Red isn’t much of a morning dog.
Sure, he loves it when his family — Zofie Rot and Andrew Revesz from Toronto, Canada — take him along on their far-flung adventures.
Hiking. Climbing. Even cycling.
But mornings?
“He loves camping and being outdoors, he’s just not a morning dog,” Revesz tells iHeartDogs. “I literally have to drag him out of bed — or the tent — to pee in the morning.”
But it didn’t take long for Red to find something, or someone, worth getting up for.
Another dog came sniffing around the campsite — one who didn’t seem to have an owner. The dog, who the couple took to calling Blue Bear, bonded hard with Red.
“Initially he was a little shy but then he warmed right up and would play with Red,” Rot says. “We thought he was a local dog that would come around looking for food, so we didn’t worry too much.”
But this dog had a backstory steeped in tragedy. Rot and Revesz soon learned from another camper that Blue Bear had been roaming the area on his own for at least three weeks.
Ever since his family packed up — and left him behind.
“The area we were in is known for locals dropping off their dogs at the climbers’ campground,” Rot says. “It’s a very poor area, and there is usually a dog there the climbers feed.”
Blue Bear was that dog.
He was often seen cowering in the rain. Or sniffing around campsites for scraps. He wore his countless ticks like a necklace of shame. No tags. Just a crude collar made of rope.
But Red wasn’t about to let go of the friend he made at camp. Neither were his people.
“We immediately decided he was coming home with us,” Rot says.
Home turned out to be around 500 miles from there — or, as Revesz puts it, “12 hours with pee breaks.”
But Blue Bear got the best view for his 500 mile freedom ride home, thanks to a gracious Red who yielded the front seat for his new best friend.
“Red used to ride shotgun in the car before big Blue Bear showed up,” Revesz says.
There was, of course a stop at a veterinary clinic for vaccines and to have those ticks plucked away. Not to mention a treat spree at pet store along the way.
That’s where Blue Bear was introduced to real dog food. But it turned out this dog may have been in the wilderness a little too long.
“We gave him some delicious wet food outside the store — the ‘good stuff’ that Red would lose his mind over,” Revesz explains. “And Blue was just like ‘ummm… you guys have any hot dogs and chips?’”
Then when the family finally arrived home, they realized there were a few other details that no one had bothered to tell Blue Bear about.
“So we finally got back home and realized he had never been inside a house had not been housebroken,” Rot says.
But Blue Bear turned out to be a fast learner, getting the bathroom thing down in just a few days.
But there were a few things already etched on Blue Bear’s heart. Like how to love.
“He wants to cuddle nonstop,” Rot says. “He’s even been awesome with the cats. He’s actually a little scared of them.”
And Red?
It turns out mornings aren’t so bad with his new best friend.
