Bear, German shepherd

Lost service dog found and returned
By Ed McMenamin, Pekin Daily Times
Posted Aug 03, 2010 @ 08:00 AM

PEKIN, Ill. — After more than a year, Barb Meskimen was pretty sure she’d never see Bear, her German shepherd, ever again.

Barb and Joey Meskimen play with their service dog "Bear" in front of their Pekin home Friday afternoon

Bear disappeared last May in an especially cruel turn of fate — he was her son Joey’s service animal. Bear was chained to his wheelchair ramp, and then suddenly gone, likely stolen.

“Bear never left the yard, ever, because he was specifically trained as a service dog,” she said. “And Bear had a shocker collar on him because he could, at times, get male aggressive.”

The collar was never found, but this week, across town from Meskimen’s southside home, a stray German shepherd was spotted by the Rob and Joyce DeBoer family.

“It was roaming the neighborhood and I chased it down,” Rob DeBoer said. “It took me about a half hour or so. Eventually we got it into the backyard, got it some water, and filled up the plastic pool for him to play in.”

DeBoer called Pekin Veterinary Clinic, and an employee came out on her lunch break to see if the dog was fitted with an identification microchip. Luckily, Bear had a chip, and soon the DeBoers had Meskimen on the phone.

“It was just the making of a happy day,” Rob said. “It was the most warm feeling you could get. It’s overwhelming warmness. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Bear had been cautious around Rob and Joyce. But as soon as he saw Meskimen, it was like no time had passed and Bear greeted her enthusiastically, she said.

“I don’t know if I should say I’m in seventh heaven or happier than hell,” she said a few hours after being reunited with Bear on Thursday. “My son said to me ... ‘Mom, I got something to live for now.’”

Bear had been about 2 years old when he was stolen, she said, and they had already put several hundred dollars into his special service training, not to mention the $300 purchase price and additional veterinary bills. Now they have a chance to finish the training, though she said the dog has lost some of what he learned last year.

“Thank God we had a microchip put in him,” Meskimen said. “We invested a lot of training in that dog.”

Bear is in fairly good shape, if a bit skinny, and walking with a slight limp, Meskimen said. And his teeth need cleaning.

Bear was found wearing a spiked choke collar, all but confirming the fact that he was stolen.

“I don’t like that,” Meskimen said. “I’ve never had one of those on my dog.”

Meskimen is well known to animal lovers in Pekin as the founder of the Bark and Purr Pet Pantry. Since its opening in May 2009, it has provided food to thousands of hungry pets. After a brief hiatus, the pantry is now back open.

“There have been a lot of people that thought they saw Bear,” she said. “When they’d come in they’d see his picture.

“We’re taking Bear with us (to the pet pantry). We want everybody to see that Bear’s home.”

Source: http://www.pekintimes.com/features/x272788669/Lost-service-dog-found-and-returned