Just a Few Of The Reasons Why
Magic Crazy Bear
was So Very Special
And why she was called 'Magic'**!
**She was named using the Native American tradition (no name for weeks until the most characteristic traits emerged, which then became incorporated into her name).
[Note: I build this site in a few days with no free time and little experience. Sorry the photos load slowly.
I can't find the time yet to correct this or even check for typos and other minor errors.]
Today is one year since I lost my love - special thoughts on this day are HERE.
She had over a 200 word and phrase vocabulary, understood exactly. Partial List Here. We used to play a game riding in a car. I'd call out the name of an animal correctly most of the time as we passed them, but sometimes I'd say the wrong one [e.g. a cow for a horse] If I was correct, she'd just stare, if I was wrong she would hoooowwwl! She loved it!
She sang to music [uulated like a wolf] & spoke [with a very large vocabulary of sounds] to people, in response to things said and had done to and around her [and very often - several times/day].
She was a lover - and an 'unsolicited kisser' - especially to kind humans and all children and babies.
She was so loving and gentle. She never hurt nor threatened any human - and never would have. (She once saved a drowning child's life without any prompting from me.) She also helped an autistic child to come out of his 'shell' over time. She showed extreme patience, sincerity and warmth to all she met.
She had small animal friends she plays with - without hurting them: rabbits, cats, ferrets, mice, frogs, others. She also loved horses, camels, other large animals, and other friendly dogs too. She loved the zoo here (which allows dogs) - her favorites were the kangaroo, wolves, polar bears and elephants.
She was intelligent FAR beyond most people's understanding of what is even possible for a canine. Just one example: She knew tram/metro stops by counting them [no visual cues on metro] after taking the journey just one time, for the return trip.
She was curious about all things and strived to understand all the things happening around her.
She understood that a mobile phone is someone calling [and might even be for her!], and the doorbell a visitor [for her?]. She sensed people's moods and vocalized about them. But with all her symphony of different sounds, she didn't ever bark.
She loved broccoli, corn, potatoes, raisins, figs, and many vegetables, nuts, berries, and fruits. She won't eat sausage [not healthfood! - but does like chicken, cheese, and turkey] and never begged nor pestered for any food. While it didn't always have to be, she loved exotic and spicy foods!
She loved to play and be funny - she had a great sense of humor. When she was in total bliss she would turn 'belly-up'. Sadly, this once very common position I never saw once after her amputation.
She loved to dig and once dug a big cave in firm sandy ground with a 3m [9ft] entry she could sit and turn around in.
She was a champion frisbee player! Sadly, her frisbee days were over with the amputation. She caught every well-thrown frisbee (and many poorly one's too), often leaping two meters into the air to catch them.
She loved playing ball, and she could throw it back accurately to the person throwing it to her. She learned this by herself!
She loved wild berries in the forest in the fall and we often went on berry expeditions, and honey anytime. She was a real 'Bear'.
She took her 40+ anti-cancer supplements every day without any complaints. She understood that they were to extend her life.
She had many ways to make jokes & play tricks on me or play hide-and-seek. Below she was playing one of her favorite games, we called 'under'. She would hide under the sheet and then pop out hoping to scare me; or chase my hand on the other side.
She talked back to people who talked to her and would correct incorrect statements [such as saying she was a Husky], and she loved to sing! This okarina player always had a partner when Magic Crazy Bear was there! Same for the outdoor jazzband nearby. When I'd play the harmonica, CrazyBear would sing along. With music she could match the pitch exactly! Sometimes late at night we would both howl at the moon together - only she knowing why.
She had a perfect photographic memory of people and places.
She had won contests, but was not a 'model' - just a simple, natural beauty, inside and out.
She understood cameras and posed for them, or if she didn't want a picture taken, walked away.
She could read minds and moods exceptionally well, and always could improve mine - and did despite my sadness over her illness up until her very last day.
She never killed anything larger than a fly. But she was fearless, when needed. Once, when we returned to a campsite we found a large brown bear ransacking our food. Magic Crazy Bear chased that bear away, despite it being well over ten times her size.
She endured, without complaint, the many indignities and pains of her illness. She trusted that I was doing what was best and necessary to keep us together. She never suffered. I, on the other hand, did, do and will forever, more than I can express.
Everyone thought she had the best disposition of any dog they'd ever met. Even those who thought they didn't like dogs, loved her. For me, she was my idea of perfection in a living being.
She loved to swim - especially when it is too hot for an arctic dog.
She was VERY athletic [and could jump over 6'4" [2m], loved to just run and at 100 lbs/45 Kg was a strong but gentle giant.
She used to lead tours around the city, and taught at the university with me. She was my partner in every aspect of our lives. We were inseparable and co-equal in our relationship.
She had true nobility, grace, intelligence - and was my loving and significant-other in life. She was all I had, and I was her only other. I can not bear that we are apart now. We never could.
She had traveled and lived in many places and continents; high in the mountains of Colorado, the beauty of New Mexico and Utah, the California coast, as well as having lived in Europe.
She stared directly into one's eyes making personal contact in the most amazingly loving and knowing way.
Just before her amputation, things were very bad and she couldn't walk far. I often pulled her in this wagon, so we could always still be together.
I still can't believe nor deal with my having lost her, and for her to have lost her life so very young & full of life and love!
She was only half of her normal life-expectancy.
Above - just months ago in the park, and seven years ago.
Just one of the many places she and I lived. For two full years we lived high in the mountains [a story for another time] where she and Nature were the 'teachers' and I, mostly the 'student'.
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Main Page HERE
New! The Good Old Times HERE
Why Magic Crazy Bear was So Special! HERE
From The (Broken) Heart of Magic Crazy Bear's Human HERE
Crazybear's 7th Birthday Card HERE
Contact and Donation Page HERE
Newest Photos HERE
Canine Quotes HERE
Canine Cancer Links HERE
Osteosarcoma Information HERE
Magic Crazy Bear's Pedegree HERE
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Czech Version [Ceske' verze] SEM
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Photos & Text Copyright crazybear.org 2008
Updated June 19, 2008