Bear

Hello, My name is Bear and I am a very handsome four year old toy poodle. I weigh 4.5 pounds and am usually snow white. I am a very proper gentleman with perfect manners. I live with my human Mom and Dad and a huge Main Coon Cat named Pretty Girl. We tolerate each other but she is a snob and totally ignores me. I am also a hurricane Katrina refugee. One year ago today my family and I lost the life we had known since my birth. We lived one block from the beach in Bay St. Louis, MS. It was a wonderful life!!! I loved running on the beach and walking in Old Town with Mom and Dad. Dad is my favorite human as he always takes me wherever he goes and is always ready to rub my ears. Old Town was an artiest community and I was always having my picture taken. I was allowed to go in every shop and was even given treats from some. I knew everyone and they all knew me. August 29, 2005, started out as usual except my Dads and Moms son, his wife, and their dog Sage came over very early. Sage is a huge Rottweiller and always wants to play with me. I stay in my “room” whenever she is around. Dad and Mom were watching television and were not acting normal. They seemed to be very agitated. About 8:00 a.m. they went out on the front porch and sat for awhile. It was storming so I did not understand why they would be outside. When they came back in the house the four of them were acting very strange. They all were in the den when we heard a huge crash. They all ran into the dining room and I followed. A tree had fallen and the limbs had broken all the windows. The rain was pouring in so they were all moving furniture and grabbing anything they could to move into the other rooms. It was only a short time later when another Oak tree came down and fell across the front porch and crushed it. The problem was that it also fell across the door and windows to the outside. The noise was so loud I ran back to the den and got in my bed. I heard Mom scream above the crashes and storm sounds. Then I realized what she was saying. She yelled at Dad “get Bear, he is floating away”! What? me floating away, what is she saying…..then water was everywhere in a matter of minutes. There was no warning just water rising very fast. Dad and Moms son then yelled “we have to get out or we will drown”. I will never forget those words. Dad was holding me and we all tried to make it to the back door. The water was rising so fast that it was waist high when we got to the back. Dad tried to open the door but it would not open. Everyone seemed to panic but then Dad and his son pulled together and it flew open. The problem was more water poured in the house. Dad grabbed a towel and put me in it and then over his back. We all made it to the back porch and Dads son, his wife, and Mom and Sage jumped off into the black, filthy water. Mom had to be helped as she had open heart surgery and is still not 100%. They were getting hit by debris and Mom’s shoes she had on came off and floated away. Sage was swimming like mad and seemed to lead the way for them. I was scared but knew Dad had me and would make sure I was OK. Then Dad yelled to Mom he had to go back in the house!!! What, back in the house, has he lost his mind? I just knew it was the end if he went back in. Mom was screaming above the noise for him not to go. He turned around and we went in..furniture was floating, the fridge, stove and freezer had turned over and was crashing all around us. The water was up to Dads chest and he is over 6′5″. He went to the kitchen cabinet and on the top shelf was Moms medicine she has to take. It was all in a zip lock bag and Dad got it and we started back out. We finally made it to the back porch and off we jumped. The water was moving so fast and the debris was all around us. We caught up with Mom and Dad was trying to swim with me still on his back. It seems like it was hours that we were in the water but in reality it was only about half an hour. We were all together and trying to help each other. Trees were falling, huge amounts of debris was everywhere. The smell was overpowering. The wind was blowing so hard it felt like swimming with lead feet. Then a miracle! Police were there and pulling us up and out of the water. We were taken to the police department and up to the second floor. One of the police men said we could not take Sage up she would have to remain on the first floor that was quickly filling up with water. Now I am no fan of Sage but the very thought that she would be left to drown was not even going to happen. Dad, Mom, his son and his wife all said NO!!!! Sage would go with us and we would all stay together and whatever happened we would be together, with Sage. The water was rising so fast the policeman did not argue. We went to the second floor and sat. The wind was blowing so hard we could hear it and when we looked out the windows the entire town was covered in water. The floor was starting to get really wet and then an inch or so of water. The mud was so thick and it smelled so horrible. I was placed on a bench but was muddy and wet. Everything was wet. We spent the night in this horrible place. Nobody slept and I tried to doze but with all the sounds and it was pitch black as there was no power anywhere it was very scary. At first light we looked outside. It looked like a bomb had hit our town. It was so quiet, no birds or sounds of life anywhere. The trees that were left standing had no leaves on them. The debris was everywhere. Cars were turned upside down and washed into roads and ditches. We ventured outside and nothing was left. We met other people and it was if we were all in a terrible dream. The next few weeks were horrible for Mom and Dad. Everything they had was gone. The house was totally destroyed and they did not even have clothes. They had me washed a week later. My feet were so full of dried mud that I could hardly walk. There was no water but Dad and Mom would give me what they could find. There was no food so the vending machines in the police department that did not get wet was what we shared. Mom was very sad as Pretty Girl did not make it out of the house when we did. A week after the storm we finally made it back to the debris that was our home. Dad and Mom both cried and were very sad. Then we heard a noise…it was very low but we all heard it at the same time. Then we saw her!!! It was Pretty Girl. She was so sick. She could not move as the mud had dried and she had not eaten or had anything to drink. She was dying. Mom picked her up and kept talking to her. Dad had borrowed a car as ours were lost in the storm. We got in the car and headed to FL. Dad and Mom held Pretty Girl and gave her small amounts of water all the way to FL. When we arrived they went directly to a vet. They had to leave Pretty Girl for the day. That evening when they picked her up she had been given IV drips, washed three times, and had eaten. She looked nice, for a cat, but was so skinny. We have tried to rebuild our lives in Texas. Nothing will ever be the same. I have lost all of my friends, my beautiful town, and two months after the storm Pretty Girl passed away. She was 17 years old. Her last days were spent comfortable but she never regained her health. The Lord closes one door he opens another somebody told me. I am happy here and have made new friends but life has changed. It is a year later but the horror of that day and the weeks following will forever be in all of our thoughts and dreams. Bear W, Mike

To George with Love

I once heard a saying “Life without a poodle is like dancing without music, you can do it, but why?” and every day I live with you I realize how true that is for me. You have given me so much joy. You make me laugh, you make me cry. You even make me worry when you run whole heartedly towards larger dogs at the dog park, but then you make me proud with the way you behave and show the other dogs how it’s done. I love how you snub dogs that you don’t want to play with and make humans earn the right to pet you. I love how once they’ve earned your trust; they’ve earned it for life. Sometimes, I think you’re smarter than me. Sometimes, I know you’re smarter than me. I promise to do my best to make sure you have a long healthy happy life. I will ensure that your life isn’t just a life, but a member of the family and our best companion. I will go to long lengths to ensure that you receive the best obedience training and will continue to take you to agility as long as you still enjoy it. I promise to replace each toy you destroy no matter the cost and play with you until you’re sleepy. I promise to continue to challenge the food that I buy for you and make sure that I read every ingredient to ensure you’re not eating chemicals, but all natural foods. I promise to keep you up to date on all necessary vaccinations and make sure you get your yearly medical check ups. And when the time comes, I promise to make the biggest decision of my life and make sure that you leave us without pain and knowing you are loved. Because George, when I picked you up at 8 weeks old. You promised to love me. And I know you do. Melissa B