Lessons I’ve Learned from Other People’s Pets: Bear

One of the best parts of pet sitting is how much the animals teach me along the way. Every household, every pet, every routine is different — and each one leaves me with something new.

My first long-term client, Bear, taught me more than most.

Bear was a foster “fail” from Minneapolis Animal Care & Control (MACC). His foster mom adopted him at the ripe old age of 13. At 100 pounds, he was well past “senior” and firmly into “geriatric”. But you couldn’t tell him that — Bear never got the memo. He was always ready for the next thing: the next walk, the next play date, the next adventure. Sometimes that meant bounding to the door for a neighborhood jaunt, ears flopping in the wind. Other times it meant settling into the couch for a good snuggle. Bear lived with a sense of joy that made you forget about numbers like “13”.

From Bear, I learned what perseverance looks like when your body is slowing down but your spirit refuses to quit. I learned the beauty of finding joy in small routines: the same sidewalks, the same squeaky toy, the same familiar ear scratches.

And maybe most of all, I learned a lot about grief. Bear passed away almost exactly a year after his adoption. He fell sick for a week, and then he was gone. It was fast, and it was hard. At the time, Bear was the animal I saw most often other than my own. A few times a week, we would hang out at his house while his mom was at the office. His absence left a bigger hole than I expected.

Pets like Bear remind me why I do this work. They show me that every walk, every cuddle, every bowl of fresh water is more than a task — it’s part of building a life filled with joy, however many days we get. That’s what I try to carry into every visit with every pet: show up fully, make space for joy, and never underestimate the impact of simply being there.