[chris]

A Bellevue city councilman lost his left eye and suffered severe head and facial injuries when a black bear attacked him outside his family's vacation cabin at Lake Wenatchee, in central Washington, according to news reports and state wildlife officials.

John Chelminiak, 57, had taken his dogs out on the evening of Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, when the bear rushed him from the brush near the property, The Seattle Times reported. He wrestled with the animal as it bit and clawed him and fought his way back toward the house. He later recalled the attack to reporters, saying, "I vividly remember being bitten on the head and the sound that makes as her teeth were going into my head."

His wife, Lynn Semler, called 911 at 8:33 p.m. and begged the dispatcher to send help. "There's a bear up here. Please help me," she said, according to CBS News, which obtained the recording. She told the operator her husband's head was "all bashed in," and Chelminiak could be heard in the background saying, "I'm dying."

Chelminiak was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Doctors removed his left eye, and portions of his face and scalp had been torn loose, according to the Spokesman-Review. He underwent several surgeries over the following weeks, and one of his surgeons said he was expected to recover fully apart from the vision loss.

Agents with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife tracked and killed the bear within hours of the attack. Officials identified it as a female black bear weighing about 148 pounds that was older and in poor condition. Wildlife managers said such attacks on people in the area were extremely rare.

Chelminiak, first elected to the council in 2003, returned to his duties by telephone about a month after the mauling. He later appeared at a council meeting in person wearing an eye patch and a cap over his stitches, drawing applause from colleagues.