Dog named Peyton Manning survives bear attack — and the quarterback calls to check in

In 2007’s Super Bowl XLI, the Indianapolis Colts survived a first-half attack from the Chicago Bears before Peyton Manning fueled a comeback victory.

This week, another Peyton Manning survived his own bear attack. The quarterback was aided in 2007 by his trusty running backs, while the other Peyton Manning was saved by his owner.

This Peyton Manning is a dog, whose owner saved him Monday from the jaw of a bear cub. Tim Stradling said his dog had to have one of his legs amputated following the attack, according to a Facebook post.

The bear attack happened Monday night as Stradling let his dog out before going to bed. Within seconds, he heard his little Peyton barking.

“Got out the door to see something run to the right, and on the left him hanging from the mouth of a bear screaming,” Stradling said on Facebook. “I started shouting and it turned to run away with him in its mouth. I charged it and got so close I thought, ‘Oh no.’

Stradling, a pastor at Armbrust Wesleyan Church in the Pittsburgh area, said he ran at the bear screaming, which led to the bear dropping Peyton. Stradling continued to scream at the bear and used a car for protection before it scurried away into the woods.

He described his actions as “all instinct and stupid courage,” according to KDKA.

Peyton was taken to an area animal hospital, where veterinarians discovered he had puncture wounds on his back and side of his neck, as well as a “mauled left front leg that was fractured,” Stradling said. Due to nerve damage in his toes, Peyton’s leg had to be amputated.

“It seems the bear got his leg pinned against his neck in the bite,” Stradling wrote. “I’m believing that saved him from a full neck bite that would have punctured an artery or broke his neck. A small, broken, bloody miracle, but a miracle all the same.”

Stradling went to college at Indiana Wesleyan University and was formerly a pastor in Indiana, so he was quite familiar with the voice of the man who called him Thursday.

It was Peyton Manning — the quarterback.

Stradling said he had a 10-minute conversation with the former Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback, who asked the pastor about his dog and how he was doing.

“He said, ‘This is Peyton Manning.’ And I said, ‘Yes it is, your voice is so recognizable,’” Stradling wrote on Facebook.

When the call ended, Stradling told the future Hall of Fame quarterback he loves him — just as most Colts fan would.

Peyton Manning is known as a dog lover. In 2018. he adopted a two-pound puppy that had been abused, according to the Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi.

This story was originally published April 9, 2021 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Dog named Peyton Manning survives bear attack — and the quarterback calls to check in."