Yogi Bear
A donation was made in memory of Yogi Bear by Doctors and Staff of the Sunset Pet Hospital on Nov 22, 2010.
Yogi Bear was about two years old when he came into our lives. He was a gentle giant of a dog who liked everyone and had a very calming effect on everyone he met. Yogi came to us by way of a piece of property we purchased back in 2003. There was a big, brown dog that was mostly lab, but had some hound in his heritage, that hung out on the property. We assumed he belonged to one of the neighbors. One day, the neighbors all gathered on our property for a nice neighborly chat and it was then we discovered he didn’t belong to any of them, they all thought he was ‘someone else’s’ dog. One of them had been feeding him, and we came to the conclusion he was either lost or dumped. He was such an easy going, gentle dog we decided to keep him and added him to our family of ‘animal children’. We rescued two other labs a few years ago, one black and one golden, so adding a large, chocolate colored, bear of a lab rounded out the bunch. Of course there is a rescued cat in the mix who rules the doggie clan, but that’s another story for another day...
Yogi fit in from the minute we took him home. He also seemed to be happy to have a home and to be loved by his ‘people’. His appearance, style and love of bees reminded us of the old cartoon character, Yogi Bear, which is how he got his name. One of his favorite pastimes was to eat bees. He absolutely LOVED to put his head in the middle of our large lavender bush when it was flowering and covered with bees, shake his head which caused the bush to shake and all the bees would buzz around the bush. He’d snap them up as if they were a delicacy. It was the funniest sight to watch and he very rarely was stung.
He also LOVED his toys and would play soccer with anyone who would kick or throw his soccer ball for him. Yes, he could pick up a soccer ball in his mouth and would carry it around the house and yard! At night, he’d get one of his ‘squeaky’ toys from the toy basket, lay on his bed and gently chewed it so it would squeak. He did that a few times, then would fall asleep with his toy right next to his head. Nothing bothered him, he was the easiest going dog we had ever owned. He also loved going for rides in the car, swimming, going to the ocean and playing in the surf, playing with our other dogs and even tolerated the cat practicing his ‘ninja’ moves on him!
He tore his cruciate ligament in his hind leg turning sharply to chase his soccer ball and had TPLO surgery in 2005. He recovered extremely well and was as good as new. He loved being outside, rain or shine and when he wanted a message, he would scratch his back on the branches under the lace-leafed maple tree in our yard. Another very funny sight to watch!
Yogi was very healthy up until the last year of his life. He had the misfortune to develop a very aggressive cancer, splenic hemangiosarcoma. He had surgery to remove his spleen and several months of chemotherapy bought him six more months of time, which we ensured he went on one last vacation to the beach and he played with his soccer ball right up to the end. He succumbed to this awful disease on September 12th, 2010.
We miss him and know there will never be another dog quite like him.
Rest in peace Yogi Bear.
Patty S.
Yogi fit in from the minute we took him home. He also seemed to be happy to have a home and to be loved by his ‘people’. His appearance, style and love of bees reminded us of the old cartoon character, Yogi Bear, which is how he got his name. One of his favorite pastimes was to eat bees. He absolutely LOVED to put his head in the middle of our large lavender bush when it was flowering and covered with bees, shake his head which caused the bush to shake and all the bees would buzz around the bush. He’d snap them up as if they were a delicacy. It was the funniest sight to watch and he very rarely was stung.
He also LOVED his toys and would play soccer with anyone who would kick or throw his soccer ball for him. Yes, he could pick up a soccer ball in his mouth and would carry it around the house and yard! At night, he’d get one of his ‘squeaky’ toys from the toy basket, lay on his bed and gently chewed it so it would squeak. He did that a few times, then would fall asleep with his toy right next to his head. Nothing bothered him, he was the easiest going dog we had ever owned. He also loved going for rides in the car, swimming, going to the ocean and playing in the surf, playing with our other dogs and even tolerated the cat practicing his ‘ninja’ moves on him!
He tore his cruciate ligament in his hind leg turning sharply to chase his soccer ball and had TPLO surgery in 2005. He recovered extremely well and was as good as new. He loved being outside, rain or shine and when he wanted a message, he would scratch his back on the branches under the lace-leafed maple tree in our yard. Another very funny sight to watch!
Yogi was very healthy up until the last year of his life. He had the misfortune to develop a very aggressive cancer, splenic hemangiosarcoma. He had surgery to remove his spleen and several months of chemotherapy bought him six more months of time, which we ensured he went on one last vacation to the beach and he played with his soccer ball right up to the end. He succumbed to this awful disease on September 12th, 2010.
We miss him and know there will never be another dog quite like him.
Rest in peace Yogi Bear.
Patty S.
