Last September, an aggressive black bear broke into a Nipigon home in a terrifying late-night encounter.
Thanks to the quick actions and courage of Colette and Joe Shwetz, and their seven-year-old Boxer-Black Mouth Cur mix, Chloe, the bear was eventually driven out and everyone escaped without serious injury.
“I was laying in bed when Colette went to let Chloe out for the last time of the night. The bear was at the bottom of the deck. When Chloe went out, the bear charged up the deck towards her,” Joe Shwetz told the Acadia newsroom.
Chloe raced back inside with the bear in pursuit, barreling through the door and into the house.
“Then the bear went after Colette. Chloe grabbed the bear by the hind leg and distracted it, but soon it set its sights back on Colette,” Joe continued. “She tried to scream but she couldn’t.”
That’s when Chloe’s barks woke Joe up.
“I come out into the kitchen. Chloe had a hold of the bear’s hind leg. I just grabbed the bear and threw it off of Colette. Chloe was still trying to pull the bear out the door. Then the bear turned on me. Our little hero did everything she could. We finally got the bear out of the door, ran to our bedroom and called 911,” Joe said.
In the aftermath of the attack, both Joe and Colette required stitches. Chloe suffered a deep gash along her side that, more than a year later, is still healing.
“Chloe put herself in harms way to save us, and she knew it. Had she not done that, I’m almost positive I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” Colette said.
Chloe joined the Shwetz family at six months old after being rescued from another home that, according to the couple, struggled to manage her stubborn personality.
“She’s not very peopley. She’s set in her own ways. Chloe only has like six friends, but when she trusts you, she is one thousand percent in. She loves really hard. She was leery of us when we first met, but I saw something in her. She saw something in me, too, and popped in the truck and off we went,” Colette said.
“I tell people that we saved her and she saved us right back.”
The effects of the attack have lingered long after the physical wounds healed. Joe says Chloe still suffers from anxiety and remains wary of going outside, while Colette has sought professional help to deal with the trauma of the ordeal.
Now, nearly a year after the attack, Chloe is being recognized for her bravery with induction into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame.
She is one of two Canadian animals being honoured in 2026, alongside Timber, an Australian shepherd from Nova Scotia who helped pull her owner from a frozen lake.
“Chloe and Timber now join a distinguished legacy of animals whose extraordinary actions have protected and saved the lives of the people they love,” Purina wrote in a press release. “Their stories serve as powerful reminders of the courage, loyalty and selflessness pets demonstrate every day, and of the extraordinary bond that connects Canadians with their companion animals.”
Colette says Chloe will receive free dog food for the year and a plaque in her honour.
“Chloe was nothing less than a hero. We’re so honoured that Chloe can be a part of such a great group of animals [in the Purina Hall of Fame],” Colette said.
