By Heather Killen

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Bear the dog is well on the road to recovery, but he still whines near the stop sign on the corner of Alpena.

Jacqueline Levering said that Bear had surgery on his pelvis on April 23 and is recovering nicely.

“He was standing up and wagging his tail by suppertime,” she said. “He’s one tough little cookie.”

Bear was lost in the woods for nearly two months after he got loose during a storm on November 11. He was found in late January near the corner of the Alpena Road.

The Leverings believe that a vehicle must have struck Bear during the blizzard. When he was found, the two-year-old black lab mix weighed about 25 pounds and was recovering from two broken legs and a crushed pelvis.

As soon as Bear’s story hit the news, it quickly traveled all over the world and people began contacting the Leverings, asking about Bear and offering to help with his vet bills.

The story has been told on television, appeared over the internet, and in newspapers all over Canada. Jacqueline was interviewed on a radio talk show after it appeared in The Montreal Gazette.

Recently a 4-H group in Kings County began fundraising for the dog as one of their 2008 projects.

The 4-H group is doing a wonderful job raising money to help pay for Bear’s expenses, she said. And letters are still coming in from people who are still wondering how he’s doing.

Levering has probably answered almost 50 letters so far. However the family’s nursery business will soon take up most of her time, so Bear will need a new secretary to handle his correspondence.

She added that overall he seems almost back to his old self. But whenever they drive past the area by the stop sign where he was found, he cowers down on the floor of the truck and whines as if he knows the area.

She added that now, whenever he’s in the truck, they drive around the other way, so he doesn’t get upset.

Last month’s surgery will hopefully help him to use his back leg more. The vet removed a bone fragment from his pelvis.

The dog remains on a special diet, and will require ongoing medication. The vet plans to allow more time for the bones to heal, and has sent his X-rays to the vet college in PEI for a consultation.

They have used some of the donated money to buy a fenced run for him.