Way back in Spring 2016,  little baby Bear joined the Twilight pack. And what a tiny poppet he was then! There was a joke that Twilight was having a mid-life crisis. In Leeanne’s words: “No, we are not changing our policy of the oldies. But I just wanted a baby! Turning fifty, and Victoria Wood dying so young … Life has to be lived, so a baby it was to be!”

There are always so many puppies to choose from, but buying was obviously not an option. Danielle Diczy of the Association La Mere Aux Betes De Lasplanes in the Lot had just the little chap. One of five abandoned puppies, found in a dustbin. Yes, dumped in a poubelle. Sadly, only four survived and Danielle raised the little munchkins and bottle fed them.

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The new little man arrived at Twilight just six seeks old, Leeanne and Mike’s own dog for his costs, but a team member of the Twilight pack. Mummy Twilight’s birthday present.

Bear quickly settled down to Twilight life, bringing a new lease of life to some of the oldies and making firm friends with his dear pal Dobbie. In September 2016, Bear and Dobbie accompanied Mike on his sponsored walk to Lourdes, to raise funds for the Reverse Rhett’s Charity.

But poor Bear was not without problems of his own and it turned out, as he grew into the fine strapping lad that he is today, that he is blind in one eye. He also had a health scare back in summer 2017, when a fast growing but free moving lump on his side – fatty tissue, we thought – turned out to be a nasty tumour. He was quickly into the vets for surgery. However, he was young and bounced back swiftly.

Now at the age of three and a half, Bear is a very special young lad – the best uncle to the youngsters Elen and Braille, a dearly loved nephew to all the oldies, and the very best chum to his partner in crime, Dobbie. There’s nothing the pair like more than chasing each other around the garden, until Dobbie is exhausted, crashes out for a few minutes and then comes back for more. And Bear always seems to have something in his mouth ­– a cushion, his favourite ball, Lego?? In fact, he never grows tired of chasing his ball, so watch out if you come to visit, he’s bound to ask you to throw the ball for him all afternoon.

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