KURIHARA, Miyagi Prefecture–After a terrifying night battling an attacking bear, Kotaro Takahashi checked the garden where the kennel for his dog, Tetsukumo, is located.

He found several traces of soil dug up by the bear. Animal fur was scattered across the garden. He also saw bloodstains on the ground.

Takahashi, 41, had never heard of bear sightings in his neighborhood before.

“I had thought bear attacks were something scary that only happened to other people,” he said. “I never expected one would show up at my house.”

At around 11:50 p.m. on Oct. 19, Takahashi’s second-oldest daughter heard Tetsukumo, a 6-year-old Akita Inu, barking outside their house.

Sensing something was wrong, she asked her father, who was watching TV in the living room, to help her check on the dog.

Tetsukumo is between 60 and 70 centimeters tall and weighs 43 kilograms. Despite being large, he has a gentle personality and rarely barks at people.

The father and daughter heard not only nonstop barking but also painful-sounding yelps. Tetsukumo had been barking at a raccoon dog four nights earlier, so Takahashi thought there was another “tanuki” out there.

But when he and his daughter opened the front door, a black mass about 1.3 meters in size was at the entrance, standing on all fours and looking right at them.

Its eyes met his.

“It’s a bear! Bear!” he yelled.

And that moment, the bear charged Takahashi and his daughter. They managed to close the door just in time.

But the animal hit and scratched the door, and even put its front paws on the doorknob.

Takahashi held on to the doorknob and told his daughter to wake up her mother and call the police.

Then it became quiet outside.

Takahashi thought the bear had run off, but he heard Tetsukumo yelping again.

Unable to stay still, Takahashi opened the door and saw the bear running around in a circle, seemingly in a panic.

A floor jack used to lift cars had been left outside the front door. Takahashi let out a roar and pulled out the 50-centimeter-long handle and held it in his hand.

The bear rushed at him again.

He swung the handle down on the bear with all of his might. It hit the right shoulder of the animal, which then fled toward the riverside.

Takahashi brought Tetsukumo into the house, and police arrived soon after.

The dog was bleeding from his mouth, the groin area of both front legs and back.

Takahashi took Tetsukumo to an animal hospital the next day and was relieved when the veterinarian said the canine’s injuries were not life-threatening.

Although Takahashi didn’t directly see Tetsukumo fighting the bear, evidence in the garden area showed that a brawl had taken place between the two animals.

“I’m sure he fought against it many times,” Takahashi said of his pet. “He protected us.”