Doggone Bears

Smart bruin uses dog door to sneak into Colorado house

I swear, bears are getting smarter all the time: A black bear in Granby, Colorado, used a dog door to get into the mud room of a family's house. Once inside, he helped himself to all of the the dog food present, as well as a few stray herbs growing out of pots. After 10 minutes, he went back outside and messed around with the fire pit before disappearing back into the woods.

“He was very graceful, very calm,” (Brenda Freeman) said. “The bear didn't seem to care about the dog barking.”

Wildlife experts say that an extended, wet spring in Colorado has prolonged the flowering season for berry plants that usually serve as a primary food source for bears about now. Unfortunately, the longer it takes for the berries to arrive, the better the chances for bears to seek out alternative food sources. If a hard freeze kills the entire berry crop before it can flourish, wildlife officers say they could have a busy summer managing human-bear encounters.

They've figured out bear bags, and now they've mastered dog doors. At this rate, I think it's only a matter of time before they cut out the middleman, start hot-wiring cars, and drive themselves out to Safeway to load up on Cheetos.

—Ted Alvarez

Dine & Dash: Bear enters Granby-area home through dog door (Sky-Hi Daily News)