Monrovia Man Comes Face-To-Face With Bear Inside Home

MONROVIA (CBSLA.com) — A Monrovia man came face-to-face with a brown bear Wednesday afternoon inside his home.

The incident happened at a residence in the 800 block of Crescent Drive.

Justin Lee said he was in an upstairs bedroom when he heard his dog, Melo, cause a commotion.

"It was at the staircase and it was barking louder than I ever heard him bark before," he said.

Lee headed downstairs and saw the sliding door open and the doggy door ripped out.

He then made eye contact with a bear.

"I had a really awkward moment staring at the bear, super shocked, and then eventually the bear takes a few steps in…completely inside," he said.

Lee told CBS2's Rachel Kim that he took Melo and bolted upstairs, locked himself in his room and called 911.

As he waited for police to arrive, he looked out of his window and saw a second bear in his backyard.

Lee said he figured out why the bears made an unexpected visit: His mom's Chinese cooking.

"She made the lunch and left. But the windows were open and they just caught that scent," he said.

The homeowner said the hungry bears left quite a mess in the kitchen and even enjoyed Melo's food.

Authorities eventually scared the furry animals to the hillside by shooting bean bags.

Lee said he's used to bears being nearby, but he's going to make sure they stay outside of the home.

"The police gave us a lot of good advice and one thing is, this doggy door might work in a different city, but in this area, it's probably not a good move, so we're keeping this door shut," he said.