Bear in 2007 towards the end of his life.
Bear on the last day of his life. We took him to his favorite river with Copper & Bella.
In his younger years he would try to catch fish in this river.
He was the ultimate lazy lap dog! 2005
Copper with Bella in 2007.
Copper & Bella 2007
Copper & the Bear Man in our old home in Syracuse in 2005.
I really feel the need to tell the story of our dogs. Mainly Copper and Bear who were both rescued.
Bear: When we bought our first house we knew we wanted to get a dog, preferrably a Bull Mastiff. We saw the price tag on the Mastiff and realized it would not happen. The last few days of the closing of escrow on our first home in La Habra, CA we would stop by daily to peek in the windows. There was a note left on the door stating that there was a large brown dog in our back yard who needed a home. The neighbors had rescued him from death at the pound (they had known him since he was a puppy) and they had 3 dogs of their own and could not keep him. He needed a home. We rounded the corner to the back yard to be greeted by these big barks and a dog that stood taller than me on his hind legs. I said a sweet hello and he melted. We opened the gate and there was this big brindle Bull Mastiff who was 2 1/2 yrs old. We sat down and he sat on our lap! He was under weight and had scars on both sides of his cheeks where his ears had been draining and the flies ate away at his face. He was sweet. We rushed to my in-laws who lived 3 miles away to call Becky to let her know we wanted to keep him. She was so happy and crying. She had found a home for him, but that morning the man called and said he did not want the dog. So, that was that, Bear came with our house. He lived there before we did. He was a gentle giant. He did not get along with other male dogs, but he loved the ladies. We eventually got him a puppy, Harley (she later died, just before she turned 3, with what we think was lead posioning). Mastiff's live between 8-12 years. When Bear was 11 we knew he would not make it through the next winter. He had arthritis terribly and tumors. We know he would have been great with our kids. He was 165 lbs when he died and he should have weighed 155, but his bad thyroid and arthritis made it hard to get the weight off of him.We bought a dog, Bella (coon hound), to ease Copper's pain as she lost her best friend on September 5th, 2007. To this day we miss the Bear Man.
Copper: My baby girl. I used to work for TURN where I started off as direct care staff. I had a client (we will call him Bob) who I would take weekly to walk dogs at the animal shelter in Ogden. Bob was blind and we would walk this beautiful Coon Hound puppy, Charlie. She had the softest ears! We would walk her tot he park and lay in the grass as we would throw grass and Charlie and pet her ears. She was a handful, but so cute! I wanted to take her home with me, but I had 2 dogs (Bear & Harley) already. One week we came and Charlie was gone, she had been adopted. We were so happy for her, but there was no dog quite like her. 4 months go by and in that time we lost our sweet girl Harley. After 3 months of no companion, Bear started to get depressed. We went in search of a new dog for him. I went to Layton on a Saturday to Pet Smart to see what dogs the Wasatch Humane Shelter had there. I told them I was looking for a Hound dog, preferrably young and female. They sent me to their HQ in Bountiful. When I got there they they said all of their puppies were in Taylorsville (a far drive!). I asked if they had any hounds in Tayorsville. She said they had a Coon Hound named, Charlie. My heart lept! Could it be the same girl I walked 7 months earlier in Ogden? I asked to see a photo and sure enough there was a grown Charlie!!! I raced to Taylorsville to find Charlie now full grown and in a cage too small for her to stand in. I took her for a walk. She was an unruly mess! She did not know how to walk on a leash, she peed everywhere and she had no manners! I did not care this was my dog! She was meant to be mine! I found out 3 different families ahd returned her and no one wanted to deal with training her. I adopted her and we renamed her Copper. During the first 2 months she drove everyone crazy (my sister Raylin lived with us)! Blake wanted to bring her back. I said no way! After 6 months she settled down and started to trust us. After a year of her living with us she was the perfect dog. She calmed down and her and Bear were best pals. He would give her daily ear baths.
She would come to my work and visit this group of guys with disbilities. One man, Ron, never participated with the group and would isolate himself. We had tried everything to get him involved. I started bringing Copper and Bear to teach dog classes. In the middle of class I hear clapping and I look over and there is Ron clapping his hands wanting to pet Copper. He and Copper became good friends. Ron came out of his shell. Ron would sit down and Copper would gently jump up onto part of his lap and lay her head on his chest. Years later as Ron was dying, of cancer, we visited him in the hospital. She laid her head on his bed and he sat there petting her. When Ron was at home on hospice Copper would visit him at home and he would light up as she came into the room. She knew to be calm and gentle and Ron would lay there for a 1/2 hour just petting her.
She was always anxiety ridden and we fear that one of her previous owners abused her. She was gentle with Jack and had the patience of a Saint. She lived to be 7 years old and I miss her terribly. We always thought we would have her until an old age.
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