My love for animals extends far beyond dogs to virtually any and all wildlife, and I count it amongst the most wonderful occurrences to see an animal in its natural habitat. Unfortunately, I’ve always been unlucky and have rarely been fortunate enough to spot wildlife while on car trips or camping. Yesterday, however, that all changed.

As with most Sundays, we decided to spend the afternoon at the park with the dogs, and brought along my 2 ½ year old niece, Avery. We packed up the car and headed to Kanaka Creek, a beautiful trail I pass by everyday on the way to the Modern Dog office but have never actually visited. Upon our arrival, Jeremy and I laughed at a bear shaped sign that read "Be bear aware". How exactly can one be "bear aware"? We scoffed at the warning and continued on, toddler and dogs in tow.

After about an hour of trail exploring and beach wandering, we decided to head back towards the car since Avery’s poor little feet were failing her and the dogs seemed adventured-out. Despite her insistence that she needed to be carried, I convinced Avery that she was a big girl and Roxy and Cash needed her to help them along. Worst. Auntie. Ever.

Jeremy abruptly halted ten feet ahead of us with the leashed dogs. We suddenly heard twigs breaking and noticed the bushes rustling just to the left of us off the trail. I stopped and waited breathlessly, hoping to see a beautiful deer emerge right in front of Avery for her first wild animal encounter.

"BEAR!"

I looked at Jeremy incredulously and yelled back "What?!?" "BEAR!!!" and sure enough, out of the brush arose a great big beautiful black head, approximately 15 feet to our left. Had this been any other occasion, I would have silently stepped back and photographed the heck out of that gorgeous face. However, being that my treasured and defenseless niece was present, I decided against it. "Take Avery to the car NOW!" and I threw that confused child towards Jeremy who immediately picked her up and rushed her off to the safety of our car. I looked back into the bushes and the bear was long gone, clearly uninterested in these crazy two-legged creatures and their four-legged pals.

I have to be honest, as soon as Avery was far from the wild beast, I felt no fear whatsoever towards this incredible creature. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t about to move closer and offer my bag of dog treats, but it was so inexplicably clear to me (and apparently to the dogs since they didn’t make a peep) that he meant us no harm. In fact, he seemed quite startled to have stumbled upon us and I actually felt guilty for having scared him. After all, despite the parking lot and garbage cans and public washrooms, this was his wild territory that we were encroaching on. Technically, he had every right to be there. I’m just glad he was such a gracious host to me and my trespassing brood.