One morning, a woman was woken up from her sleep by the sound of whimpering coming from her backyard. Curious, she stepped outside to investigate, and to her great surprise, she found a little puppy sitting by the dumpster.
This beautiful furbaby was clearly a stray looking for a new family, and she couldn’t have found a better home.
The poor baby was so tired and hungry that she happily allowed the woman’s husband to easily scoop her up and welcome her to their home.
Choosing The Perfect Family
Once inside the warm house, all the little pup did was sleep. “I could tell she was tired. All she did was sleep. I think when she realized she was safe, she became really playful and just really loving,” Nat, the dog’s rescuer, told The Dodo.
The whole family quickly fell in love with this furry ball of happiness that accidentally stumbled into their lives.
However, as the famous saying goes, “Everything happens for a reason,” it turned out that the puppy – later named Bear – was exactly what this family needed.
Right at that moment, Bear was in need of a warm and loving home, and one member of the family was also dreaming of a furry companion to mend his broken heart.
“2019 was a really bad year for my husband and my father-in-law. My mother-in-law unexpectedly passed away, so that took a really big toll on the family,” Nat said.
Then, in the midst of coping with the sudden loss of the mother-in-law, the family also had to put down their beloved family dog, Champ.
Their hearts were shattered once again.
Just when they were about to start looking for another dog, Bear showed up like the perfect gift ever.
“I told my husband, ‘Let’s surprise your dad when he gets home from work’,” Nat said, and that’s exactly what they did.
The Little Things In Life
To say that Nat’s father-in-law was surprised would be an understatement.
“They put this little pup in my hands and I thought, ‘OK, this is great!’ I think she was sent there for a reason, and that reason being me,” Terry, Bear’s now dad, told The Dodo.
Experiencing the loss of his beloved wife of many years and their dog in such a short period of time was incredibly tough for Terry.
He was in a dark place for a very long time.
“Bear was a stepping stone in getting me through it all,” Terry added.
Their bond was incredibly strong from the very beginning. Bear always knows when Terry doesn’t feel alright after a bad day, and she is always there to make it better.
At first, they thought that Bear might be a Newfoundland dog, but a DNA test revealed that she was actually part St. Bernard. This meant that Bear was going to grow up into a really big dog, but the family didn’t mind one bit.
Bear is a gentle giant who loves her new dad and is just the happiest dog ever.
“I really don’t know what I’d do without her,” Terry said.