Please don't feed the bears!

Karen,

During the August clinic, Nancy was talking about a bear she had seen wandering back and forth along the road on Highway 15 coming up from Bemidji. Well, when I went back to Bemidji, I also saw this bear. There was no traffic, so I stopped next to him/her. He looked at me, and sat down like a dog and continued to look at me. I pulled down the road a bit, and got out to look at him again, and he started walking toward me. So I got back in my car and left. 

What a cutie! He looked very healthy with a shiny coat. On my way to Bemidji, I called the sheriff’s office to see if a DNR officer could go check him out and make sure he was not sick. I thought it was unusual that a wild animal was hanging around a road, and walking toward a human. The dispatcher indicated that the bear was probably hanging around the road because well-meaning people had been feeding him. 

This road is well traveled by the people of Red Lake, many of whom have a kinship with the bear through one of their clans, Makwa (Bear). They love bears, watching them, and possibly giving them treats. Unfortunately, this human behavior puts the wild bear at great risk for being hit by a car, particularly at night with their black coats. This also leads bears to be less frightened by humans, raid garbage cans and farms, and be shot or trapped as “nuisance bears”. 

This was a good lesson for me as well, being an animal lover who might also feed a wild bear. Next time I see a bear along the road, I will take a good look at its beauty and power, and then honk my horn and make lots of loud noises to scare it away from the road and humans.

If anyone wants to see wild bears up close (and safely), look up the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary in Orr, Minnesota. You can go there and view wild bears of all sizes feeding, and learn how they keep them from getting too acclimated to humans outside the sanctuary.

Take care,
Carol

A polar Bear in summer!

UPDATE FROM ADOPTERS:
It been a little while since I've sent you an update, but I thought you would like to see what Bear has been up to! First, he played a big role in Jeff and I's engagement earlier this year :-) What an amazing day that was, and of course Jeff made our favorite man a part of that day! 

Besides that, this "little" man has enjoyed our many cabin trips and walks outside through the trails! We could not have asked for a more perfect dog to become apart of our lives!! This guy continues to bring smiles and joy to us both every day!!

Hope all is well with you!
K~, J~, and Bear

UPDATE FROM FOSTER MOM, LINDA:
Hi Karen,

Thought this would put a smile on your face as it did for me.

This is a Red Lake dog that was adopted while I was still fostering for Animal Ark.  I think he was adopted the end of 2011 - he came down with a sister that is now called Lacy but for the life of me I don't recall what the names were - BUT he is well loved and taken care of for sure AND so handsome.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Never fear, Linda, the blog has the answers! Read earlier post about this dog:

http://redlakerosie.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-happy-bear-from-rlrr.html

Foster Bear

Bear was fostered in Bemidji by Michelle Stapleton and her children. Michelle is a teacher at the Red Lake Elementary School and coordinates Kindness week activities and Red Lake Rosie's visits to the classroom.  Thank you Michelle!

Karen 

NOTE FROM MICHELLE:
My children and I were so happy to welcome timid little Bear into our home for a month this summer.  His shyness didn't last for long though; not with my kids and our 2 dogs around to love him up!

 Bear was found by YouthWorks workers while working in Red Lake this summer.  One of the workers, Laine, fell in love with Bear but couldn't take him home with him until he was finished working on the road for the summer, so Karen called us to see if we could care for him until Laine was headed home.  Of course, we would! 

 Bear got tons of snuggles and loves from the kids and learned to have fun being a dog from our two.  We all had plenty of adventures together-pack walks, barking at bunnies, wrestling, and playing at the beach. 

 We love to foster because I believe it is such a wonderful experience for my children that benefits the pups as well; they learn responsibility caring for the animals, empathy giving them the love and attention they need, patience remembering they're just little kids, really, and it's great for all of us to see those little furry babies blossom and grow.  

We were a little sad when it was time for Bear to go to his forever home, but the kids are already looking forward to our next furry foster.

Another happy Bear from RLRR

UPDATE FROM NEW HOME:
We just wanted to say hi and let you know what Bear has been up to! I'm sure you recognize this little floppy-eared boy by the pictures we attached.

The first one was within the first month we got him. The next he's about 4 1/2 months old, his ears started standing straight up, so cute!! He looked like he really had to grow into those things =) The last one is what he looks like now, those ears both flopped back over!

Bear's a VERY smart little guy! Didn't take long to potty train him, or for him to start learning tricks. He knows how to sit, shake, other paw (shakes with the other paw), kiss, lay down, stay, come, outside, potty, walk, kennel.

He's a very active little guy and loves playing fetch! His other favorite is tug of war with his ropes. He also loves the cabin in the summer time. We weren't sure about the water but he absolutely LOVES it! Can't get him out sometimes =)

Everyday with him is a new adventure and we couldn't be happier with him! Just wanted you to know he's doing so good and we love having him as a part of our family!

J~, K~ & Bear

Bear came to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue as a tiny furball pup with his three siblings just after Christmas. All four went to Animal Ark for foster care and Linda had Bear and his sister, Lacy. See more photos and read more about their story here.

Puppies at TLC

Hope you're not bored with puppy portraits of the same pups from yesterday sent in from their foster home for TLC :-)

These pups came from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and they are so cute. They GRUNT and have PUPPY Breath!

SUZY-QThis is Suzy-Q; she is a little cutie.

BEARThis is Bear; he is the big brother.

ROCKYThis is Rocky; he is a little guy. Looks a lot like our Stella that we lost at 5 or 6 weeks old.

SONNYThis is Sonny; he is pretty close to the same size as Bear.

STARThis is our little Star; she is the feisty little one.

Thank you and Dog Bless
Lisa
TLC Canine Rescue

More RLRR dog DNA results

UPDATE FROM BEAR'S ADOPTERS
Hi guys,

Wanted to follow up and let you know Bear's DNA results. I know these tests are debatable, but it's interesting nonetheless and they do seem to make sense even though we never would have picked this mix.

GLAMOUR SHOTHer results are:

Level 3 (roughly 30%)
Siberian Husky
Irish Setter
Rottweiler

Level 4 (roughly 10%)
Pembroke Welsh Corgi

BEAR LOVES MOMVery surprising results, but they do make sense given her herding traits and her high level of energy.

BEAR HAS LOTS OF TOYSShe's completely happy, healthy, and a ball of endless energy. We love her to death! Thanks again for rescuing her.

HB~

A new best friend

UPDATE FROM FOSTER/ADOPTER:
Last week I volunteered to foster a dog for a local rescue group, Secondhand Hounds.

HUSKY OR BORDER COLLIE OR BOTH?All we knew is that the puppy had blue eyes and so she was assumed to be part husky. Over the last year we sadly lost both of our huskies to old age and illness so we thought a foster dog would be a good way for us to fill the void.

POSING FOR PHOTOSBear (who was known to you as Adelle) arrived here in the Twin Cities last Sunday in a van packed with other animals from your shelter.

BATHTIMEShe was a little afraid to come out of her crate at first but by the first night with us she was already building confidence and wagging her tail. We immediately knew she was one of the sweetest dogs we'd ever met.

RESTINGWithin 24 hours it was obvious that we couldn't merely foster her so we immediately adopted her. We've had her in our home for less than a week and are pretty sure she's a border collie through and through.

FOCUSED ON FRISBEEGiven that, we've started training her to fetch a frisbee and I'm not sure who enjoys it more -- her or us.

RUNNINGShe's also started going on runs with me and I can tell she's going to be a great training partner.

BEAR AND DADOn the vet records that came with her she's listed as a "dumpster dog" and it breaks our hearts to think that such an amazing dog so full of affection and happiness could be abandoned.

PLAYING WITH TOYSShe's already brought new light into our lives and we couldn't be happier to have her as a part of our family.

BEAR AND MOMThank you for saving her and caring for her. You can rest assured that she will have nothing but the best that life has to offer from this day forward.

HB

Chocolate bear

We adopted Bear (formerly known as Lauren) in January 2009 and she has been such a wonderful addition to our family.

BEAR At one year old she is weighing in at 75 lbs. and is a loving friend to all of us, including our newborn Izzy and 3-year-old Lucy.

She loves long walks around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis and has a whole pack of dog friends that she likes to play with.

Keep up the good work and thanks for bring her
our way!

MPP~