Tragic story and those blaming the victim for not carrying bear spray should be ashamed.
My guess is the dogs got a momma bear riled up and were a contributing factor.
My wife was picking fiddle heads one spring below our house, coonhound was along. She heard a ruckus ahead and assume it was some deer moving out when the dog ran to her with an angry bear on its heels. She turned and ran out to the quad at the field edge all the time thinking āI probably shouldnāt be runningā and expecting the worst. She cleared a huge deadfall that would take me 5 minutes to pick through, doesnāt remember if she went over, under or through.
That same dog would get my cows chasing it and then run to me and stand between my legs.
To summarize, people get a sense of security if the dogs along, donāt.