Not everyone gets to have a best dog like Bear and hardly anyone gets to have them for as long she and I had each other. I got Bear in September 1994 on a mountain biking trip with friends. As a tiny pup she not only looked like a bear cub but acted like one too. It wouldn't have mattered, my dad had a strange quirk of naming every dog he had Bear be it spaniel or a tiny little rat thing that we had once for a very short time. Rat thing had to go back and live with his birth family and that was good for all involved. Maybe my parents misunderstood that I had said I wanted a dog, not a tiny hairless little terrorist. We had a pretty good run with Schroeder (I got to name that one!) but lost our angel pup in a housefire. I managed to pretend to wait patiently from May to September while they rebuilt the house but about two days after we got the keys back, here I come with my new best friend. Man, I loved that dog. She slept with me most of her life and was a great spooner and didn't really have too many vile flatulence issues. She had big fuzzy ears that I could play with for hours. She traveled with me, usually in misery due to motion sickness but once we got somewhere she was dandy and ready to be spoiled by the hosts gift of longed for, but rarely received, table scraps. She was great with people and wicked with other dogs. She never had too much tolerance and tried to kill my Max pup once. She had a funny way of making me feel safe when we were alone and terrified of lawsuits and dogfights when other dogs were around. Every time I took her to the kennel I felt like yelling "Dead man walking!!!" as we went down the long corridor in the back that housed the incorrigibles with her lunging at every cage like Hannibal Lecter and barking the vicious mutt that she never was. She was always a wanderer until about three years ago. The onset of arthritis and blindness kept her close to the house and she could roam free as long as I had put out the all clear to the kids and dogs next door. Weirdest thing is, Bear kind of liked cats. She never bothered them and took it pretty well when Romeo would practically lay on her head. She used to give Lint rides around the house wrapped around her head. She was more gentle with Nicky than I would have imagined. I didn't let them get to close because in her old age she has gotten unpredictable. She startles easily since she can't see or hear very well, but she will sleep on the floor at the foot of Nicky's crib and wait for him to fall asleep and then wander into our room. She was my sweet and fuzzy best friend and I am going to miss her for a long, long time.
So long Bear Booger,
I'll see you soon!
Love, Mom
