Bear (1997-2011)

A Eulogy:

First of all I think it's pretty obvious how he got the name Bear. I mean just look at that mug. We sure as hell weren't going to name him Spot or Max or Lassie. A few years back, Bear was reintroduced to his brother whom he hadn't seen since the day we picked him out of his litter. Bear's brother, who was a spitting image, had been named Pepper. (quite possibly the least manly name for a male chow) As was to be expected, Bear didn't exactly get along very well with his sibling. We didn't hold it against him, it's just hard to respect a dude named Pepper.

All in all he was the most laid back dog I have ever been around. He didn't play, he didn't fetch, and he most certainly wasn't going to shake hands or roll over. But these actions are not what makes a great dog. Don't get me wrong, I love a well trained dog and one that can chase down a frisbee, but it just wasn't his style. What made him so great was that he never had to be trained to do all the other things. He never got on furniture, he didn't beg (most of the time), he didn't obnoxiously bark at every little noise, he never jumped on visitors, he somehow house-trained himself and he never had an accident inside. All the things dog owners pay hundreds of dollars to train their dogs to do or not do, Bear just found it to be common sense. He would even sit or lay down if you asked him nicely enough. He did all the important things. If you were sick, he would be by your side without being called. When my niece and nephew were first brought home he knew they were a new part of the family and as such was always near by when they were in the house. As they got older he would make sure to always lay down wherever they were playing, silently keeping an eye on them. Whether it's fair or not he is the dog all other dogs will be judged against in my family. Every time we come across a new pup, the first question that will be asked... Are they enough like Bear?

Fun Facts about our Bear:
-He had a blue tongue and blue skin underneath all that fur!
-He could care less about Milk-bones, but if you had Vanilla Wafers he was interested.
-We picked him as a pup actually thinking he was a female because my Dad wanted a mellow dog. Turns out Bear was THE most mellow dog ever. We're talking stoner mellow.
-A vet told us he had heart worms really bad and might not make it another year, that was 10 years ago.
-He always knew when I had a camera and would never make eye contact. He was very Russell Crowe like that.
-He swallowed hot dogs whole. He could have probably given that Kobayashi fellow a run for his money!