Bear’s Grand Adventure: How one Caledon Village dog became a hometown celebrity

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For nearly two weeks straight, an eight-month-old dog named Bear ran away from home and captured the minds and hearts of residents inside and outside of Caledon as the community came together to await his safe return.

Laura Arnold and her daughter live on a farm property outside Caledon Village, and with chickens and livestock in their near future, Arnold thought it would be best to get a livestock guardian.

Little did she know she was also getting quite the stubborn dog.

Arnold took to Kijiji and saw a post from a farm in Everett, ON, and shortly after, on January 13, they were able to drop her new “guardian” off at her home.

Bear is a Maremma/Sarplaninac, and despite being quite big, is only eight months old.

Settling in the next morning, only 12 hours later, Arnold and her daughter were preparing to take Bear for his morning walk, when her three-year-old opened the door prematurely.

“She got a little excited and opened the door before we were ready,” says Arnold. “And he took his chance,” – not running away, explains Arnold, but just sitting in the nearby cornfield, stubbornly refusing to come home.

Unfortunately, the nearby property was combining its corn, and the machines only scared Bear further from home.

“Even knowing us and everything, he is pretty stubborn. They're kind of like huskies. If they don't want to come inside, good luck,” she adds.

Knowing he wouldn't come back on his own, Arnold took to her local Facebook Group to seek out any local rescues to help her catch him.

“We already tried to get him in on our own, and he just was not having it. He was happy in that field.”

Never did she expect what would come next.

For the next 13 days, her post accumulated hundreds of comments and likes; concerned residents posted from all over, hoping Bear would come home safe.

Residents were seen posting Ring doorbell footage and describing their own sightings of the eight-month-old as he continued his journey around Town.

But that much attention also brought its own challenges.

Some people took it upon themselves to try to capture Bear, despite Arnold's warning not to, which she says only drove him further away.

“It was frustrating, but I understood everybody had the best intentions at heart.”

Not only that, but Arnold had to deal with her own critics.

“Definitely some keyboard warriors,” says Arnold, adding she began to receive calls criticizing her for her efforts, or for Bear running away in the first place.

As a soon-to-be graduate from Esthetician school, when she wasn't in class, Arnold was out whenever she could, trying to get eyes on where Bear would be.

On the second day of Bear's adventure, Arnold explains that as soon as she knew he wouldn't come back on his own, she recruited outside help.

She worked with Linda Henderson-Gunn, who helped her set up a live trap for Bear, which eventually brought him back home.

Despite a loss of a few pounds and a tiny cut on his paw, Arnold says Bear was unscathed.

Extremely happy to have him home, she says he is now a “lump” on her floor, and still showing his stubborn ways by refusing to lie in his own bed.

Arnold's post announcing Bear's safe return has garnered over two thousand likes and reactions, all celebrating his homecoming.

“It was a little overwhelming,” says Arnold. “I was getting calls from friends towns over from Dundalk and from Alliston saying, ‘Hey, you know, you're famous, right?'”

People she hadn't spoken to in years, or who had very little connection to her anymore, were reaching out to ask how Bear was doing.

“He's got a little bit of a following, apparently,” says Arnold, laughing.

“It was definitely a stressful couple of weeks, but it's nice to have him home and have him getting all settled. He doesn't seem to give any cares about being famous.”

Arnold says people who helped in the rescue have been reaching out to meet celebrity Bear, to which he apparently doesn't have an interest.

“He barely lifts his head.”

But, she says, “he seems very happy to be back home.”

Home at last, she says he's stepping into his role as livestock guardian.

“He's already showing some really good signs and everything with our cat.”

She adds that she always knew there would be difficulties with his breed, but hopefully, he'll soon learn his boundaries.

Now that Bear is settled in, Arnold and her family are able to learn all his quirks, the good and the bad.

“He's a chewer,” she laughs. “He has eaten through two chargers now.”

Arnold says that his return also comes with reach-outs from many members of the community who wish to donate money to her family.

Instead, Arnold is directing those who wish to do so to donate to F.A.B.R Canine Rehabilitation Therapy and Sanctuary, an animal rescue in Nanticoke, ON, which recently experienced a barn fire and is facing medical expenses for two of their dogs.