Susan Hatkins Kehoe, a bear activist from Vernon, New Jersey, shows off the wild bear she befriended, who nudged open her door one day to look around inside. Susan urged the furry friend to “close the door,” and he did.
Now, her bear buddy repeats the neat trick on a regular basis. It’s become a tradition. She leaves her front door open for the bear; he takes a step inside, looks around the house, then at her behest the bear, whom she’s dubbed “Mr. Doorman,” closes it using his mouth on his way out.
Susan also calls him “Honey,” “Hon” for short, sometimes.
She doesn’t recommend others follow her example.
“Will you be a good bear? Close the door for me Hon,” she is heard saying in a video she captured of the jaw-dropping moment. “Close the door, close the door. Who’s my good boy?”
The knee-wobbling, yet adorable, game she plays with the bear has garnered her fame. She’s become a hit on social media and been interviewed by major news outlets.
Susan has been pushing back against bear hunting for years. She and her family have become so comfortable around local bears around her house that, one day, a neighbor momma bear even dropped off her three cubs on their front porch; the idea being, she knows they’re safe with Susan to babysit.
