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Branta's Grizzly Bear, aka Griz
September 1995 - August 2008
Branta's Grizzly Bear, aka Griz, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, was born in North
Dakota in September 1995. It became clear early on that Griz would rather swim
than walk and would much rather have a bird fall in the water than on land. He
made so many memorable, unbelieveable retrieves that he is somewhat of a
legend among our friends. He has dived into ice cold water and dodged ice
floes to retrieve a goose. He has broken ice on a pond to swim out to retrieve
a fallen bird. He has retrieved the heaviest of birds some weighing as much as
15 pounds and the smallest ducks that weigh ounces and are barely visible in
his big mouth as he brings them back. Griz suffered with advanced severe
arthritis in his last years and developed cancer in his left shoulder in early
2008. Finally his spirit could no longer tolerate his weakened body and we
buried him the evening of 31 August 2008, three days short of his 13th
birthday. He was a gentle, stoic giant and we were blessed to have him as part
of our family for nearly 13 years.
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