Amazing is right. The man was very fortunate.
: Black bears are actually more dangerous than grizzlies, in that most black bear attacks, started from protection of food, young or territory, turn predatory during the attack. This means the bear decides you are on the menue. Disney has done more harm than can be imagined. They are not the clowns of the forest, furry friends or non dangerous. All bears are omniverous, meaning they eat both vegitation and meat.
: This bear may have been protecting territory, or merely thought it could handle the man and dog. They wre lucky hit was a small bear, less than 200 pounds. The area the man was canoeing in, has black bears running up to 450 pounds.
; The bear-course I attended as part of my forestry training, taught us a 12 bore loaded with slugs is the best pretection and if one cannot be carried, then a knife with a minimum of 8" of actual blade is recommended.
: A few years back, a local fellow (Vanderhoof, B.C.) managed to kill a female grizzly with his hunting knife, with only a short 5" or 6" blade. She attacked out of nowhere, but later, it was found she was protecting her current food supply, a dead moose she may have killed. He-too was most fortunate.