Since Tom Tilley and his dog Sam saved each other after a black bear attacked them, offers to help the duo have not stopped.

Late last week, the 55-year-old from Waterloo, Ont., battled with a 90-kilogram bear by jumping on its back, straddling it, and stabbing its neck with a knife after the bear attacked his dog.

Tom Tilley and his dog escaped the clutches of a vicious black bear while portaging near Wawa, Ont.
(Canadian Press)

Since he returned from the canoe trip, Tilley's phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from the media and from well-wishers.

Some of them have even called for Sam to be nominated for a canine hero award, while others offered to help pay for the dog's medical treatment, according to the Canadian Press.

Dog saved by own chubbiness

Both were bitten in the attack — which took place at Lake Abbey, near Wawa, Ont. — and are now recovering from their minor injuries at their home in Waterloo.

Tilley ended up with several stitches to his hand. The dog also suffered a few more wounds.

Sam 'thankfully had a little bit of a layer of fat on him.'-Tom Tilley, canoeist

Sam was wounded when the bear clamped its jaws across the dog's back, causing a few slashes, puncture wounds and a bit of ripped-off skin.

But he could have suffered more serious internal wounds if it hadn't been for his chubbiness, his owner says.

American Staffordshire terriers are usually a lean type of dog, but Sam "thankfully had a little bit of a layer of fat on him," said Tilley.

"The fat saved him from more serious damage," he said.

2005 bear attack inspired Tilley

In an interview with CBC Radio's Ontario Morning, Tilley explained how he did everything he thought was right when faced with a bear attack: making his frame as big as he could, making lots of noise, backing up slowly.

But in the end, it was his knife that likely saved the two.

"As soon as I saw the bear I unsheathed my knife right away just in case."

His canoe trip in northern Ontario was the first time he had carried the hunting knife.

The avid outdoorsman doesn't normally carry a large knife on his canoe trips, but bought a 15-centimetre hunting knife after hearing the story of Jacqueline Perry.

The 30-year-old woman was killed by a black bear that attacked her and her husband at a campsite in Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park in northern Ontario in 2005.

"Her husband told [me] the story of how he had tried to fend off the bear with a Swiss Army knife," said Tilley.

"So, I just felt at that time that in the extraordinarily rare case that I'd run into a predatory bear that I wanted to have something more substantial than a Swiss Army knife," he added.

Bears rarely attack humans, but there have been several attacks and killings in recent years.