Little Bit first entered my life, when a friend of mine invited me to visit his cabin. He had 12 dogs in a fenced pen. He let them out to introduce them to me, and one of them ran straight over to my truck and jumped in. We figured he just thought he was being let out to go somewhere. I spent a few hours there before I decided to head back home. The dog, Little Bit, was still in the truck. When His owner tried to get him out, Little Bit bit him and he decided to give ownership to me...... even though Little Bit chose me.
At that point in my life I was very much a loner. I lived in the woods inside of a tent for 2 years until I ended up in the hospital. A friend of mine at that time decided enough was enough and demanded I move in with him and his family. Little Bit was not amused and caused me alot of trouble during this period. Shortly thereafter I moved out to the first gold claim where we lived in harmony for a year. Eventually I realized I needed to find a job if for no other reason than to keep my sanity. Shortly after I found a job in Glacier City and began to attempt getting back on on top. Shortly after I got established in Glacier City, I was fortunate enough to get visitation from my son Kiegn (Key-Un) and exposed him to the gold mining tradition.
We decided to do a reasonable hike.... My 2 mining partners and Kiegn and myself....and of course Boo.We had decided to hike the streambed instead of the trail and made it about 1 mile up before we took a rest. Within 5 minutes of our break, my son Kiegn yelled "BEAR!". By the time we all turned to look, one of the biggest grizzly bears we have ever seen was charging across the creek at my son. Little Bit ran down in between them, which was about a 7 foot gap, and got right into the bears face. At about this time, we all noticed a cub about 20 feet from the sow. Immediately Little Bit focussed in on the cub and began chase. The sow, seeing her cub in distress, turned her attention towards the cub and followed through the woods. At that time I, as well as the rest of the team, figured Little Bit was a goner. Within 10 minutes, Little Bit emerged like a conquering hero, which he was! He has saved my life at least 4 times, but this was the most memorable!
RIP Boo Bear, You will be missed greatly! (1997-2010)
