My Bear Dog.

I thought it was about time to write about my best friend.
I've spent so much time and energy focused on my pregnancy and then Lily, of course, but I don't talk too much about Bear.

Bear came into my life in February of 1999. He was born in December of 1998 and came from a back yard breeder about 30 minutes from my house. He was advertised as "One male left!". I'm not sure why but this bothered me. I just didn't think that was a selling point and I felt like maybe that "one male left" was lonely.

I should back up a bit...At the time, I didn't know much about dogs, breeders, puppy mills, etc. I was 22 and a bit naive about how over populated the world is with unwanted dogs. The only experiences I had with owning my own dog was, once when I was 8, we got it from a puppy store, it got sick and died when it was 2, and then again when I was 19, in college, bought a Beagle from a back yard breeder, that I ended up giving up to a better home. A 700sq foot apartment was no place for a BEAGLE who needed to run. So, basically, all I knew is that I lived alone, I loved dogs and I also wanted some protection of sorts. My dad said, "you need to get a gun or a dog". A dog it was.

So, I got to visit this "one male left" house. The people owned the mom of the litter and bred her with a police dog down the street. There were 4 females in the litter, already spoken for, in a play pin out on these people's porch. Cute...but where is the male? "Oh, we leave him in the bathroom alone because he's big and clumsy. We didn't want him around the females." WHHATTTT?? Mean. I needed to rescue this pup.
The bathroom door opens and this comes bounding toward me:

Cutest dog I have ever seen. Clumsy, yes, but so cute, with HUGE paws. I was in love.
I named him Bear because the "breeders" thought he resembled a teddy bear, so that's what they called him. I thought it suited him.

Bear was so easy to train, well, with my dad's help :), and he was SO smart. His loyalty emerged immediately. Not an aggressive bone in his body, but he sure sounded mean right from the start. The vet said he would be a big dog, weighing 17lbs at 8 weeks old. He was certainly right. He stands realllly tall, about to my thigh, and he was about 105lbs in his healthiest years.

He loved to chew on rawhide, play ball, play frisbee, go on car rides, go to the beach (yet, hated the water and would literally bark at it), go on visits but most of all LOVES FOOD!

Here's a few pictures throughout the years...

About 3 months old.


A little over a year old.

3 years old.

9 years old.

Dog lovers know that there is nothing like the bond you share with "man's best friend". Absolutely nothing. I know people are thinking, "what about Lily and that bond?". Yes, true, but it's totally different. The bond with a dog is a friendship, an honest to God's true friendship, like no other.

Bear has seen me through my darkest days and the most beautiful days. There couldn't be a more true meaning of "for better or worse".
Bear has endured:

• 6 different houses.
• 2 ex's.
• My various mental states, due to being hormonal and emotional from the above mentioned ex's.
  
• 1 step dog with my ex.
• Various foster dogs.
• Surviving bloat, which only about 2-5% of dogs survive.
• Car trips to avoid hurricanes.
  
• A new baby in the house.

The list goes on and on....

Now, at almost 11 years old, he is a trooper. He is not in the best of health, battling arthritis, hip dysplasia and spinal mylopathy...but, his spirit remains the same somehow. He still thinks he can play, still loves the outside, loves his "gramps", loves Lily, and most of all... still stands by my side.

I know he won't be around for much longer. It just isn't in the cards, but I thank God for the years we've had. He is the best dog anyone could ever have. Honest to God, no other dog is better than Bear. Those of you that have met him know what I mean.

Thanks for being my best friend Bear dog. I'm not sure what I did to deserve you but thank you.

My friend Jessie took this picture in March and it's one of my favorites.