Janet Nelson-Hood - Finding Little Bear

Copyright 2010 by Janet Nelson-Hood

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2017

eBook ISBN 978-1-48359-872-7

BookBaby
7905 North Crescent
Pennsauken Township, NJ 08110

www.bookbaby.com

Bio

Janet Nelson-Hood, first time author, shares her inspiring true story Finding Little Bear. Her thoughts, emotions and actions surrounding this heartfelt experience have left her with precious memories and her love and compassion for all animals is everlasting.

Being an only child of hardworking, caring and loving parents, her deep commitment has been to her family first and foremost. Son, Mike, and daughter, Ginger, are her two precious gifts of a lifetime. She is also blessed with two beautiful grand children, Jacob and Lindsey, and the love of her life, J.T. Hood (the cowboy in the poster).

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my mother Hazel, seventy nine years young, and who also is my best friend. She is also an Animal Person and asked me to write this story of Little Bear.

Table of Contents

Miracles are surprising and somewhat unbelievable, events that defy nature or scientific laws. Therefore, they are considered to be the work of a Devine Agency.

Pray for a Miracle is a term that each of us has heard or said at one time or another in our lives. Two times in my life I have prayed for a miracle and two times a miracle has happened.

Our family was traveling on vacation through central Oregon. As we approached the summit of a mountain range wilderness area, we spotted a tiny dog running lost and frightened. After hours of trying to rescue him, he disappeared into the wilderness resulting in sadness and tears.

Continuing on our 400 mile journey, we reached our destination, had our vacation and returned to our home on the Oregon coast. My thoughts were continuous about the little dog and my heart was troubled.

I prayed for a miracle.

A description of me will make some of you shake your heads and roll your eyes. My compassion for animals goes beyond how most people feel; in a sense, I consider these speechless creatures equivalent to humans. It has always been hard for me to separate the two. Most of the time, I like animals better than a lot of the people Ive come across.They ask for nothing, yet they need so much.

Cows and horses in a pasture rarely catch the attention of most people, but when I see them, I find myself looking beyond them, looking for plentiful grass and a stream of water nearby. Sometimes when I see them standing in the rain and wind with deep mud around them, I wonder why their caregiver has not provided shelter for them.

On a hot day in August, at the farmers market, a county fair, or a tourist attraction, about every third person is accompanied by a dog on a leash. Some look hot and are panting. I want to give every one of them a drink of cold water. Is the pavement too hot for their feet? Does anyone think of that? As I approach one to say hi and give a pet on the head, I find my hand moving down to the collar to make sure it is not too tight.

Living on the beach has opened my eyes to a lot of other animals and birds that I have never been close to.Every morning, the beach is covered with seagulls and many other sea birds. As a local wildlife volunteer, I have rescued many seabirds. Several of them had been blown ashore during a wind storm and became disoriented. They were huddled down, too weak to run or fly away, and allowed me to pick them up. Some birds had broken wings and other injuries.

Mother seals will sometimes bring their babies ashore to rest, just as all other babies do. She will then return to the sea to feed, leaving the little one behind. The abandoned baby will stay within a ten foot radius of where it was left to wait for mom to return. Sometimes the mother will return the same day, or she may leave the baby for up to two days. Our small group of volunteers would take turns looking after the pup; by roping off its area and posting, Do Not Disturb signs while we sat nearby. Unfortunately, other animals, mostly large dogs and a lot of the time people can be the enemy. When the mother finally arrives in the surf, she calls for the little one in a barking language. The baby will hear its mother and make its way to the water, and dive into the waves to greet her. To see the pair return to the ocean always left me with a sigh of relief and a special feeling of accomplishment.

Baby seal sleeping while mommas out fishing.

Rose and Ivy..these two tiny girls are Maltese Teacups weighing about three pounds each. We adopted the two sisters shortly after each birth, one year apart. The day I brought each one of them home, I found myself in the infant department buying baby blankets for them. This is about the time that my family and friends started talking behind my back, but I didnt care. These little angels made me happy.

They are always with JT and I and they get about anything they want because we love them so much. Rose and Ivy sleep on our bed and are constant lap dogs. Rose is now eleven years old, and Ivy is ten. When I am sad, they know. When I am sick, they know. When I am leaving, they know. Whether Im gone for an hour or a day, the joy in their little faces when I return tells me that I am the most important thing in their lives. I am the highlight of their day. My life would be empty without them.

Before moving to our current residence in a beautiful small town on the Oregon coast, we experienced apartment living in the city. The complex we lived in was in a wooded area with a large pond nearby. For several months, from my living room window, I would see a small long-haired black cat at the pond. It was sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree, which was half in the water. He sat there every day for several hours looking ragged and dirty, sad and alone.

December came and the pond was starting to freeze over. I decided to take the cat a bowl of food. When I got too close, he ran into the woods. For about three weeks, I would deliver the food and each time he got closer. One day his cold little nose touched my hand, and he was no longer afraid of me. I picked him up and brought him home. For the first three months, he spent most of the time under the bed coming out only to eat and use his box. This beautiful, long haired, Norwegian Forest cat is now a member of our family. His name is Shy.