Bear was a bounce who ended up at Grey Haven. His humans had gotten divorced and he had gone with his Mom out west and then ended up back in Florida with his Dad. His Dad worked 16 hour shifts and didn't have time for him so he gave him up.
I was down visiting Marilyn when I first laid eyes on Yogi. He was scared of his own shadow let alone all the other dogs. He had his favorite place in Marilyn's study but if somebody was in it he didn't know what to do. He wasn't eating well and Marilyn asked if we could foster him and give him a chance.
He came north on a GUR a couple of weeks later and Chris picked him up. I was away at my niece's wedding and by the time I got home on Sunday she had fallen in love. Yogi of course turned in to Yogi Bear and his "picinic basket" and finally just to Bear.
He was our big, goofy boy and he was the leader of his harem...the only guy in a houseful of women. He was always the last in from the back yard since he had to pee over everybody else's spot and then make sure they were all inside.
He had some hind end weakness from the beginning but over the last month it had gotten worse. He had to pull himself up with his front feet to get off his dog bed, his hind end would give out when he was running in the yard, he could hardly get up the 2 steps from the family room to the house and he was losing control.
He knew when he'd had an accident and always looked very, very sad. Over the last week the sparkle in his eyes turned to tiredness. He began to pant with every movement and no longer ran in the yard. Chris and I knew it was time. So today, on his favorite bed in the family room with quiet music in the background,a gentle breeze coming through an open window and his head in my lap, we said goodbye to our Old Man.
There's a huge hole in my heart right now. He was my velcro boy, wherever I was so was he. I never sat down that he wasn't at my feet. He slept with us up until the last month. He had gas that would make your eyes water and a cough that would rattle your bones, but he was our boy, our first boy but not our last, our Old Man. May he rest in peace
Godspeed BearBear, your Mommy's will always love you and miss you.