HERO DOG

Bear Rogers has a lot to be proud of these days.

The 160-pound 8-year-old mastiff mix has been named the most courageous in Alaska and a finalist for most courageous dog in the nation by the American Humane Society. Bear was honored for driving off a machete-wielding attacker last year, allowing Elann Moren to escape — wounded, but alive.

The organization announced its first annual Dogs of Valor awards Oct. 17. Bear and Moren attended a domestic violence workshop in Anchorage the week prior, at which Bear and his family were given a silver dog tag, wall clock and framed certificate.

Moren, 56, was asleep with her fiancé, Christopher Erin Rogers Sr., the night of Dec. 2, 2007 when Alaska State Troopers say Rogers’ son, Christopher Erin Rogers Jr., entered their Palmer bedroom with a machete. Rogers fought with his son but died in the attack.

Rogers Jr., known to the family as “Erin,” has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and assault both in Palmer and in Anchorage, where troopers say he continued his rampage — this time with a gun — killing one and wounding two.

Moren said in no uncertain terms that Bear saved her life that day as Erin attacked her.

“I was telling him that I was dead and he might as well stop,” she said, recalling the attack. “And then I noticed that Bear had a hold of his leg and was pulling him out of the bathroom.”

Bear’s heroism didn’t end there, she said. He chased Erin out of the house and into his truck. She believes the dog, at least temporarily, prevented Erin from turning his anger elsewhere.

“I didn’t see it, because I wasn’t in the yard, but … he kept him in that truck and wouldn’t let him out of that truck, and that pretty much saved the surrounding neighbors,” Moren said.

Bear didn’t escape unharmed. A blow from the machete severely wounded the dog’s jaw and eyetooth.

Though he was injured, Bear recovered and was thus spared the fate of Buffy, the Oakland, Calif., German shepherd who took top honors in the Valor Dogs awards. According to the Humane Society’s Web site, Buffy chased off a gunman who was in the process of robbing her owner, Will Bartley. The gunman fired twice, hitting Buffy once in the leg. Buffy eventually died of an underlying kidney condition exacerbated by the wound.

These days, Moren said Bear is doing well. Robinson Millworks in Wasilla is working on a doggie door they plan to donate to the heroic canine. Make that a “bear door.”

“Bear is so big that a regular dog door doesn’t fit,” she said. “They’re putting in a Bear door, which I thought was a really nice thing that the community is doing.”

She said Bear is living happily with family, including a couple more dogs and a few cats, with which he gets along famously.

“I think it is important that the community knows that Bear is happy but he, of course, misses Chris,” Moren said, referring to her finance, who died in the attack.

She said the dog and his master were inseparable. They’d been together since the day Bear was born. The canine traveled everywhere with Chris Rogers and the two loved going for walks or camping, with Moren or without.

“They liked to take off and go camping by themselves, which I just thought was fine because I could stay home and just watch TV in a nice, warm place,” she said.

She and Bear got along well, Moren said, after she made it clear she was the alpha female in their family pack. Bear even preferred to ride in the car with her over Rogers, though she said she suspects that was because she offered him the backseat of her sedan while Rogers had only the unheated, exposed bed of a pickup to offer. She still visits Bear when she can.

“I get to see him at least once or twice a month,” Moren said.

She’d go see him more, but she’s living in Anchorage to be closer to her regular physical therapy appointments.

The attack left her with two severed fingertips and numerous injuries. Wheelchair-bound for a number of weeks following the attack, these days she’s mobile and has even started driving. But Moren predicts she has a year or so left to go in physical therapy.

“My physical therapists are my best friends,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.