That Was Then. This is Now: The Story of Bear
by Greg A. James
 

     Bear was rescued from a woman who had been attempting to do her own animal rescue operation. She quickly got overwhelmed and many of the dogs were starving and neglected. Although she meant well, the outcome was not. A photo was taken the day he was rescued.
     Bear, a tall and lean boy to begin with, was skin and bones at 60 pounds, tied up to a heavy logging chain with no shelter. He had scars on his ears from black fly bites and all his front teeth were worn down to the gums from chewing on the chain. But the worst part was that he had blood in his urine and he was at a stage 4 of 4 of the dreaded Heartworm disease. Most dogs do not survive Stage 4.
     When Bear first arrived at our home for foster — we foster with Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota (RAGOM) — what we saw was most kind and gentle dog you could ever meet. Even with all his illness and neglect earlier in life, his personality quickly stole my heart forever. I should mention that Bear was guessed to be about 7-years-old and was believed to be a Golden Retriever Mix, but we’ll never know for sure.
     The vet gave him a slim-to-none chance of surviving the harsh Heartworm treatment. However he could not begin the treatment until we determined why he had blood in his urine. After many tests and vet bills, we could not determine exactly why there was blood. The best guess was that it was a direct result of kidney damage from the heartworm.
     Every day I would sit with Bear and spend time with him and watch this gentle soul slowly emerge further from his shell. Every night when I’d put him to bed I’d kiss him on his forehead, tell him I love him and then promise him that no one would ever hurt him again.
     I was in tears when I dropped Bear off at the vet for his first two shots of the arsenic shots for his heartworm treatment. Was this the last time I’d see him? He so much wanted to leave with me when I walked out the door. After lots of praying, the vet called later that day and said he was doing great and the shot had little to no effect on him, but the next 24-36 hours were critical and he would be closely monitored.
     If you’re not familiar with Heartworm treatment, the biggest potential problem is the worms dying and breaking loose. If they break loose and flow in the blood stream they can cause a clot and kill the dog. It is best to keep the dog calm and his heart rate down so the dead worms slowly get absorbed into the bloodstream. He made it thru the first two shots without any problems. The vet was amazed.
     It was pretty apparent how much I was falling for this guy, but our mission as fosters is to find the perfect home for Bear. The search began and his profile was posted on the RAGOM website. Through all of his updates and treatment, Bear was quickly growing a large fan base eager to read his next update and check his progress.
     One very special couple of fans emerged and we contacted each other. They came to meet Bear and the entire time they were at our house, I don’t think they heard a word I said . . . for they were so entranced by Bear and his beauty and his personality. They were a perfect match for him and they decided they wanted to adopt him.
     Bear still had one more shot to get for his Heartworm treatment a month later and then he needed to be neutered before his official adoption could be done. What this meant was that we got to spend another month or so with Bear in our home. He was doing well, but was certainly not out of the woods with his heartworm.
     One night while he was with us, I experienced something I’ll never forget. My favorite musical artist is Johnny Cash. I had a DVD delivered that day from Netflix of a concert of his. After feeding the dogs and spending some quality time with them evening I sat down to watch the DVD. Bear settled in with Lucy our resident Golden Retriever on the floor and they both seemed relaxed by the music.
     At one point I looked down and couldn't look away from what I saw. There in front of me was Bear looking back at me. He lay there and he seemed to have such a peace about him. It was such a small thing, but yet it meant so much to me. He looked so happy and so content and he appeared to be telling me as he stared back at me, for what seemed an eternity, that he truly realized that he was loved and never would forget it. I’ll never forget that look on his face that night.
     Bear’s final shot went well and during his whole treatment, along with falling in love with the big lug we started calling Bubba, I learned what spirit Bear has. I started telling people he was like a tank and he was going to fight this heartworm thing all the way. And he did.
     We started fostering Bear in February of 2008. His adoption was finalized in late October that same year. His weight went from 60 pounds the day he was rescued to his ideal weight of 95 pounds.
     To this day he is living the dog’s dream. His forever family takes him camping and hiking and even canoeing. I keep in touch with them and they send us photos of him. In every one of them he looks strong, healthy and happy. He is smiling in every one.
     I’ve learned from fostering that these dogs are angels. They are often here to teach us that it’s the little things in life that are important. We say we are rescuing them, but sometimes I believe they are rescuing us.
     I miss Bear deeply, but I know he is tremendously loved. He’s an angel. He is prospering. He is rescued.

* First Place Award Recipient

Entry submitted July 23, 2009


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