Sometimes you just walk out of your house and your life changes forever. That’s what happened 4 years ago today on December 28th, 2018 when I first encountered Polar Bear in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. It was about 8 pm on a Friday night and I was out tracking a couple of stray animals that I was going to line up rescues for back in the states.
On my way home that night, I ran across a man sprawled out sleeping on his back on the sidewalk. He had 4 street dogs nestled around his body. It was very sad to see and yet endearing at the same time. While they all had nothing, they found comfort in each other. I had seen this man sleeping on the sidewalk before. I wasn’t sure if he was homeless or just used to get really drunk and then pass out on the street. The 4 dogs must have come from the same litter as they all looked alike. They were about 10 months old. 1 year tops.
As I walked past them around fifteen feet or so, one of the four dogs got up and started following me. I said to myself, “well this is interesting.” I continued walking home and the dog followed me right to my front door. At this point we had walked a few blocks together. Now mind you, I had 7 dogs in the house already. But, this dog didn’t know about my circumstances. He just needed a break. So, I gave him a break. I started petting his head letting him know the worst was officially behind him. And I invited him into the house. I was not planning on keeping him. I was going to adopt him out to a nice family.
A few months later, my life had drastically changed. I was now making plans to return to the states after 4.5 years in Puerto Rico. I was taking my small dogs with me over to Florida. But, for the big dogs; Rocky, Lucky and Polar Bear, I had to find a nice family in Puerto Rico to look after them while I got set up in the states.
Six months later, I finally brought my big dogs over to the states. It was the biggest touchdown of my life. Remember, I only knew Polar Bear for a few months before I left Puerto Rico. So, I had to get reacquainted with him. And to his credit, with his courage, heart and charm, Polar Bear barreled his way to the center of the family just like the picture above.
Sometimes I call Polar Bear the Daddy Bear. Or the Magical Bear. Sometimes I call him Polar Daddy. And sometimes I just call him Daddy. Why Daddy? Because that’s what he sees when he looks at me. So, when I call him “Daddy,” I am envisioning what he’s saying to himself when he’s looking at me.
Polar Bear is a combination of a real life teddy bear, Mr. Snuffaluffagus and a polar bear from the Artic. How cool is that?