Bear’s Family

What a trip! From a backyard dog to a forever family member!

Hi, it’s me Bear, the dog that was dumped at the shelter by my owners. I was not quite sure why I was there. When I was in my kennel, I kept thinking they were going to come back for me, I know they are missing me! There were so many people that walked by but none of them were my family. A couple days later, I got to get out of my kennel and was put in an area to be evaluated and this really nice guy was there. He played with me and did all sorts of tests like grabbing my paws, pulling on my tail and I was wondering why he was doing all this stuff. Then he said to the lady, I will take him!! I knew then that I would be safe and would not feel unwanted anymore. I was a little nervous while I was getting in his car but I knew that at least I would not be killed in the shelter, things can only get better for me. It was a fun ride back to my new daddy’s home and I was slowly introduced to my foster brothers and sisters. It was a little overwhelming at first but I learned fast that you had to play or get beat up by all these young dogs. Since I was a little older, there was no respect with these kids, they just wanted to have a good time no matter what so I just joined in and had a ball after I figured out everything.

Eventually, I went to my first adoption event and was really uneasy about it because there was a lot of noise and people coming around and I was just not sure what to think and how to behave. They let me stay in the car so I could relax but I got anxious and jumped out of the window and started to run. My foster dad called me back and told me everything was going to be fine and that made me feel better so I got back into the car and relaxed the rest of the day. I think it was because I was so nervous that not too many people were interested in me. So I decided when I go to the next adoption event, I need to be more friendly and enjoy being there so people will be attracted to me. In the meantime, my foster dad worked with me on some issues I was having with other dogs and walking on a leash. I started to learn that the walks were not about me sniffing and peeing on everything, it was about spending time with my foster dad, getting some exercise and learning to walk on a leash. I felt a lot more comfortable going to the next adoption event. In fact, I was the star of the event, everyone thought that I was so friendly and kept saying that my name fit me so well. I was just a big teddy bear and I thought that meant that I was a good boy. One day, my foster dad got an email from Kona’s mom saying that their friend Tamara was ready for a dog and does GSSH have any dogs that might be a match. Daddy told her that Tamara needed to fill out a foster application to see if she was a good fit for me. She filled one out and Daddy called to talk to her. He thought we would be a good match for each other so Daddy and Aunt Jen took me to San Diego to meet my new foster mom. She fell in love me and wanted me to meet Kona and her parents. I got to run around the yard with Kona and I was feeling really comfortable with everyone. Tamara decided she wanted to foster me and so Daddy brought me back in a couple weeks to stay.

I was having such a good time staying with Tamara. I got to go on walks twice a day, cuddle with my foster mom and got so much love and attention because I was the only dog in the house. Finally I knew what it felt like to be treated like a family member, not a backyard dog like with my previous family. My foster mom had to go out of town for a week so I went to stay with my old foster dad and when my foster mom got back, she was going to finalize my adoption! It was fun playing with my foster brothers and sisters again but I couldn’t wait till my foster mom got back. The week did go by pretty fast and soon the day came to finally go home! I got really excited as I got closer and when I got there, my foster mom was waiting for me. I jumped on her because I was so excited.

We went inside to do the adoption paperwork and then went back outside to take a family picture. I was so happy because I was in my forever home and treated like a king! Before my old foster dad left, he gave me a hug and told me, you be a good boy, you are in a great forever home and I am so happy for you my Bear dog. I hoped he knew how grateful I am that he took me out of the shelter and believed in me. I gave him a big kiss so he knew I loved him for what he did. As he left, my new mom and I took a walk and I didn’t look back because I wanted him to know that I am very happy and that everything would be okay in my awesome forever home.