Coquitlam family snoozes through ‘bear and enter’ as pair of bruins break into car, garage

A Coquitlam family had a rude awakening earlier this week after a very unusual break and enter.

It happened just before 3 a.m., Thursday, in a residential neighbourhood near Westwood Plateau.

The culprits? A pair of black bears.

And while the curious and hungry bruins made plenty of noise, Sean McQuillan said his entire family, including a pair of usually excitable pugs, slept through the entire thing.

“The bear managed to open my driver side door and rummage through the car causing bear-like damage,” McQuillan wrote on Twitter.

They also managed to open the family’s garage door, where they found stored trash “and had the feast of 1,000 toddler leftovers.”

“I’m talking half-eaten sandwiches, bell peppers, cracker crumbles, diapers – you name it, this bear was in heaven at 2:50 a.m.”

While the McQuillans slept blissfully through the assault on their car, garage, and trash — the commotion woke the neighbours, who tried unsuccessfully to call the family and wake them.

Three RCMP cruisers responded, but by the time they arrived, the bears had moved on.

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“The police now begin calling — unconvinced a bear was smart enough to break into our vehicle, despite the bear-like damage to my son’s car seat,” McQuillan wrote.

“Now to find out if ICBC covers bear.”

1:20 Black bear trashes truck in Coquitlam

The BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) confirmed a pair of bears were reported at the home, but said both were gone by the time officers responded.

The COS said it will investigate to see if education or enforcement is needed to prevent future incidents, and used the incident to remind people to ensure there are no potential attractants around their homes that could be enticing to a bear.

McQuillan said this week’s “bear-glury” wasn’t the first time the family had bears visit.

“This is actually the second time we’ve seen bears in two weeks,” he told Global News.

“My wife had opened the front door to a mama bear and a cub on our doorstep and screamed — the bear calmly grabbed her cub and walked away.”