A Monrovia homeowner got the shock of her life Saturday morning when a seemingly sleepy bear made itself comfortable in her basement through a crawlspace.
Tina Herzog said her Ring doorbell camera alerted her of the furry visitor around 4:30 a.m. Having lived in the area for 40 years, Herzog said she's seen plenty of bears stroll through her neighborhood and even walk on her driveway, so she didn't think much of it. That nonchalance grew into concern when she noticed the animal walk deeper into her driveway and toward the side of her home.
"At daybreak, I went outside to look because my dog was going crazy in the house and I thought, ‘Oh no, I hope it’s not underneath the crawlspace,'" Herzog said. "When I saw that the crawlspace door was open, I just knew it was in there."
That's when the homeowner went down her basement and saw the bear nestled in the corner, dozing off. Herzog said she believes the bear intended to hibernate in her home
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“I thought, ‘Why me?’ I just couldn’t believe that out of all the houses in Monrovia, or the foothills, it chose my house," Herzog said. "I don’t know what the attraction was."
The homeowner said she tried banging on pots, pans and even a leaf blower to get the bear out. Ultimately, however, it was the stench of mothballs she threw toward the bear that made it scurry away.
"But now I know the key and my house still smells like mothballs," Herzog joked.
