The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials and neighborhood leaders in The Springs are now working together to prevent another dog from getting attacked and killed by a black bear.

The Callahans of Longwood say they followed FWC’s advice and honked a horn at a bear on their front porch Sunday to get it to go away.

However, the bear did not budge and in the process, their Yorkie ran out and got attacked and killed by the bear.

Austin Beeghly, a director on The Springs homeowner association board, says he has worked for months to try to get as many of his neighbors using bear-resistant trashcans as possible.

“We’re living with the bears and the bears are trying to live with us, and there’s been a serious problem with all of the interactions going on,” said Beeghly.

Beeghly says he paid full price for his own bear-proof trash can a while ago. But Seminole County government, with help from grants from FWC, is offering cans at a discount. Beeghly says the county was reluctant to offer discounted cans to his neighbors unless the entire neighborhood was required to use the cans.

“Then they said if we had a block of 10 houses they would give it to us, but we have questions, like what if it’s a vacant house or what if they already have a bear-proof trashcan,” said Beeghly.

Since the dog attack Sunday, Beeghly says FWC set up a bear trap and is citing homeowners who are carelessly leaving out bags of trash and other items that attract black bears. Beeghly says he will keep working on a plan to get more of the bear-proof cans in the neighborhood.

“It’s just about taking the steps moving forward to where there are no more interactions like that and nobody else has to go through what those poor owners had to go through,” said Beeghly.

FWC plans to meet with residents in The Springs Tuesday, Nov. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., to talk with them about a long-term plan to reduce problems with black bears.