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Three friends of mine had worked together as loggers a number of years ago. They lived together, so they also went to work together. They once told me the story, about the time when they found an orphaned bear cub. Apparently it was a young cub, so it was simply adorable. They decided to adopt it and make it their pet. They had a blast playing with the cub. They always took it to work with them and chained it to their truck for safety. They always made sure the bear had plenty of water and food.

One day they had to park away from the other loggers. The cute little cub must have gotten lonely and decided to explore. The bear could no longer fit under the truck, so it had spent most of the time on the ground or in the bed of the truck.

That same day, my friends were welcomed with a little surprise. That was the last day they had a pet bear. Now don’t worry, the bear is fine. It was their truck, which suffered crippling damage. Somehow the bear had broken out the rear window and climbed into the cab. The little tike must have gotten hungry, because it ate the steering wheel down to a nub. I don’t know, maybe it tasted like licorice? Then it went to work digging into the seats for buried yummies. It is amazing how wonderfully equipped the bear’s claws were at slicing through the fine leather. Both of the seats were down to springs! The rest of the seats were everywhere. Our little bear friend looked like a flocked Christmas tree. Unbeknownst to me, a steering wheel must be full of healthy fiber, which made the cute little bear a bit over active. But because of the shredded foam and padding from the seats, the little bear accidents were easily absorbed. However, the aromatic aroma lingered.

So here is the scene: Three tired loggers are walking up to their distant truck, when they hear the moans of their recently found pet. Being responsible loggers they rush to make sure their little darling was fine. I can’t quite picture their expressions as they saw their little flocked bear buddy. He was fine and happy to see them. He was sitting beside the truck doing the happy dance, with a big smile of accomplishment.

My friends decided to free their pet that day. They thought if he could eat a steering wheel to a nub and slay two leather-covered seats, then he could fend for himself.

My friends on the other hand needed to start walking. It only took about an hour to get to the main road, which had moderate traffic. So they should not have had much difficulty hitching a ride. I am sure that they were in shock, after seeing their truck destroyed by a little bear. So their rational and logical thinking was not firing on all cylinders. Like most men who work with tools, they decided to carry their tools of the trade, rather then leave them with the truck. Who knows, maybe a raccoon would carry them off and do a little remodeling. It must have been the speeding motorists, accelerating as they passed my friends, when they realized how difficult it is to hitch a ride when you are carrying a chain saw and axes.

Luckily a friend saw them and asked what had happened. They were not amused by their friend’s hysterical laughter. Apparently the news spread quickly through the town. The town’s local newspaper even wrote an article warning readers of the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets. Soon after the event, my friends decided to buy a dog. I understand they take longer to eat a steering wheel and shred seats.

© Ken Bear Cole All rights reserved
Fishing with Bear LLC