by Michelle Leffew
I was just supposed to be fostering Bear, but we decided to give him a home for good, with us and our other four dogs. Bear was found along with several other brothers and sisters in the woods by children. Bear was starving, just a few weeks old, hairless from flea infestation, eye infections so bad the vet thought he would loose one of them. I had taken another one of our pets to the vet for a check up, and there was Bear, hairless and skinny, but so pitiful he was the most precious thing I had seen. I agreed that I would foster this little thing, but had to find him a home. I knew I wanted to keep him, but also knew it would be hard with four more at home. My husband and I fed him, bathed him, loved him no matter how many times he destroyed things by chewing them, a long list of things which included a sofa, sofa cushions,shoes, remote controls, clothes, electrical cords, etc. We watched him flourish, and grow. He still didn't eat much, but he was growing, he was just a littel timid, but he was coming out of it. He would sit on rug outside my kitchen and watch me cook dinner. He made me laugh like no other dog, just by running ( he ran sort of with his behind real low ). We would sometimes have to turn the volume up on the t.v. because when he slept he snored so loud. He was also a very special friend to our dog Hank. They were best friends, and played so loud and hard, you would think the house was coming down! Bear had very soulful eyes, even though he was very young, he looked like he had known the world for a hundred years. Just two nights ago I took him outside to go potty in our backyard, it is fenced in but he learned early on how to jump it, he jumped and ran to the highway, he was struck and killed by someone that did not even stop. He had no open wounds so we believe he died from trauma to the head, and vet seems to think he died instantly. He was only 6 months old. I hope and pray that he went peacefully, and is now in a better place. We will always love him and miss him, think of him everyday. I hope that wherever he is, he knows that he touched not only our lives, but our hearts as well. I hope that after all the struggles he now has it easy and will know that we cherish him now and always