I remember the day I met her. First, a friend of mine in college (knew her through Newman) mentioned how their foster dog had babies and there was one left that needed to go to a home. I figured, I was "on my own" so why not go check out this puppy and see if I wanted to bring her home. This was in April of 1996 and my 22nd birthday was coming up too. So...a nice present to myself also.
I had prayed all my life for a dog. For some reason, I just have loved dogs so much in my life. Never did get one growing up (except one, we had her about a week but my mom just didn't think we could keep her so she went back to her foster home).
Okay, it was a Wednesday evening and I arranged to go to my friend's (Kathy) house to see this puppy. We headed there after the Newman meeting. This puppy was so cute! I remember she was so scared and just sat under the coffee table (yes she was that small). I did want her and mentioned bringing my roommates back to see her. (I shared an apartment with Tricia and Leanne.)
I mentioned this puppy to Tricia and Leanne. We all decided before making a quick decision on getting a dog, that we would go check out other options at the animal shelter. So that is what we did on a Saturday (the Saturday before my 22nd birthday, April 22, 1996). We found a very cute puppy at the shelter (man it was hard seeing those dogs at the shelter). But I wanted them to see this other puppy before deciding which one to take home. So we heading to Kathy's. "Bear" was outside (I think someone was holding her). Tricia and Leanne both said, "oh, she is the one." So we brought her home. And she became Bear.
Bear was so timid that first day. I remember she sat next to the patio door and let out a bark.We all said sternly "no" since we were in an apartment and didn't want to disturb the neighbors.
I won't go through every single detail of her life (or this would become a novel) but I'll try to touch on the highlights.
I remember house training her. I knew little to nothing about how to proceed. But my process was to just take her outside every couple of hours to go to the bathroom. And I gave her treats. I also repeated her name so much so she would learn it. I remember when she did acknowledge me after I said her name...she was a smart dog and caught on quick. I also remember when Bear "asked" to go outside. I was in the bathroom getting ready and she sat at the doorway, looked up at me and let out a little whimper. Her eyes said, I got to pee now, if I don't, I'll have an accident. After that, she was trained.
She had to go to another friend's house for a little while because technically we were not allowed to have dogs in the apartment. I went to visit her there. After that, she kept trying to escape from their backyard. She was quite the escape artist. And I believe that is also where she picked up her separation anxiety issues.
Speaking of separation anxiety...Bear was destructive. She chewed everything. My wallet and it's contents, walls, door frames, boxed springs, clothes, you name it, she chewed it. My parents had to replace a door frame in their house because of her chewing.
Bear hated her crate. Not much more to say about that. I trained her to stay in her crate when no one was home. Then, I slowly started to let her out of the crate when no one was home. She then spent half the day in my bedroom with the door closed. Then as life went on, she started scratching at the door...obviously wanting to get out. So after that, she had full freedom of the house (I was in my townhouse by then).
I remember how she would sit at the top of my parents' stairs and watch the world go by outside. She was a quiet dog by nature but she did bark a lot when I lived in their house...they had a lot of wildlife outside their home. And if anyone thought of trying to break in...her bark would make them think twice.
I remember how she would cock her head to one side when you talked to her. She just looked so cute. And she had the cutest, "I didn't do it" look too.
She smiled all the time.
She loved walks. And always had to be in the front. She was the leader.
I remember trying to train her to run with me. Her idea of running was: sprint...oh a smell...sprint...oh a smell.
She loved chasing squirrels (and anything that moved) outside.
I remember walking her one day and there was a statues of a squirrel hanging out under a mushroom in someone's yard, and it scared Bear (this was in Meadowmont).
I remember how excited she would get on those weekend mornings that we went on our long walks. She knew when it was Saturday. And when I put my tennis shoes on, she jumped and ran and jumped and ran all over the house. So excited to go on a walk.
Oh and she loved Duke Forest. We'd be driving there and as we got closer, she stand up in the car and look out the window with anticipation.
She hated the water but soon loved to cool down in it during the hot NC summers.
Oh and she shed like crazy.
I always wanted to enter her into a dog show (they really should have one for mutts). Everyone we saw didn't just say she was cute, they said she was "beautiful."
She never met an enemy (dog, cat, or person). Although I always said, if she went up against a cat, the cat would win...Bear just always wanted to play.
I remember taking her to to the dog park. One of the times, a few dogs had grabbed a stick and were all holding onto it and walking around (obviously each one was hoping the other would drop the stick). Anyway, Bear ran up to the group and grabbed the stick from the other side (so she was facing the other dogs). It was so cute and everyone laughed.
The husky came out in her when she would "sing." And sometimes it sounded so pitiful.
I remember her greeting me when I would come home from work.
Our walks with Byron. She liked Byron.
When she played with her friend D'Von.
She loved the snow.
When Mike and I took her to Pilot mountain and we hiked all day. Then the next day we went to Duke Forest and walked the 3.1 mile trail. I had never seen Bear so tired, she slept the rest of the day.
She loved doggie daycare: Camp Bow Wow and towards the end she went to Doggie Village.
She loved licking the sweat off my legs after I went running. When I lived with Ann Marie, Ann Marie mentioned once that Bear seemed to prefer running sweat verses any other kind because she came home once from working out and Bear wanted nothing to do with her sweat.
I remember when Mike taught Bear the game "which hand." He put a ball in one of his hands and had Bear guess which hand the ball was in. It was so cute to watch her lift her paw up to point at the hand.
I remember how she would warm up the bed before I got into it at night. I swore I was not going to let my dog sleep in the bed with me but the first time she did it...oh, her face...it was too cute...and from then on, she slept in the bed with me.
I remember one time when the DeVoe's were visiting at my parents' house and Marti brought her dog Statler. I had heard that Statler would howl when given a dog biscit (Bear never howled. Now she "sang" like huskies and she barked on occasion but she never howled). And I had never heard Statler howl. So we gave both dogs a biscit and what did Statler do, he started howling. Bear took one look at him and proceeded to pucker up her lips and howl. It was too funny.
Her favorite food/treat was cheese.
She was a happy dog when Clara started eating solids.
Clara was so good with Bear and Bear was so good with Clara. If Clara started to annoy Bear, Bear would give me a look like, why are you letting her do this to me.
It sucked that Bear could not hear Clara (Bear went deaf while I was pregnant). Clara talked to Bear and about Bear constantly and always expressed her love for Bear through words and actions.
She looked like a puppy. Even at the age of 16 folks thought she was a puppy and were surprised to hear her age (I want to age like my dog :) ).
I remember running around in circles chasing Bear in my parents' house. She had the perfect amount of energy for someone like me. We were a perfect match. I couldn't of asked for a better dog.
I wanted her to be part of my wedding but the Catholic Church does not allow stuff like that (pretty strict "rules" when getting married in the Catholic Church). They really should rethink their rules.
She loved squeaky toys and her idea of playing fetch was: chasing the ball after it was thrown and then making you chase her with the ball (so it ended up being more like a keep away game).
When she played with her toys, she'd pick them up in her mouth and shake them frantically around. It was so cute.
To get your attention, she'd tap you on the shin with her wet nose.
I loved her face! I loved her paws! I loved the red highlights in her fur (yes when the sun shined just right on her fur, she showed off her red fur). My favorite part of her was the white spot underneath her chin/down her neck.
Like every dog, she loved belly rubs. And she would always get in the weirdest positions for her naps.
16 years. It hit me that she has been part of my life for most of my life. All my memories include Bear. I know in time, my life will go on and new memories will be made without her. But I miss her now. I know she was just a dog, but this is hard. I love you Bear-forever.
I had prayed all my life for a dog. For some reason, I just have loved dogs so much in my life. Never did get one growing up (except one, we had her about a week but my mom just didn't think we could keep her so she went back to her foster home).
Okay, it was a Wednesday evening and I arranged to go to my friend's (Kathy) house to see this puppy. We headed there after the Newman meeting. This puppy was so cute! I remember she was so scared and just sat under the coffee table (yes she was that small). I did want her and mentioned bringing my roommates back to see her. (I shared an apartment with Tricia and Leanne.)
I mentioned this puppy to Tricia and Leanne. We all decided before making a quick decision on getting a dog, that we would go check out other options at the animal shelter. So that is what we did on a Saturday (the Saturday before my 22nd birthday, April 22, 1996). We found a very cute puppy at the shelter (man it was hard seeing those dogs at the shelter). But I wanted them to see this other puppy before deciding which one to take home. So we heading to Kathy's. "Bear" was outside (I think someone was holding her). Tricia and Leanne both said, "oh, she is the one." So we brought her home. And she became Bear.
Bear was so timid that first day. I remember she sat next to the patio door and let out a bark.We all said sternly "no" since we were in an apartment and didn't want to disturb the neighbors.
I won't go through every single detail of her life (or this would become a novel) but I'll try to touch on the highlights.
I remember house training her. I knew little to nothing about how to proceed. But my process was to just take her outside every couple of hours to go to the bathroom. And I gave her treats. I also repeated her name so much so she would learn it. I remember when she did acknowledge me after I said her name...she was a smart dog and caught on quick. I also remember when Bear "asked" to go outside. I was in the bathroom getting ready and she sat at the doorway, looked up at me and let out a little whimper. Her eyes said, I got to pee now, if I don't, I'll have an accident. After that, she was trained.
She had to go to another friend's house for a little while because technically we were not allowed to have dogs in the apartment. I went to visit her there. After that, she kept trying to escape from their backyard. She was quite the escape artist. And I believe that is also where she picked up her separation anxiety issues.
Speaking of separation anxiety...Bear was destructive. She chewed everything. My wallet and it's contents, walls, door frames, boxed springs, clothes, you name it, she chewed it. My parents had to replace a door frame in their house because of her chewing.
Bear hated her crate. Not much more to say about that. I trained her to stay in her crate when no one was home. Then, I slowly started to let her out of the crate when no one was home. She then spent half the day in my bedroom with the door closed. Then as life went on, she started scratching at the door...obviously wanting to get out. So after that, she had full freedom of the house (I was in my townhouse by then).
I remember how she would sit at the top of my parents' stairs and watch the world go by outside. She was a quiet dog by nature but she did bark a lot when I lived in their house...they had a lot of wildlife outside their home. And if anyone thought of trying to break in...her bark would make them think twice.
I remember how she would cock her head to one side when you talked to her. She just looked so cute. And she had the cutest, "I didn't do it" look too.
She smiled all the time.
She loved walks. And always had to be in the front. She was the leader.
I remember trying to train her to run with me. Her idea of running was: sprint...oh a smell...sprint...oh a smell.
She loved chasing squirrels (and anything that moved) outside.
I remember walking her one day and there was a statues of a squirrel hanging out under a mushroom in someone's yard, and it scared Bear (this was in Meadowmont).
I remember how excited she would get on those weekend mornings that we went on our long walks. She knew when it was Saturday. And when I put my tennis shoes on, she jumped and ran and jumped and ran all over the house. So excited to go on a walk.
Oh and she loved Duke Forest. We'd be driving there and as we got closer, she stand up in the car and look out the window with anticipation.
She hated the water but soon loved to cool down in it during the hot NC summers.
Oh and she shed like crazy.
I always wanted to enter her into a dog show (they really should have one for mutts). Everyone we saw didn't just say she was cute, they said she was "beautiful."
She never met an enemy (dog, cat, or person). Although I always said, if she went up against a cat, the cat would win...Bear just always wanted to play.
I remember taking her to to the dog park. One of the times, a few dogs had grabbed a stick and were all holding onto it and walking around (obviously each one was hoping the other would drop the stick). Anyway, Bear ran up to the group and grabbed the stick from the other side (so she was facing the other dogs). It was so cute and everyone laughed.
The husky came out in her when she would "sing." And sometimes it sounded so pitiful.
I remember her greeting me when I would come home from work.
Our walks with Byron. She liked Byron.
When she played with her friend D'Von.
She loved the snow.
When Mike and I took her to Pilot mountain and we hiked all day. Then the next day we went to Duke Forest and walked the 3.1 mile trail. I had never seen Bear so tired, she slept the rest of the day.
She loved doggie daycare: Camp Bow Wow and towards the end she went to Doggie Village.
She loved licking the sweat off my legs after I went running. When I lived with Ann Marie, Ann Marie mentioned once that Bear seemed to prefer running sweat verses any other kind because she came home once from working out and Bear wanted nothing to do with her sweat.
I remember when Mike taught Bear the game "which hand." He put a ball in one of his hands and had Bear guess which hand the ball was in. It was so cute to watch her lift her paw up to point at the hand.
I remember how she would warm up the bed before I got into it at night. I swore I was not going to let my dog sleep in the bed with me but the first time she did it...oh, her face...it was too cute...and from then on, she slept in the bed with me.
I remember one time when the DeVoe's were visiting at my parents' house and Marti brought her dog Statler. I had heard that Statler would howl when given a dog biscit (Bear never howled. Now she "sang" like huskies and she barked on occasion but she never howled). And I had never heard Statler howl. So we gave both dogs a biscit and what did Statler do, he started howling. Bear took one look at him and proceeded to pucker up her lips and howl. It was too funny.
Her favorite food/treat was cheese.
She was a happy dog when Clara started eating solids.
Clara was so good with Bear and Bear was so good with Clara. If Clara started to annoy Bear, Bear would give me a look like, why are you letting her do this to me.
It sucked that Bear could not hear Clara (Bear went deaf while I was pregnant). Clara talked to Bear and about Bear constantly and always expressed her love for Bear through words and actions.
She looked like a puppy. Even at the age of 16 folks thought she was a puppy and were surprised to hear her age (I want to age like my dog :) ).
I remember running around in circles chasing Bear in my parents' house. She had the perfect amount of energy for someone like me. We were a perfect match. I couldn't of asked for a better dog.
I wanted her to be part of my wedding but the Catholic Church does not allow stuff like that (pretty strict "rules" when getting married in the Catholic Church). They really should rethink their rules.
She loved squeaky toys and her idea of playing fetch was: chasing the ball after it was thrown and then making you chase her with the ball (so it ended up being more like a keep away game).
When she played with her toys, she'd pick them up in her mouth and shake them frantically around. It was so cute.
To get your attention, she'd tap you on the shin with her wet nose.
I loved her face! I loved her paws! I loved the red highlights in her fur (yes when the sun shined just right on her fur, she showed off her red fur). My favorite part of her was the white spot underneath her chin/down her neck.
Like every dog, she loved belly rubs. And she would always get in the weirdest positions for her naps.
16 years. It hit me that she has been part of my life for most of my life. All my memories include Bear. I know in time, my life will go on and new memories will be made without her. But I miss her now. I know she was just a dog, but this is hard. I love you Bear-forever.
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