Bear, owned by Gerald Lindquist of Nice, was up for a vicious dog abatement order in August, as Lake County News has reported.
The dog, a large, 6-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever mix, had allegedly been involved – along with two other dogs – in an attack on some neighbors, and was ordered to be kenneled permanently, officials reported.
However, he chewed his way out of a chain link kennel in July and shortly afterward was impounded by Lake County Animal Care and Control, which landed his case before the Board of Supervisors on Aug. 3.
At that time, the board agreed to allow Bear to be sent out of county to a trainer in an effort to see if training could change his circumstances.
Bear ended up going to Sherry Boyer, owner of Dog Behavior Rehab and the Dog House Inn in Gilroy, a facility with a playground and training center where Bear could get another chance.
Boyer said she's worked with dogs deemed vicious before. She also let the board know that she's found dogs that can't be saved because of behavioral characteristics.
However, she didn't have that opinion of Bear, who was picked up by one of her trainers from the county's animal shelter.
Bear came out of the kennel muzzled and dragging an employee behind him, she said.
But during the trip to Gilroy, Bear ended up riding up front with the trainer, with his head in her lap for most of the ride, Boyer said.
“He came into our facility wagging his tail and from that point forward we did not have any problem with him,” said Boyer, who noted that Bear did well in his training, and was very happy and enthusiastic.
She said that the dog had not been trained, and so was not working to his potential.
Tasha Bollinger, Lindquist's attorney, appeared for him before the board.
Lindquist, who was in the hospital during the August hearing, has gone from being in a wheelchair to a walker, but can't care for the dog now, said Bollinger. As a result, he wanted the dog to remain in Gilroy.
Boyer recommended to the board that Bear not be destroyed, stating that he was fully rehabilitated.
The board also was told that Lindquist is not requesting that the dog be released to return to his Nice home.
Animal Care and Control Officer Morgan Hermann, who had impounded Bear in July, said the people who were caring for him in Lindquist's absence weren't taking proper care of the dog.
“There was no stability in this dog's life,” she said.
Boyer said she didn't know about his home situation in Nice, but she has a group of dogs that help work on dog aggression training that he fits into, so he could remain with her.
She's set up with a secure facility with a welded wire enclosure and a special latch and padlock, but she noted he didn't even try to get out. Boyer also had Bear neutered immediately after he arrived.
Boyer showed a video of the dog in which he was called a “big goober lab.”
Bear was shown going through his paces, working with trainers, doing long sits and stays, playing with other dogs and waiting on command to receive his dinner before gobbling it up.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington asked how the training translated into the dog losing his aggressive propensities. Boyer explained that if dogs are being worked as they're meant to be, “they don't have as much built up inside of them to let out.”
She said that's true of any dog, especially working dogs like Labradors. However, she said she didn't fully know how to answer Farrington's question, since she didn't see aggressive tendencies in Bear.
In assessing the situation, Supervisor Denise Rushing said of Bear, “I would hesitate to just put him back in the circumstance that he left.”
Hermann said Bear had been involved in the attack with two other dogs, both females, which have since been destroyed.
“I'm quite impressed with how the video turned out,” Hermann said, adding, “He seems like a totally different dog.”
Boyer said sometimes dogs get really aggressive in the uncomfortable environment at the training facility, but Bear hasn't.
Hermann suggested the dog may not have been the ring leader in the attack, which nonetheless resulted in a bite. That's unlike how he appeared in the video.
Supervisor Jeff Smith said he saw no problem with leaving Bear in Gilroy, although the board should have an update if the dog returns to the county.
Based on the video, “This looks like a dog I would have in a heartbeat,” Smith said.
Supervisor Jim Comstock said he loved dogs, including Labradors, and added he wasn't at all tolerant of vicious dogs. He asked who would pay to keep Bear in Gilroy, and was told Lindquist would.
Bollinger said if Lindquist passes away, Boyer wants to keep Bear in her pack.
Interim Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson said that would be acceptable. He also suggested that if Lindquist relinquished the dog to Boyer now, it would end Animal Care and Control's involvement in the situation.
Farrington said he was impressed with Boyer's facility.
“Even the playground made me want to visit,” he said, adding, “I need some training all the time.”
Farrington added, “This might be one travel expense that Rob(Brown) will support.”
Since the matter was an update, no action was taken.
In other news, the board continued its discussion on the U Wanna Camp campground near Lakeport, but put off a decision on whether or not to enforce a code violation case, with the matter set to come back once again to the board later this month.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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