Bear

 This past week we got news that Bear wasn't doing well, and how old was he? I said at least fourteen. Unfortunately he passed away on Monday. His former owners think he must have been fifteen, and he had an adventurous life. This was his second Russian invasion, he was probably seven when he evacuated with his family from Crimea, even having guns pointed at him at the border checkpoint. 

Then he came to live at our place, where he enjoyed hanging out with the students, who kept trying to improve their commands in English to get him to sit, shake and lie down. I always had trouble convincing them not to feed him candies and chicken bones as treats. Sasha Borchuk loved to pet him, and bring him treats; over the years he asked me to take his photo with Bear many times and he didn't like photos otherwise!

 He enjoyed walking to the farm with the Crawfords when they were in the village, too. He had a job guarding things occasionally at building sites, even last September when the new Quonset was being built. Bear tended to look rather fierce barking-  at Russian speaking men especially. We always knew when someone was in the yard. 

Last summer, he started to go with me on my walks to lose weight, so I have Bear to thank for helping me lose twenty-five pounds. He always was eager to head to the barn and get a treat of milk Yana would save for him. I'd let him choose the route home, whether we'd take the long way around the village to home, he enjoyed seeing the sights. One day when I went around without him, the man we'd see everyday putting his cow out to pasture asked where my dog was. 

One thing I was looking forward to in February (before the invasion happened) was going for a walk over to the barn or around the village with Bear. Elena and the kids took him for a few walks while we were gone, and Valentina fed him. Oleg and the kids gave Bear an impressive burial, complete with marker made by the boys.