The Whole Story
My wonderful dog Bear was born on October 28th, 2004. My mother and I went to a local, Southern California Siberian Husky breeder to look at their 7-week old litter to possibly make a purchase. Looking over the litter, my mother saw a small, battered pup and couldn't resist picking her up. The breeder told us that Bear was the runt of the litter. He said that she had been picked on and bitten by the others in the litter because she could not fend for herself. They would not let her have food until they were done eating theirs. Honestly, she didn't look like she could fend for herself much longer. I felt bad for her and thought to myself, "I have to save this puppy". My mother brought Bear to where I was sitting and handed her to me. Bear immediately crawled up my chest, laid over my heart and went to sleep. This may seem insignificant to most people, but to me, it meant that Bear and I were meant to be together. (At 24 years old, I found out that I had a debilitating heart condition and had to have a Pacemaker/defibrillator implanted to keep me alive). We went over the care of the dog with the breeder, addressing heath issues and certifications. The breeder assured us his puppies were perfect and the parents were both certified as being free of hip dysplasia. We then took Bear home with us and soon became aware of how amazing she is.
My heart condition has contributed to other health issues that I have had to deal with, one being Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. There have been times where I feel extremely depressed and can not get myself back on track. Bear seems to be able to sense this and will immediately come to me and nudge at me and lick me. She can always detect when I need her unconditional love. I had always thought that I saved her the day we brought her battered little body home, but in reality, Bear has been my savior, bringing me out of the depths of depression more times than I care to count.
Bear went through Obedience Training at approximately 9 months old, and passed with flying colors. With her ability to sense when I needed her as a "life saver", I decided to put her through training to have her certified as a Service Dog. It was extensive training, but as always, she proved that this is what she is meant to do and became a certified service dog. This allows her to have access to business establishments that otherwise do not allow animals, such as grocery stores and medical facilities.. This also allows me to travel with Bear on public transportation systems. With Bear being allowed access to these places it means I am able to go out without the fear of having an "incident" and not having her with me. I am able to travel to visit family members who live out of state. Bear travels by my side, ready to assist me, whenever she senses I needed her. What a blessing it is to be able to do things that I had not been able to do before Bear came into my life.
Throughout the first few years of her life people had commented on Bear's gait when she would chase a ball or start to run after something. It appeared she ran sideways. I originally thought this was due to her excitement while running, but then also became concerned with her health when I noticed she appeared to have difficulty getting up. I made Bear an appointment to be seen at a local vet in April. He advised that I give her glucosamine to see if that helped her and to bring her back in a couple of weeks if she appeared to still be having difficulty. Bear was religiously given the glucosamine, but was not walking any better. She was taken back to the vet and x-rayed in June. I was devastated when the Dr came in and told me she has hip dysplasia in both hips, but predominately worse in her right hip. I recalled specifically asking the breeder about this and being assured that Bear's parents had been certified. I immediately thought the vet had misdiagnosed her, but was shown the proof on her x-rays. So many things went through my mind: is she in pain, is it treatable, how I can help her, how will this effect her life, how long before she is no longer able to walk, etc. For the next month I tried to limit Bear's activities, hoping this would allow her time to "heal", but it proved to be futile. I noticed Bear limping and obviously compensating for some pain she was feeling. I brought Bear back to the vet and was informed that she now had a torn cruciate ligament. In compensating for the hip dysplasia, damage was done to her knee and would now need to be repaired with surgery. The vet discussed what is needed to get Bear well again. The surgery needed to repair her knee is approx $3,000 and then to take care of her hip dysplasia she will need double hip replacement surgery, at a cost of approx. $10,000. I am 100% disabled, receive social security and have no other means of income. I am at the mercy of others generosity to be able to prolong the life of my best friend and life saver. Bear has never been considered "just an animal" to me. She has been an addition to my life that has allowed me to come out of the depths of despair and realize that I can lead a more meaningful life, as long as she is by my side being my guiding light.
If you would like to verify the veracity of this story, please feel free and contact Bear's Vet at Rancho Regional Veterinary Hospital. Her Vet's name is Dr. Christopher Berg and the phone number is (909) 941-0841.
Thank You for visiting www.helpbear.org
