It was the day before Thanksgiving and Kaleb Benham was wandering around outside his home in Noring California. His 90-pound pit bull, Buddy, was playing around nearby, doing what dogs do: getting into trouble. And this time, Buddy was getting into a whole lot of trouble.
The unmistakable sound that no one wants to hear alone in the woods caught Benham’s attention. It was the deep, strange roar of a black bear. Benham wheeled around to see the beast, which Benham figured weighed around 350 pounds, some 100 feet away. In an instant, the bear fastened on to Buddy’s head and started dragging him away.
Benham, a thin, fit 24-year-old, took off after them. “Honestly,” he told CBS13, “the only thing I could think of was ‘save my baby’.” Sprinting, he lowered his shoulder and plowed into the bear. But it only tightened its grip on Buddy. Benham grabbed the bear by the throat. Nothing. He tried getting its mouth open, but the jaw was locked tight. Benham resorted to street fighting—punching the bear over and over around its snout and eye. It worked. The bear dropped the dog and ran off into the woods.
Buddy was in bad shape. His face was bloodied and ripped up. His ears were dangling. He had a bite mark clear through his lip and one that barely missed an eye.
“My first thought was that I was going to lose him,” Benham said. He scooped up Buddy, put him into his car, and sped off to a nearby veterinarian. Buddy’s surgery took nearly four hours. Benham watched the procedure through a window. “I just stood there,” he said, watching as Buddy’s ears were stapled back on and skin flaps were stitched, and tubes were inserted into his head to drain fluid.
This was the second time Benham had rescued Buddy, says CBS13. The first was from a shelter a few years ago. “If it was your kid, what would you do?” he asked. Nodding toward Buddy, he added, “That’s my kid.”
4. What is the text mainly about?
A.A demanding surgery. | B.A regular routine. |
C.A fearless pet dog. | D.A daring rescue. |
5. Why did the author mention the weight of the bear in paragraph 2?
A.To show the difficulty of the rescue. |
B.To indicate the obesity of the bear. |
C.To prove the excitement of Benham. |
D.To describe the fear in Buddy’s heart. |
6. How was the dog finally saved from the bear?
A.Benham bumped into the beast with dropped shoulder. |
B.Benham forced open the beast’s mouth with locked jaw. |
C.Benham crushed the beast’s mouth and nose repeatedly. |
D.Benham finally conquered the beast by grabbing its throat. |
7. Which word can best describe the relationship between Benham and Buddy?
A.Complicated. | B.Close. |
C.Romantic. | D.Healthy. |