Home Care In Granby, CT

GRANBY — Since barely surviving being mauled by a bear Aug. 23, Josh Ballard's dog, Evan, will not go near the pear trees in the yard of his Granby home.

Bad memories persist for both the dog and his owner.

"I don't know who has more PTSD, me or him," Ballard, 47, said Tuesday.

That evening about two weeks ago, Ballard had finished feeding his 40-pound, five-year-old companion and let the dog out so he could run around the fenced-in yard, chase squirrels and rabbits "and have a good old time," as he always does, Ballard said.

This time, however, the Vizsla-Pharaoh Hound mix ran right into a massive mother bear that had broken through a gate in the yard and was standing guard while her three cubs were up in a pear tree munching ripe fruit. The bear went after Evan, pinned the dog to a chain link fence and "was just mauling him," Ballard said. "The sounds were horrifying."

Ballard said he grabbed a strand of sleigh bells hanging on the back door, which Evan jingles when he wants to go out, and ran toward the scene, jangling the bells and screaming at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, the curious cubs had come down from the tree and were standing right next to him as he tried to scare away their fierce mother.

Granby is among Connecticut towns with the most human-bear conflicts, and Ballard said he sees several bears every week. This one, he said, was the biggest he had ever seen, far over the 300-pound upper weight limit for most female black bears.

Seeing her cubs next to the human who was shaking bells and screaming, the mother bear charged at him, Ballard said, and he barely had time to close a gate before the big animal crashed into it, busting the hinges. Evan was able to run back up onto the deck, and Ballard said he followed close behind and both bolted into the house.

The bear had punctured Evan's neck and back, Ballard said, but the extent of the wounds were evident only after the dog was shaved at an emergency animal hospital. Ballard, an engineering product manager for a medical device manufacturer, said staff at the hospital told him he should prepare to say goodbye, and when he left late that night, he thought his beloved pooch was a goner.

But Evan fought through, had surgery and now is on the mend, Ballard said.

"His neck is still damaged, so I can't put a collar on him and take him for a walk, but he's got his energy back," Ballard said.

Now, before he lets the dog out, Ballard said he surveys the yard thoroughly to make sure the big mother bear is nowhere around.

Avon's Playhouse 44 this Saturday, Aug. 23, is hosting two shows of its latest original production, 'First You Smile.'

Playhouse 44

AVON, CT — A popular, Avon-based theater group is back in action this weekend with its second full theatrical show.

Playhouse 44, which has had an exceedingly busy debut year (one play, two storytelling nights, two concerts, and one corporate event) is returning to the stage with its second theatrical production.

It's an original revue called "First You Smile: Explorations on Love, Laughter, and Loose Ends."

There will be two performances on Saturday, Aug. 23, at Avon High School, 510 W. Avon Road, Avon, at 2 and 7 p.m.

"There are several elements that give First You Smile a measure of distinction," wrote founder and Playhouse 44 publicist Joel Samberg.

"First, although it’s an entirely original production, there are scenes and characters that will be familiar to most audience members — and fun to see."

He said Playhouse 44 is using a diverse group of performers that include four actors making their stage debuts, and others who have more than a half-century each of theater experience.

Also, the age range of the cast spans decades — mid-20s to mid-70s, Samberg said.

"One of Playhouse 44's goals has always been to provide opportunities to those who wish to explore their creativity, even if they have never done so before," he said.

According to Samberg, one of the goals of Playhouse 44, which only formed a couple of years ago, is to make all events affordable "so that no one is excluded from being entertained."

Tickets for "First You Smile" are just $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased online at https://playhouse44.org/first-you-smile/ or at the door.

Granby resident Josh Ballard and his 5-year-old dog Evan are an inseparable pair, but after a surprise bear attack last month, he said he is grateful that they are both alive.

The attack occurred on Aug. 25, after Ballard let Evan outside in the backyard of his Granby home.

“I let him out the back deck where he usually runs around the pool before coming back in,” Ballard said. “When he went out, I noticed this giant bear right in the path where he normally runs and her cubs were up in my pear tree. Unfortunately, I don’t think he saw the bear until it was too late. The sounds were just horrifying. I had about a second to react.”

Ballard said quick thinking took over and he grabbed the bells on his door and began making loud noises.

“By some luck, I happened to be right next to her cubs when I opened the door on the other side, and the bear turned to look at me and began to charge at me, which was absolutely terrifying. The bear was massive, probably at least 600 pounds. So to see the bear going from 30 feet to 3 feet felt like an eye blink, she was right in front of me. She was clearly trying to defend her cubs.”

Ballard said that he was able to shut the gate that surrounds his deck just in time for the bear to crash into it. Evan, a Vizsla and Pharaoh Hound mix, was able to run back inside the house despite his extensive injuries.

“He’s an amazing dog, we’re kindred spirits,” Ballard said. “He’s my best friend and we’re together all the time. We go hiking a lot and take walks a lot and it’s been tough on both of us to not be able to do that right now. It was a real blow to hear I might have had to say goodbye to him. So I’m just so grateful that he’s alive and recovering.”

Ballard said that Evan had to have emergency surgery on several puncture wounds to his throat, windpipe, legs and chest.

“Thankfully the bear missed his heart by an inch, despite the puncture wounds being deep in his chest,” Ballard said.

“He did need tubes for draining after the surgery in his neck and one tube next to his heart. He can’t really bark still because his windpipes are damaged. But he’s healing really well and it’s a miracle that he has no broken bones or more serious injuries. He’s projected to make a full recovery, but it will be a long road ahead.”

Bear sightings and interactions are becoming more frequent in Connecticut, such as recently when a black bear and her three cubs entered a Granby home, took some food items and departed, according to the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

Those bears left the home on their own, but after a black bear slashed a Connecticut man’s chest as he was walking his dog in North Canaan recently, the debate over bear hunting in the state once again heated up.

Officials with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said they responded to a report of a bear attack that occurred in North Canaan last month when a man came between the bear and his dog with cubs present on his property.

In June, a woman named Kayleigh Roy said she used her water bottle to fend off a bear from attacking her dog Phoenix on a trail near Talcott Mountain.

The number of bear sightings reached 159 out of the state’s 169 towns and cities last year, according to the 2025 “The State of the Bears,” a DEEP publication that tracks their growth.

A GoFundMe page has been launched for Evan to help raise money for the veterinary bills.

“This is more about letting other people know to be extra careful when putting their pets outside or letting their kids play in the backyard. I am super vigilant now about it,” Ballard said. “There are so many bears in the state now. It’s always a good idea to be cautious.”

Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected].

Kristin Garcia had just flown back to Connecticut from Seattle where her son, Brandyn, had made his major-league debut with the Mariners.

No sooner had she arrived back at her Granby home, however, than the news came that her son had been traded. Brandyn, a 6-foot-4 lefthander, was dealt to Arizona as part of the deal that brought Josh Naylor to the Mariners. No, Kristin Garcia didn't hop back on a plane for Pittsburgh, where the Diamondbacks were playing. It all happened too quickly.

But Brandyn's travel plans were hardly through. After about a week with the Diamondbacks and appearances in Pittsburgh and Detroit, he was sent down to Triple-A Reno, where he's been since Aug. 1. It's all been part of a whirlwind season for Garcia, 25, who began with the Mariners' Double-A affiliate in Arkansas, got promoted to Triple-A Tacoma on June 24, called up to Seattle on July 21 and traded three days later.

"Everything has been really crazy the last few weeks," he said recently by phone. "But it's everything I've wanted, so it's good."

Indeed, a player can only make his major-league debut once, and Garcia did so that July 21 against Milwaukee. With his mom, sister, fiancee, agent and members of his summer-ball host family at Seattle's T-Mobile Park, Garcia came on in the eighth inning and gave up four hits and an earned run. Two nights later, he bounced back with a hitless inning of relief against the Brewers.

"That was really exciting," he recalled. "Obviously, I've been working towards that since I was a kid in Connecticut. It's been crazy. It was good for my family to go out there and experience it, too. That's something I'll never forget."

The next day, he was traded to the Diamondbacks.

"It was really cool and really fun being able to experience the Mariners," said Garcia, an 11th-round pick by the organization in 2023. "That's something I'll forever be grateful for. They developed me out of college and helped me get to the level where I was at."

But, the way Garcia sees it, "The Diamondbacks wanted me more than the Mariners wanted to keep me. And that says a lot. It's something I'm really, really excited to have the opportunity for."

Garcia, 25, pitched a hitless inning of relief in his Diamondback debut on July 27. Two night later in Detroit, however, he got hit hard (four hits, three runs in just 1/3 of an inning) and was soon sent to Reno.

Born in Newport, R.I., Garcia's family moved to Granby when he was 5 and he grew up there, attending elementary and middle schools and his freshman year at Granby Memorial.

After that, he enrolled at the Masters School, the small, Christian school in Simsbury, to play alongside the Northeast Dragons travel ball players he'd been teammates with since age 9. His dynamic left arm got him recruited to Quinnipiac, where he spent three years, going 5-13 with a 6.09 ERA, but striking out 121 batters in 105 innings.

"I look back at that and never, ever regret going there out of high school," Garcia said. "Those three years I developed as a person and as a baseball player so much. It's something I look back on as my big 'flip-the-switch' years."

Switch flipped, Garcia transferred to Texas A&M for his final season of college ball. Once again, his statistics weren't mind-blowing (3-3, 5.56 ERA in 27 relief outings) but the flashes of dominance were there: 56 K's in 43 2/3 innings and a .213 batting average against.

"I finally decided that it was baseball, baseball, baseball," he said of his one year at A&M. "That's what I needed to commit to if I wanted to accomplish my dreams."

Garcia made nine relief outings across two levels after being drafted in 2023, then pitched almost exclusively as a starter last season. And he pitched great, going 6-2 with a 2.25 ERA and striking out 134 in 116 innings between High-A Everett and Arkansas. But in the offseason, he sat down with Mariners' brass and mapped out his future.

With the Mariners boasting one of the top starting rotations in Major League Baseball, the decision was made to put Garcia back in the bullpen to start this season.

"They basically told me that my chances of being a starter and sticking as a starter in the Mariners' system was really, really low, just because of how good they are," he recalled. "They said, 'You have a chance to come be a bullpen arm and make a big impact this year.'"

That was all Garcia needed to hear to be down with the decision.

"My goal is to play in the big leagues, it wasn't to be a starter or a reliever," he noted. "Whatever you guys think gives me a chance to do that, that's what I'm down for."

Now, Garcia is in a different organization, at Triple-A Reno, where batters are hitting just .148 against him and he's notched 11 strikeouts in eight innings of relief. He's trying to get more innings under his belt so he can go into the offseason with more options, if he wants to consider going back to being a starter.

"To be able to throw more innings here is going to be good because it refines command, gets me more reps, rather than just going one inning, and being able to go full-tilt next year in spring training," he said. "If I stay here for the rest of the year and get the chance to stay up there longer next year, that's what I'm willing to do."

Dave Borges is a sports reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. An award-winning journalist, Dave has covered the UConn men's basketball team since 2007, including coverage of five Final Fours and four national championships (2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024). He has been an Associated Press Top 25 poll voter since 2009 and was named NSMA Connecticut Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. Dave has authored two books, "Rebound: The Incredible Story of UConn Basketball's Comeback from Defeat to Dominance," and "Images of Baseball: The Pawtucket Red Sox." He also covers baseball and was a beat writer chronicling the 2004 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox. Dave has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2014.