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Black bear breaks into Shirley backyard, nearly encountering family dog

Black bear breaks into Shirley backyard, nearly encountering family dog

SHIRLEY, Mass. — Video and photos shared with Boston 25 shows a black bear wandering in a Shirley resident’s backyard on Saturday evening.

“I wanted to share some photos/video I took last night here in Shirley of a black bear who hopped our fence to get to some peanut butter that I had out for the birds,” said resident Kallie.

“He nearly went nose-to-nose with my dog Reese who luckily obeyed my order to get back into the house.”

Kallie said there was damage to the fence, which was surprisingly not bad considering the bear was large.

"Luckily the bear moseyed on his way and hopped over a different part of our fence. Needless to say, I won’t be leaving the bird feeders up for a bit!"

Black bears are common in western and central Massachusetts and are known to come out this time of year.

Experts advise that of food sources and other attractants is key to preventing problems with bears as bird seed, trash, and pet food, are likely to cause damage and become a nuisance.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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