autobiography of Bear

Courtesy of my stepfather. I really can't deal with this--it makes me sob.

My name is Bear. I am also called Mr. Bear when I am good, Bearly or Bearlet or Little Bear when I am cute, and Bessie or Bruiser or Daisy May when my Daddy is confused. I died on Saturday after Thanksgiving, 2005, at 1030 am. I was at Mountain Vista Dog Kennel in Platteville, waiting for my Daddy to come back from a trip, and I got a stomach ache. Nobody was there to help. Then a lady came and took me to Dr. Larry in Fort Lupton. I passed out there. Dr. Larry tried to fix me up, but I died anyway, without seeing my Daddy.

I was born a very special dog because I am from Gumbo of Black Forest and Lady Brandy Valentine and other important dogs such as my grandfather, Sir Hershey. I remember my early days in Louisville, where my first mommy nursed me and 12 brothers and sisters. My doggie daddy was not around. He left some puppy seeds and went back to his own kennel . My real Daddy came to pick me out in February, 1997, when I was 10 weeks old.

I did not like my Daddy at first. He put me in a truck that scared me. I stayed away from him on the other side of the seat. Then we went to the University in Boulder and picked up my Mommy at work. She held me in her lap all the way out to Weld County and I sucked on her finger. At the end of a long trip, my Daddy carried me into a house trailer where they fed me and petted me, and I was happy. The trailer smelled like mice, and I liked it.

During the day I stayed in a pen with Opie, who didn’t like me. I had a hard time.

Opie pretended to be a good brother to me, but he bit me and wouldn’t let me drink any water. When my Mommy and Daddy came home, they took me into the house and I was happy.

One day I felt strong and I bit Opie. He went into the dog house to hide. A few days later I picked him up by his neck and shook him some. After that I could drink whenever I wanted to. I was happy.

The house trailer was a good place for me. One time a bird came down the stove chimney and I caught it.

My Daddy started to teach me obedience. He was looking at the book by Mr. Wolters, who knows about dog education. Pretty soon I would “heel,” “come,” and “fetch.” My Daddy was happy. I was happy.

We had a new house, down the hill toward the river. I went down to it every day with my Mommy and Daddy. I jumped out the windows and I went up the stairs. After a while the windows got glass and I could not jump out. It was my house, and I went to every part of it.

My Daddy took me hunting when I was one year old. He told me to “stay” while he went on his stomach over to the slough. He shot a duck and I retrieved it. He was very happy, and so was I.

After that, Uncle Harold came over. We went hunting very early, when it was dark. We had a blind, and one time I had to retrieve a duck but could not see out. I went through the wall and got the duck. Everybody was mad at me and I still don’t know why.

One time I ate a duck that my Daddy shot. He was very angry, so I never ate another duck.

After a while I could wait for my Daddy to send me out for a duck. He liked that. Then one day I saw him hit a duck and it kept on going down the river. I went after it. He called me but I knew he shot it. I was gone a long time. I found the duck and took it to my Daddy. After that, he let me decide when to go. I was happy.

My Daddy almost had to save me one time. He shot a goose and it was not dead. It was icy and very cold. The river was high. I went across and there were many chunks of ice. I found the goose but he fought with me and we went under water. We got trapped on a log. I came up after a while. I still had the goose in my mouth. I saw my Daddy coming after me into the river. I brought the goose to him. He was happy and I was happy.

My Daddy and I got many ducks. We would go out in the dark and shoot one or two when the light came. I got them all. We would go into the kitchen and I would get warm. My Daddy said that I was a perfect dog. I was happy.

My Daddy tried to teach me to hunt pheasants. I got too hot and I was very sick and almost died. My Daddy carried me to the car and gave me water. I was ok then but he would not let me hunt pheasants any more.

My Daddy wanted a pheasant dog, so he bought Daisy May. I went along to help pick her he out. She was also a very important dog with many famous dogs in her family. I liked her because she loved to play and she smelled good. We slept together many times, but my Daddy had her fixed, and that was sad. She was my buddy. She hunted pheasants very well and made my Daddy happy.

Opie died of old age, but I didn’t care.

I slept in the house with my Mommy and Daddy. Sometimes I would go up on the bed. I talked dog talk when I was comfortable and my Daddy liked that. I licked my Daddy’s ear when it was time to get up. His ear was always clean. Mommy did not let me lick her ear.

I learned all the important words, especially “Bear,” “out,” “pee,” “truck,” “kennel,” “no,” “come,” “sit,” “stay,” “lie down,” “fetch it,” “heel,” and “damn it.” These were the only words I needed.

I realized that it was my job to protect our farm from dogs. I did not consider female dogs to be dangerous, so I let them come around. I liked Pepper, who lived next door and I went to see her often. She smelled good like Daisy but she was a granny and did not want me around.

I saw a male dog on a pickup truck on the highway in front of our house one time. The truck was moving but I jumped up on it and started punishing that dog. The truck guy got out and tried to stick me with a pitchfork, but I got away. My Mommy and Daddy were very excited.

I punished many male dogs. My Mommy and Daddy always got very excited but no male dogs ever stayed around to cause problems. I did my job and I was happy.

I had some favorite places. One was beside my Daddy on the bed. My Mommy did not let me sleep on her side. Another place was in front of the shower when it was on. It always put me to sleep. Also beside the kitchen table was good and I spent many hours sleeping there. I would sleep in the truck bed if my Daddy would let me. That way if he went anywhere I would know it.

When my Daddy went onto the farm he would stop and get me and Daisy. We would run in the fields and the river and in the irrigation water. I taught Daisy how to catch mice. After a while she was the best mouse catcher. Sometimes I caught a coon, which I punished. Daisy did not catch coons.

One time I hurt my Daddy. I was on the bank of the irrigation ditch and he was standing inside it. I jumped across it and he bent down at the same time. I hit him on the head with my head and he fell down. He didn’t get up and I was unhappy. Then he got up and I was happy.

My Mommy and Daddy wanted to find a mate for me. They went to Aspen Kennel in Holyoke and I went too. We bought Bessie who is related to me. Bessie and I were going to have puppies after 18 months. My Daddy locked up Bessie when she started to smell good. She was only 12 months old but she smelled really good and she liked me. When Mommy and Daddy went to the Doubletree to eat dinner, I opened the wire with my nose. My nose was bleeding but I was happy.

My pups were born in October, when my Daddy was hunting grouse. I looked at the pups but they were too small to play with. Bessie nursed them but she ran out of milk and my Mommy fed them by hand. Nobody had time to pet me. Finally my Daddy came home and petted me and I was happy.

The pups got big and ate up all of our dog food. My Mommy got people to come over to get pups. Uncle Harold took one called Molly. She looks like me. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jule took two, and I played with them some when they visited. Soon, the pups were gone. Except for Bruiser

Bruiser was the big one who got on top of the food so none of the other pups could eat. I punished him and he screamed and my Daddy got mad. After that Bruiser nibbled my chin and played with me. I started to like him, and I was happy.

In the year I died my Daddy made an exception and took me on a pheasant hunt to South Dakota. We took Daisy May, who is the best pheasant hunter, and he took Bessie too, and Bruiser. We slept in the aluminum box in my Daddy’s truck. I could sleep with Bessie or Daisy because they both loved me. My Daddy was worried that I would punish some male dogs, but I didn’t see any. He let me get some pheasants and I did a good job. I was very happy. He said he would take me pheasant hunting again sometime.

Now I am buried behind my kennel. My Daddy made me a deep grave with the old backhoe, he put a blanket under me and he wrapped me in his hunting shirt and put his duck hunting cap under my head. Then he put my striped blanket over me and covered me with dirt. He was very very sad, and so was my Mommy. I am resting on my farm near my Mommy and Daddy and Bessie and Daisy May and Bruiser, and I am happy.

Bear