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Officers responding to the attack on Echo Drive in Sparta found an 81-year-old woman with head and leg injuries around 7 p.m., Sparta Police Lt. John Lamon told DailyVoice.com.
The woman stated that she had been bitten and scratched by a bear that had been attacking her dog.
The woman had placed her garbage at the curb for disposal and later saw two bears that had torn open the bags and were eating the trash, Lamon said.
The woman’s dogs, who were being let outside at the time, headed toward the bears, scaring one of them off into the woods before the other bear approached and swatted at the woman’s English Springer Spaniel, knocking it to the ground, Lamon said.
The woman then ran toward the bear yelling in an attempt to scare it off, at which point it bit and scratched her and dragged the dog into the woods, police said.
The woman was taken to Newton Hospital, where she was released after receiving several stitches to her leg and antibiotics for her injuries.
Meanwhile, the dog was located by officers and taken to a nearby animal hospital, where it succumbed to its injuries, police said.
The incident remained under investigation by the NJ Fish & Game wardens.
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