“The Snake at the Door & the Bear on the Porch: A Tale of Two Wild Encounters”
On a quiet Thursday evening in the foothills of Colorado Springs, two neighbors—Scott Dunley and Chad Emerson—learned that nature doesn’t always knock before coming in. What began as an ordinary day turned into a story they'll be retelling for years: one involving a huge snake, an unexpected bear, and a home security system that did more than just guard the door.
A Slithering Surprise
Scott Dunley had always considered himself a man of the outdoors. He was no stranger to deer wandering into his backyard or raccoons knocking over trash bins. But nothing could have prepared him for what he found on his front porch that morning.
“It was early—maybe 7:30 AM. I opened the door like any other day to let some fresh air in,” Scott recalled. “And there it was. Coiled right on the welcome mat—a huge snake, easily six feet long.”
Scott froze. The snake, a thick-bodied bullsnake, wasn’t venomous, but that didn’t make it any less alarming.
“It was looking right at me, like it was waiting to be let in,” Scott said with a nervous laugh. “I didn’t even step out. I slammed the door so fast, my coffee almost went flying.”
Uncertain of what to do next, Scott quickly called animal control, who estimated it had slithered in from the nearby open fields looking for warmth or food.
“I’m just glad I didn’t step on it. It blended in with the mat,” Scott said. “It could’ve gone so wrong.”
The event gave his entire neighborhood something to talk about. Photos of the snake coiled patiently at the doorstep made their way around social media. “The thing looked like it had a mission,” one neighbor commented. Another joked, “It was just trying to deliver your Amazon package.”
While Scott managed to avoid a dangerous face-to-face, across the street, his neighbor Chad had a story that made the snake seem tame.
The Bear Caught on Camera
Later that same evening, Chad Emerson and his best friend Mike returned home from a late dinner. As they pulled into Chad’s driveway, something felt…off.
“My dog, Rusty, had been barking inside like crazy,” Chad said. “That’s not unusual, but it was the kind of bark that says, ‘Don’t come in here.’”
Chad had recently installed a Ring doorbell system after several package thefts in the area. Just before getting out of the car, he checked the live feed.
“I’m so glad I did,” he said. “Right there on the porch, sniffing the doormat—was a bear.”
Not just any bear—a large black bear, likely an adult male, inspecting the front door as if it was looking for dinner.
“I nearly opened the door without checking. If I had, I would’ve been three feet away from it,” Chad said. “It’s not something you expect in a suburban neighborhood.”
The two friends quickly backed out of the driveway and called wildlife control, who advised them to wait it out. Bears, they explained, sometimes wandered into residential areas drawn by the scent of garbage, pet food, or even bird seed.
What makes the story even more heart-pounding is the reaction of Rusty, the family dog. Inside the house, Rusty continued barking furiously, likely scaring the bear just enough to prevent it from trying to push through.
“He’s a small shepherd mix,” Chad said, “but that night, he sounded like a lion. We owe him a steak dinner.”
The bear eventually wandered off, but not before Chad captured crystal-clear footage on his Ring camera. The video, posted online the next day, went viral. Comments ranged from amused to amazed.
“You dodged a bear like it was a bad date,” one user wrote.
Others praised the technology. “This is why I check my doorbell cam before I go outside,” another posted.
Unexpected Lessons
Both men, though shaken by their encounters, came away with newfound respect for the unpredictable dance between human life and the wild.
“You hear about these things happening, but you never think it'll be you,” said Scott. “I’m just glad the snake didn’t end up inside.”
Chad echoed the sentiment. “Technology saved me from walking into a bear hug. I’ll never take that little camera for granted again.”
Wildlife experts later confirmed that both animals—though startling—acted naturally and were not behaving aggressively. The snake was relocated safely, and the bear was tracked and encouraged back into the forest.
“The important thing is that no one was hurt—human or animal,” said Colorado Parks & Wildlife spokesperson Jenna Rowley. “But it’s a good reminder: we live near wild spaces. Sometimes, nature comes knocking.”
The Power of Community
In the days that followed, neighbors bonded over the events. Some even installed security cameras of their own. Others shared their own close calls—bobcats in backyards, raccoons in kitchens, and even a curious moose wandering through a garden last fall.
“What started as two frightening experiences turned into something that brought our neighborhood closer,” Chad said. “We check in on each other a bit more now.”
Scott agreed. “And we all double-check the porch before opening the door.”
A Tale Worth Telling
The snake at Scott’s door and the bear on Chad’s porch may seem like rare events, but to them, the encounters were reminders of coexistence—of nature’s quiet presence just outside our walls.
“It’s humbling,” Scott said. “You realize how thin the boundary is between our world and theirs.”
For Chad, it’s a story that still feels surreal. “It was like National Geographic met Ring,” he joked. “But I’ll take the alert over a bear hug any day.”