Adorable puppy photo

[FightingIrish]

I thought people might like to see the new puppy we adopted. We think he is part Irish Setter. We named him Stephen Colbear. He just showed up a few days ago and decided to adopt us. He has kind of strange appetites for a dog. He seems to like honey nut granola bars. Our other dog isn't really fond of him, but that may because he outweighs him by about fifty pounds. We haven't taught him any tricks yet. He seems to be housebroken because he does shit in the woods. We can tell by his paws that he is probably going to be a really big dog.


http://picasaweb.google.com/doug.snider/StarredPhotos/photo#5065618787073176034

[Connonym]

1. Stephen Colbear is a good name because he looks kind of bearlike

and those paws are scary huge!

[FightingIrish]

2. Actually he is a bear

He's a very young cinnamon black bear. We're trying to scare him away but he's so damned cute. I tried throwing rocks at him and I felt like I was abusing my own child. We're trying to get some help from a wildlife rehabilitation agency.

[Connonym]

3. oh doh! I'm so dumb

oy, how embarassing. :blush: I'm humor impaired this evening I think

[havocmom]

4. Dood, we need to get you some intensive Animal Planet therapy

like, pronto ;)

[Arugula Latte]

6. Aw, don't feel too bad. I fell for it, too.

I thought it was some sort of exotic breed ... :blush:

[xchrom]

5. awwww! give him belly rubs!!!

[havocmom]

7. Might wanna check with the supply at the ol blood bank first

Cute guy and looks too young to be without mama. But he is gonna grow in a hurry and the patio door won't be enough to stop him.

[FightingIrish]

9. According to the folks at Fish & Wildlife he's either an orphan

or has been rejected by his mother. We've had a number of encounters with mothers with cubs and never seen one without the mother pretty close by. We hope to instill some fear of humans in him so he doesn't keep coming back. His survival skills are pretty limited. I tried chasing him and and he climbed two feet up a tree and just stared at me.

[havocmom]

10. Look for someone with Karelian Bear Dogs for aversion training bears

There are some people who do great work spooking bears off the notion of living near humans who use these interesting dogs.

Dogs to dissuade bears

My sister had a Karelian pup show up at her newly built home years ago. No one around (including all the vets) could say what he was and we guessed a husky/australian shepherd cross. Dog is VERY bright, tough but not hostile, very protective. He was a gift from the heavens for my sis, whose hubby is away a lot.

There are breeders in the Big Fork MT area and they might know of people in your area with these dogs to scare bears off. Check it out.

[idgiehkt]

11. maybe someone in wildlife rescue could help you

I'm surprised that fish and wildlife hasn't offered any help. He looks thin to me. He also looks young enough to where he could be imprinting on humans looking for a mother substitute and that could end up being a very bad situation, i.e. he gets fed by well-meaning neighbors, become known as somewhat tame around that area, someone goes to feed him, or just gets too close thinking he's the 'tame bear' and gets hurt, then he gets euthanized. Surely there is someone that can come out there and trap him and take him to a sanctuary. Very sweet picture.

[FightingIrish]

12. I sent his picture to Wildlife Images in Josephine County, OR

They are going to try and intervene with Oregon Fish and Wildlife to see if they can help. You are correct that he is looking for a mother substitute. My wife and I came home tonight and found two big paw prints and a nose print on our glass front door. At this point he is curious and somewhat fascinated by humans. This is not a good situation. Sometimes I feel bad that we live in a place where a few decades ago humans would not have been intruding on his turf. We live about two miles from an abandoned landfill that used to be the meal ticket for about a dozen adult bears. They are fascinating creatures but our worlds cannot intersect.

[wildhorses]

8. those claws look like they could already rip you to shreds

and when momma does find him....