You already know that the Wishing Well at Lake Arrowhead Village was one of Jamie’s (My Doggie Says…) favorite places. She used to drag us into this charming little gift shop because of the doggie-friendly water bowl and the HUGE puppy treats. Not missing a beat, Callie has made the same discovery. Here, from My Doggie Says…, is Jamie straining to get another puppy treat.
Because proprietress Mary Kelly is used to a steady stream of furry dog-friends in her shop, she didn’t pay much attention when a different kind of furry friend wandered in — a one-hundred pound bear cub.
Fortunately, Mary, a true lover of animals, knew not just to give the cub lots of space, but also to get the help of Wildhaven Ranch, a Lake Arrowhead-based animal rescue and rehabilitation organization managed by Diane Dragotto Williams. Wildhaven Ranch tries to protect and rehabilitate local animals, but they are also a shelter for animals (like bears) that have become “imprinted” by humans. Once an animal becomes “imprinted” it can lose its ability to forge for itself in the wild. Or, worse, it can become a threat to people.
So the Wildhaven folks know how to deal with these situations in order to protect people, but also to protect the bears from becoming imprinted, which, according to Diane, can be a death sentence for the bear.
Here’s the whole story in the Mountain News.
It’s fun that two of my favorite “mountain ladies” are both a part of this story.
I’ve written before about Wildhaven Ranch (August 13 blog). These people are true animal lovers. To me, one of their noblest efforts is the attempt to educate people about the dangers of “imprinting” wild animals. Often this happens because someone feels sorry for the animals (a bear in this case) and decided to feed them. This might be well-intentioned, but it makes the bear dependent on the person doing the feeding and can lead to “imprinting.”
Sometimes, the best way to love an animal is to let its own breeding and genetics have their way. This is often the case with our dogs, as well.
