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Topics - jabear

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Dearest BPO Members,

It’s been a long time since Michael and I have been around here and just hung out, so I felt it was time for an update on all that is going on here as well as let you know about a major change that affects BPO.

Let me first start by saying that this is bitter sweet for me to write to you all. Michael & I began this site so long ago in the hopes of finding other dog lovers who could share stories with us and bounce ideas off of us when we needed some help with our big boy Bear. Since its birth, we were fortunate enough to find loving members to chat with regularly and become friends with, if only online. We were also able to meet some of the most amazing people who share a vision of a place filled with love and safety, where people could share their thoughts and feeling without feeling threatened. These people, our wonderful moderators, have been here every day working to keep the community as strong as it is. 

Unfortunately, as the years have progressed, life has also. Michael and I have found ourselves visiting less and less and the periods in between have grown longer and longer.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with our situation, here is a small look into our daily lives. Michael works full time and is in school. He has little free time between those two obligations, so when he is not in school or working, he is with me enjoying his freedom.  ;)
 
I am a teacher at a charter school so my days are long and extra duties are always taken up by those of "who can" in an effort to help our students perform the best they can. My free time includes being the good wife & mom to Bear so there really isn't much time left over. I’m also going back to school (full-time) to get my masters & pursue my dream job. Michael and I have also made the big decision that this summer is the summer of all changes- seriously looking for a house to buy and starting a family. So, to say there is a lot going on for us personally is an understatement .

Bear is not doing as well as we'd like. He's an old man at 6 3/4 years old and has terrible hips & elbows. He is a constant focus in our lives and so we take him to fun places and do lots of outdoor activities to keep him happy instead of spending so much time indoors. We know he can't go on like this forever so we're wasting no time in enjoying what time he has left.
 
I have told you all that is going on with us personally but now I need to tell you what else has happened and how you are all involved. Michael and I have made the tough decision, through lots of talks and deliberations, to sell BPO to a new owner. BPO is now in the hands of new owners who seem to love everything that you love about BPO. The brother and sister team want to keep the board the same and have no plans to change that. They will probably have questions from time to time and I hope you will be as gracious to them as you’ve been to us.

I hope you all can understand our point of view and know that we do love you and have BPO’s best interest at heart. We have tried to ensure that the transition will be as painless for you as possible. We will pop in from time-to-time to check in and see what’s new with you all and will always be reachable by email or pm should you need us. Michael and I are so thankful for the friendships we've made and the love you have for one another. This site turned into something more than we ever could have imagined and we'll never forget the great times we’ve had here.

All of our love,
   Jaime, Michael, and Bear

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Newfoundland Discussions / Oh Bear! =)
« on: March 25, 2009, 02:55:49 pm »
Bear is on a serious diet to lose weight to help him out with his terrible elbows & hips and so he is very restricted with what & how much he can eat. His whole life he has been the most trustworthy dog. We can leave whatever food out and know that he won't touch it. Well....yester day was another story.  ;)

I left a little bit of food out on the table from dinner the night before- a small piece of chicken, a little rice, and roll. ( I know, I'm lazy & decided not to clear off the table but since we rarely eat at the table I didn't think it was a big deal  ::)) Anyhow, I come home from work and look at the table....and see an empty plate with a small trail of rice leading to one side. I look at the table, look at him, look at the table, look at him. He puts his head down in shame and I laugh. Then I called Michael to make sure he didn't make the mess. The I loved my hungry boy and laughed some more. What a thief!

I can't believe he ate the food but it made me feel so bad because he was so hungry he couldn't resist the temptation.   :-\ So, I've upped the veggie fillers in his bowl and am hoping for the best.

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Newfoundland Discussions / A Newfless house is a lonely house
« on: February 23, 2009, 01:29:34 pm »
I just wanted to share my loneliness for a minute.  ;)

Bear is away at "winter-camp" right now and the house is so lonely. This coming weekend we're going out of town for some r-n-r and can't take him to the cabin we're staying in. We no longer have any non-relatives we trust with him, so he is staying with my parents for two whole weeks!  :o My parents live 3 1/2 hours away, so we went up there this past weekend & left him. We will be going to get him next weekend and although the break is nice (no 5:30 a.m. walks outside), coming home without being greeted is sad.  :( Even though he misses us too, he has grandma to give him extra tasty meals and grandpa to give him extra belly rubs so he's content.

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Anything Non-Dog Related / Is this creepy?
« on: January 28, 2009, 05:47:40 pm »
There is this guy on my floor that I have seen a few times before in passing. He seems normal looking, and said hi to Bear a few times- no biggie. Well a few days ago I see him getting out of the elevator as we go to get in. His English is not so great so I figure that whatever he has asked must be lost in translation. All I really understood was "I walk with you?" I stared and he said "Weird?". I nodded and smiled then got into the elevator.

Well, tonight Bear and I go walking down the hall to go outside. I hear the elevator door close as we walk down the hall. I'm laughing at Bear and tugging on the leash he has in his mouth. We round the corner & I see the guy there. He had heard me making noises & decided to wait and see it if was the 2 of us. Well, we make eye contact, he says "hi. Can I walk with you?" I make a face that says NO and then he asks "Is that weird?" I say yes in a way that to most would me absolutely not you freak. Then he walks his way & Bear & I go ours.

As I turn to enter the street, I look back at the people behind me & see him right behind us. He quickly catches up and walks with us. Bear is so....Bear...t hat he could care less. Mind you, this is one of the rare nights I'd love to see someone I know but nobody is around. He seems very nice, smiles way to much, knows I am married but walks with us anyways.  I kept the walk VERY short. We walk back into the building & go back up to our floor. As he leaves to his loft he goes, "next time we walk too." I just stare and RAN to my door.

So, now I am feeling all heeby-jeeby inside thinking he could be a erial killer or something. I have already called my dogless neighbor to convince her to walk with me when Michael is in class. I'm so creeped out....do you think I should be or am I over reacting?

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Anything Non-Dog Related / Some zoo pics
« on: January 01, 2009, 03:22:14 pm »
Today we went to the San Diego Zoo and had a BLAST! Here are some pics to share, including my gimpy husband in the motorized wheelchair (what an adventure that was with him at the the wheel).  ;)

I have also decided two things about my panda kidnap plan:

1. Stealing one from the zoo is not an option as there are too many people around & they are too tall- even the baby

2. My Bear is actually 10 lbs. more in weight than the 16 year old male panda so he could actually be considered a zoo animal too  ;D

I hope you like the pics and yes, I too thought the tiger was going to eat me with that scary direct eye contact.  :o

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Newfoundland Discussions / Bear could care less
« on: December 19, 2008, 02:50:03 pm »
There is this cat that lives across the way from us- a giant (like 30 lb.) white cat. We're on the 11th floor and he loves to walk the catwalk from his side of the building, across the middle, to our side. For months he'd just sit there and sun himself but in the last month or so has gotten brave and would come to our side. Well, he was crying outside my door one night on the balcony. I opened it and petted him- think it is a boy- and he's a love. So, he comes over and kinda hangs out to get love each night.

Two nights ago, he comes into the house and peeks around the corner at Bear. Michael & I stayed quiet just watching and as soon as he saw Bear he turned and ran out. Bear, of course, didn't even know he was in the house.  ::) Well, last night, he comes in again, goes around the couch and stares at Bear...and Bear stares back. No movement, no interest, nada. I swear, Bear is the laziest, most chill dog ever. The cat just stared and too but was interested so I think the two could become friends someday. If it happens again I'll have the camera ready.

I tried to get more info on the cat & let the owners know he has become a regular visitor but the weird neighbors who NEVER turn off their lights didn't answer. Oh well, at least the stalker kitty is nice right?  :)

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Anything Non-Dog Related / Just got my early Christmas present! =)
« on: December 14, 2008, 03:12:48 pm »
I'm so excited that I had to share! I just got my Christmas present early from Michael. Woohoo!!!

It's a new snowboard outfit- coolest pants that look like cords & a black but uber feminine jacket. I'm in love.  :)

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Monthly Photo Contests / 2009 BPO Calendar- VOTE HERE!
« on: November 30, 2008, 10:05:35 am »
Finally! The BPO Calendar Contest is in effect. When we lost all of the data last month, this was put to the back of my to do list. Here it is however. There are only 14 entries this year so we'll have one voting session only. The top 12 dogs will be on an individual month with the other 2 dogs making the cover.

Happy voting and remember...

*you can vote for up to 12 dogs
*you may only vote once
*the name of the dog is under the picture

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Newfoundland Discussions / Ah ha! The return of the thief!
« on: November 26, 2008, 02:50:31 am »
Just a bit ago Bear and I were getting ready to head out for the morning walk. I was getting on my shoes & coat and he was walking around- for what I didn't know. Usually he's hanging with me but not today. So, as I stand up with my shoes on I say "Bear let's go". No response. I see him standing by the coffee table though in deep thought- frozen due to the heavy concentration. "Bear hurry up! Let's go." Just as I finish the sentence, I see it in slow motion. His head lowers just slightly and he picks up the small piece of pumpkin pie from the plate on the table with the side of his mouth. I'm still just watching- one gulp, two gulps, done.  :o As he licked his lips he walked to me and all I could do was laugh. The pie was there all night and he never touched it- brat huh?!

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Newfoundland Discussions / Funniest comment I've heard yet
« on: November 13, 2008, 03:45:29 pm »
Today I was walking home with Bear from a potty break. I'm used to hearing stupid lines which make no sense and the usual "Is that a bear?" blah, blah, blah. Normally I ignore them and appease them with a small smile but today I was laughing out loud! As we walked by this guy he looks at us and says, "Wow! Obviously the financial crunch isn't effecting your household." I laughed so loud and thanked him for making my day.

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Anything Non-Dog Related / When will boys learn?
« on: October 20, 2008, 03:37:11 pm »
So I was visiting my parents this weekend with Bear while Michael stayed home to work & go to class on Saturday. Everything was great and we were having  blast. Sunday morning after breakfast I get a phone call from an umber I don't know but I do know the area code & figure it is Michael. It is. He calls to tell me to meet him at the ER at home because he just broke his foot while riding his dirt bike! :o

I have told him 1,000 times to dress appropriately & slow down. At 33 he is no spring chicken & has a terrible back due to tons of accidents in his earlier, more careless days.  ::) Anyhow, Bear & I rush home to spend 2 hours in the ER. Today, we go to our primary doctor and spend 1 hour there then 6 more in the ER at UCLA waiting for new xrays & a cat scan. Turns out he needs surgery but it can't be done til the swelling goes down. I'm annoyed he didn't listen to begin with but now he is in pain & prmises to be carful & act appropriately.  :'( Let's hope right?  ;)

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Specific Website Information / BPO crash- yeterday's outage
« on: October 16, 2008, 05:09:01 am »
Hi everyone! So, unfortunately BPO went down  Tuesday night about 8:00 due to an unfortunate mistake made by one of the server administrators . A mistake was made which affected all of the websites on our server and took over 24 hours to fix. We are back up which is great but we are really disappointed that 1 month data has been lost and is unable to be retrieved. Long story short, we now know that we must rely on ourselves to do a back up regularly since the company entrusted with doing this didn't.

If there is anyone who registered here in the past month and can't login now, just re-register with the same name & password as our system never knew you existed. Sorry for the problems that this might have caused.

If you have any other problems or questions, please feel free to email me at jabear@gmail.com

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Newfoundland Discussions / Maybe he is a protector after all!
« on: July 15, 2008, 09:46:10 pm »
Last night Bear and I were crossing the street after our finally potty. It was dark, about 9:30 and it was just the two of us since Michael was in class. People were around but nobody particularly creepy or anything in my opinion. Anyhow, before we crossed the street a new bunch of people arrived and stood near us but not to close. Bear turns around, looks at one guy and growls. I couldn't believe it! The guy looked ok and wasn't to close but Bear wouldn't let go. I told him to "leave it" and that it was ok but as we crossed he kept staring at the guy and growled again. The guy moved from the left of Bear to complete other side of the cross walk and then quickly walked down the street. I am so proud of my boy because he protected his momma by sensing something I couldn't. What a good boy huh?

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Anything Non-Dog Related / Every pet loves its owners
« on: July 01, 2008, 07:50:44 pm »
Michael sent me this clip yesterday and I cried...big baby, I know. I just thought it was so cute that I had to share. The bond between families- non-human and human members clearly can't ever be broken!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv4Sia94Cu8&feature=related

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Groans, Gripes, Brags & Boasts / Free speech is over rated!
« on: June 28, 2008, 10:35:48 pm »
Tonight we're enjoying the cool air & taking a slow walk through our little park when some jerk starts talking. He asked what kind of dog we had and I told him. Then he asks- "How can you be ok with that? Your dog is obviously sad! Look at him- in prison with a chain holding him down" blah blah blah. I didn't know what to say other than get very upset and so e walked away- quickly- but he kept on and on. Sometimes being able to speak your mind is so not ok. And living in downtown LA with all of the unstable bums, talking back is never a safe decision, especially if it is a disagreement.  Gr....people suck sometimes!

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