Unwanted Visitor

[Smilin]

Unwanted visitor: Spooked bear crashes through home’s door in W. Knoxville

By J.J. Stambaugh

The first reports that a bear had broken into a home about two blocks north of Sutherland Avenue on Forestview Road came into the E-911 Center about 10:20 p.m.

KPD officers walked the neighborhood — which contains several thickly forested lots — carrying flashlights and shotguns. They told residents to stay inside and make sure their pets were kept indoors.

Tom and Becky Mash said they were walking their dog north on Renford Drive when they encountered the bear as they rounded a curve on top of a hill where Renford intersects with Forestview.

They said they believe their dog scared the bear so badly that it panicked and blundered into a woman’s home through a front glass door.

“As we topped the hill, I saw the bear rise up and all of a sudden the dog started barking. ... That bear goes through the glass door of this woman’s house,” said Tom Mash. “That lady started screaming bloody murder. Wouldn’t you?”

The bear apparently chased the woman around her living room before opting to flee back out the door, Mash said.

The woman wasn’t physically hurt but was clearly terrified, he said.

The Mashes said the bear had been sighted in the neighborhood earlier in the day.

KPD officers declined to comment on the situation other than to confirm that a black bear was in the area. They also declined to point out the house the bear allegedly entered.