Meet Bear, the three-year-old male Bernedoodle. His family got Bear during COVID when their kids were getting ready to graduate high school, and they weren’t quite ready for an empty nest. His family happily says, “I will not lie, we replaced our kids with him, and he is incredibly spoiled because we treat him like he’s our child.”

Moving to Gates Mills in September of 2023, Bear’s family loves nature, and so does Bear. They adore the trails, the community, and all the wildlife around. Bear is on an endless pursuit of the local squirrels, and despite his best efforts, he never quite catches them.

Bear was named because the first time his family saw him, he looked just like a giant teddy bear—it just fit.

One thing that makes Bear stand out is his human-like eyes. He makes eye contact with everyone he meets, and people feel like they can see how genuine and sweet he is just by the way he looks at them.

Bear’s super talent is being wildly entertaining due to his lack of actual talent. If you throw a stuffed animal at him, he won’t catch it—it will hit him in the face, and then he will pick it up and run. He doesn’t fetch well, he never uses his back paws to walk down stairs, he fails to catch squirrels multiple times daily, and he has a real knack for getting himself full of burrs on hikes. Despite all this, he is an absolute joy who everyone loves, and his talentlessness is part of his charm.

Bear loves Nylabones, Costco lamb sticks, and his favorite toy is a stuffed beaver named Bucee, after the Texas gas station chain mascot.

One of his family's favorite memories is when they surprised the kids with Bear on Christmas. They blindfolded the kids and walked him in. The kids were absolutely blown away, and it’s a video that will be cherished always.

Bear loves getting out and exploring Gates Mills, from just walking through the village and seeing the horses at the Hunt Club to his daily walk from home to the Wilson Mills Trailhead. But the ultimate trip out is when he gets to go to Addie’s Cup, where Laura is so kind and always gives him some sort of treat. When he is not exploring Gates Mills, he loves any and all dogs, but he has a particular affinity for the two black labs that live next door, Sadie and Sherman.

Bear, true to his name, is a teddy bear full of love. Everyone who meets him adores his fun personality, and he brings people a lot of joy.