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Woman fends off bear attack with cookies

Kristen Savage was walking her dog when she was suddenly attacked by a bear, she said. With no time to think, she used a bag of cookies to distract the animal and save their lives. Savage believes the bear was a mother trying to protect her cubs, describing the encounter as terrifying.

The Brief

A Florida woman and her little dog were charged by a bear while out for a walk in Sanford. With no time to think, Kristen Savage used a bag of cookies to save their lives.

I thought, ‘We aren’t going to get out of this'

What we know:

Kristen Savage and her dog were attacked by a bear near her home in Sanford while out for a walk. The bear, a mother protecting her cubs, charged at Savage just feet from her front yard. Quick thinking — and a bag of cookies — helped Savage distract the bear long enough to flee into her house safely.

What we don't know:

Authorities have not confirmed if the bear and her cubs remain in the neighborhood or if any relocation efforts are underway. It's unclear if wildlife officials plan to increase patrols or issue broader warnings to residents in the Sanford area following the incident.

Big picture view:

The encounter highlights the rising tensions between growing residential areas and local wildlife in Florida. Experts warn that human-bear interactions are likely to increase unless more proactive measures are taken to manage both bear populations and community awareness.

What they're saying:

In a heart-pounding moment caught on camera, Kristen Savage and her dog dodged danger and escaped a bear, barely making it inside their home.

"At one point, I thought, ‘We aren’t going to get out of this,’ because there is no one here to help me," Savage explained.

Just seconds earlier, a mama bear – protecting her cubs – had charged Savage right near her front yard.

"All of a sudden, I see a black head come up near my leg," Savage said.

With nowhere to run, she lifted her dog into the air – spinning in circles – trying desperately to keep him out of the bear’s reach.

"I hauled him like a piñata in the air, and I spun around to get away," she explained.

As panic set in, she remembered something her mom had handed her just minutes before: a bag of cookies.

"I threw the bag at her, and she stopped for a minute, and she sniffed the cookies. As soon as she was distracted by the cookies, I ran!"

Those cookies gave her the few precious seconds she needed to escape. Wildlife officials say bear encounters are becoming more common, especially in the spring, when mothers protect their cubs.

"If I take my dog out, I come out with pots and pans," she explained.

Savage said she doesn’t blame the bear. She understands it was a mother protecting her cubs.

"I am a mom myself. If I ever thought my kids were in danger, I would fight them too!"

What you can do:

If you encounter a bear, wildlife officials say don’t run, make yourself look big, and back away slowly – all things that can save your life.

The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Sanford resident Kristen Savage, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —

A Seminole County woman says she and her dog were saved by a bag of cookies when a bear attacked them last week.

Kristen Savage told WESH 2 she was walking her dog, Ringo, in front of their house in the Sylvan Lake Reserve neighborhood around 8 p.m. on Friday.

“The bear snuck up behind me, went around my leg, and started biting at my dog,” Savage said. “I was hanging him like a piñata basically in the air, but every time I put my dog down on the ground, she would go after him again.”

Savage says at one point, the bear had her dog in its mouth. She spun around trying to keep her dog away, but at one point fell down.

“That’s when I started to panic because I’m on the ground, I’m in a vulnerable position. My brain was like, ‘Get up and get big,’ so I did start waving my hands and screaming at her, and stepping towards the bear,” Savage said. “She did back off, but the second I took a break from that, she sprinted right at us again.”

Savage said she remembered she had a bag of cookies that her mother had just given her.

“I kind of feel bad, but I smacked the bear across the face with a bag of cookies and I threw them at her face,” Savage said.

That was enough to shift the bear’s attention to the cookies, and Savage and Ringo were able to escape. Surprisingly, Ringo was not hurt, but Savage suffered some scrapes on her leg from the fall.

The bear is well-known to people in the neighborhood: Savage has pictures of her nursing cubs in the backyard, and several doorbell camera videos showing the bears on the front porch and walking in her driveway.

She believes the bear may have thought Ringo was a threat, and was protecting her cubs. She doesn’t hold any ill will against the bear, but says it did make her realize to be more cautious.

“I think it’s an important lesson to always have something on you that can scare them away, like an air horn or a spray,” Savage said. “And just pay attention to your surroundings.”

SANFORD, Fla. — Orlando Sanford International Airport has become the first Florida location to offer Flippit, a service designed to help travelers avoid the heartbreak of surrendering prohibited items at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.

Flippit provides a simple and convenient solution: a drop-box system located right before the security line, where passengers can mail their items home. The concept was born from personal experience. Alexander Cacciato, Flippit’s co-founder, recalls the frustration of losing a beloved childhood Swiss Army knife at airport security.

“I lost my childhood Swiss Army knife at security,” Cacciato said. “I thought, shouldn’t there be a better way for people to keep their stuff?”

From that frustration, Flippit was created. The process is streamlined: travelers place their prohibited items into a provided envelope, scan a QR code, complete a few simple steps on their smartphone, and drop the package into the Flippit box. The service offers a flat rate starting at $29, with options for expedited shipping at an additional cost.

Since launching, Flippit has seen a wide range of items pass through its system. “We get snow globes, power drills, even cast iron pots,” Cacciato said. “It’s amazing what people try to bring through.”

One key aspect of Flippit’s service is the care taken in handling the items. Airport staff carefully repack each item to ensure it arrives at its destination safely. “Our staff will then very carefully wrap that snow globe or whatever other thing that is valuable to you and make sure that it gets home to you safely,” says Lauren Rowe, director of communications for Orlando-Sanford International Airport.

Orlando-Sanford is the eighth airport to implement Flippit. The service has quickly gained popularity, offering a less stressful experience for travelers and helping to keep security lines moving smoothly.

“We hope to be in airports across the country, maybe even beyond,” Cacciato said. “It’s something we love.”

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CFX TOLL ROAD

SANFORD, Fla. — In early April, the public will have a chance to comment on the two proposed routes for a connector toll road between State Road 417 and Orlando Sanford International Airport.

What You Need To Know

For years, the Central Florida Expressway Authority has been eyeing a route to connect State Road 417 to the growing Orlando Sanford International Airport.

Now the Expressway Authority has narrowed down the possible routes to Alignment 2 or a newly created Alignment 2A.

The latter appears to go through Brian VanDusen’s property, something he has come out against.

“I think they’re breaking up the whole neighborhood with what they’re going to do,” he said.

Seminole County leaders have urged the Expressway Authority to look into a toll expressway to ease congestion on Lake Mary Boulevard and Ronald Reagan Boulevard.

“If you look at what the anticipated growth is for our Sanford Orlando Airport over the next decade or two, those roads will simply become impassable,” said Seminole County Commissioner Andria Herr, who is also a board member for the Central Florida Expressway Authority.

Information from the Expressway Authority indicates that without building a new road, traffic on Lake Mary Boulevard near the airport entrance will reach more than 36,000 vehicles a day by 2050.

Officials say building the connector could reduce that traffic by 43%.

Members of the Expressway Authority had considered an elevated highway along Lake Mary Boulevard to connect to the airport’s entrance as another option. But they say the estimated $500 million price tag it was too costly.

“An elevated road above Lake Mary Boulevard and the expense to that and the interruption to traffic flow on a day-to-day basis would be so significant that that is not feasible,” said Herr.

However, Alignment 2, with a cost of $173 million, has the potential to impact 25 parcels, including eight residential properties.

“We are not trying to do anything that would be detrimental to the general community,” said Herr. “May it be detrimental to someone in the path? Absolutely.”

VanDusen has lived in his home for 34 years and is concerned the new road would impact him.

“It would be hard to leave it,” he said.

On top of the direct impact, residents in other nearby communities are concerned about the impact the road would have to their quality of life and the environment.

“Part of the analysis will be considering all of the environmental interplay that will happen should a road be built,” said Herr.

Residents can have a say about the proposal at a public workshop set for Wednesday, April 2 from 6-7:30 pm.

Public Workshop:

The Ardent Companies (Ardent) acquired 76 acres of the Seminole Towne Center site in Sanford, FL, for $17.5 million. Ardent intends to redevelop the site into a mixed-use destination that will include new retail, multifamily and a hotel.

The site, a 30-year-old mall that has since closed, was sold by 4th Dimension Properties. Katz’s Daniel Solomon represented 4th Dimension Properties. In 2020, 4th Dimension and an investor partner paid $52.3 million for the property.

Ardent’s Matt Shulman added, “We will work in close collaboration with the City of Sanford and other stakeholders to redevelop this site into a mixed-use district that will once again serve as an exciting hub of activity for residents and visitors. We look forward to sharing more details soon.”

“The scope of this project will amount to the largest retail redevelopment in Seminole County’s history,” said Sanford Director of Economic Development, Brady Lessard.

The Seminole Towne Center redevelopment is a long-term investment for Ardent. The company has a history of revitalizing distressed assets.

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About Mike Boyd

Mike covers our Texas and Phoenix/Southwest regions. He is a veteran news reporter who spent 10 years in radio and television news, mostly in Tucson, Arizona. Following his career in the media, he spent ten years as a communications executive for a publicly traded development company. Mike is married with three boys and three Huskies.

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