able to treat Honey with bandage changes and medication at an affordable price, giving much relief to her family.

Although Honey is still on the road to recovery, Denise Martinez said, “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.”

Meanwhile, the We Rate Dogs social media profile highlighted Honey’s story and awarded her its highest honor of 15 out of 10.

Honey appears to be a breed of cattle dog that the American Kennel Club (AKC) describes as loyal, intelligent, and tenacious.

“We’ll never know exactly how it unfolded in the dark of that night, but we know this: Honey stood her ground against something she had no business fighting,” Española Humane wrote in a social media post:

“She took the hits so no one else would have to, and she drove a predator away from everything she loves. Back and forth from coop to coop, Honey warded off the bear, evidence obtained from security audio footage and tracks,” the post added.