More: We adopted Bear at 18 mos. from a Florida county shelter in 2008 after his owners lost their home in the recession. He had heart worms and had never been house trained. After a rough start, he settled nicely into life with my husband and me in Minnesota, enjoying weekends at the lake in the summer, and snowshoe walks in the winter.. We’re now retired and live in Texas with Bear for the winter but head back up north to the lake for the summer where he still spends his day either laying on the dock or standing in the lake, fishing!