IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR LUNABEAR

DISCLAIMER: TISSUES ARE SUGGESTED BEFORE READING

Sadly, the Camera Couple has lost a loving and furry member. If there was ever a perfect companion for the Camera Couple, it was our LunaBear. And if you've been following along with us since 2018, you knew her well. We even had wrote a welcome blog just for her!

We dedicate this blog to her and all the amazing adventures and memories we shared over the last 8 years. 

We won't be able to capture all the pictures or stories of our LunaBear, because to be quite blunt, there are just too many. She was a part of everything we did and a loyal member of the family, but it feels appropriate to start at the beginning of our time with LunaBear...

LUNABEAR COMES HOME

In January 2018 we left our apartment in Pineville, NC and moved up to Concord. I had begged Cameron for a dog for a solid year, and he promised we would get one as soon as we had a yard and space. As we were making a run with a load of moving boxes in the vehicle from the apartment to the house, Cameron pulled into the Humane Society of Concord.

I saw a dog online there that I really wanted to meet, so in we went! When we got inside they let us go back to the larger dog area and have a look. As we were walking to the cage to the dog I wanted to see, Cameron called me back to look in one of the other cages. There was LunaBear. The only dog in the entire room just sitting politely, not barking, not jumping. Just staring up at us with her big eyes and little bear face.

We couldn't resist. We immediately took her out to the play area and within seconds she was rolling over for us demanding belly rubs and being an absolute love. Sadly, the responsible adult voices in us felt it didn't seem right to just take a dog while we were mid-move. So we sadly put her back and went on with our moving.

I thought about Luna all week long at work. That Saturday I still couldn't stop thinking about her and we decided to go back to the shelter. As soon as Luna saw us, she was excited. We brought her out again and this time she rolled in some dog poop and jumped on Cameron. I knew right then she was the winner. I laughed so hard and Cameron groaned. As timing would have it, we got a call that our washer and dryer for the new house were being delivered in a few minutes. We didn't have time to do paperwork, so for a second time, we had to put Luna back in the cage.
 
There was no stopping me this time. I wasn't going to risk anyone else getting to take Luna. After the delivery, we swung to a PetSmart and grabbed a leash, a toy, some bowls, and immediately went back to get Luna. Truthfully, we had no clue what we were doing, and we weren't even fully moved, but when she came through the door of the shelter lobby I'll never forget her face when she saw it was us. We all knew we were ready to be a family. 

One of my favorite LunaBear moments was when she got home to our house the first day. She panted in excitement the whole 5-minute car ride home and when we brought her in the house she ran right through the door into the kitchen and just squatted and peed in the kitchen. Smiling the whole time. She was house trained and completely fine after, but the pure joy and excitement while claiming her new home made her unable to contain it. I still laugh thinking about it because I know she was telling us this was HER home now... and she wasn't wrong!

Over time she claimed the couch, the bed, and anything she could get her paws sprawled out on!

LUNBEAR LEARNS TO CAMP

It didn't take long for LunaBear to get the hang of adventures. As we learned through the 8 years, she adapted incredibly well. As long as she had a comfy spot to lay she was going to be just fine. Her first few months with us we took her on several day trip adventures. She hopped right in to the vehicle and she quickly learned what tents, campers, and canoes were. ​

In the summer of 2018, Cameron proposed on one of our road tips. It was just the 3 of us alone in the woods and it was absolutely perfect as we talked about forever and spent the night in the tent. We had a tiny bar of cell service just long enough to share the news of the engagement with my mom, but the rest of the time was our little family enjoying a beautiful spot in Vermont.

She loved to steal the whole bed, even in the tent!

Smiling because her parents are engaged!

If you've ever wonder how we got into having a trailer so fast, the answer is LunaBear. It turns out fluffy bear dogs don't do well in North Carolina summer heat, so we upgraded just for her!

One of our tenting trips to the Carolina coast, Luna just stayed up all night panting, which meant so did I! It wasn't too long after that we decided it was time to get our girl some AC on wheels so we could still explore.

We joke about a lot of our upgrades were for our little bear to make sure she was always comfy, like the Ram mega cab so she had plenty of space in the backseat! But the truth was, she was a member of the family and needed to be comfy too.

Jokes aside, LunaBear really did love camping and adventures. Especially in her younger years when she could be more active. She would hike with us, explore the water, think she was a good rock climber (she was kinda clumsy and tripped a lot), and then lay outside on her cot with us or enjoy the camper beds and recliner chairs. She always was a perfect companion on our adventures mostly because like us, she liked being lazy and enjoying the outside. I wish we could share all the photos of her enjoying our adventures, but here are some favorites!

LUNABEAR ATTENDS A WEDDING

If you attended our wedding you know LunaBear was the real star of the show. Sitting on my wedding dress train in her little bowtie. She celebrated the entire day with us and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It made the day truly perfect having her be a part of it.

LUNBEAR LOVED FOOD

I always got teased by outsiders how LunaBear got the most exquisite food. I cooked her homemade meals and watching her devour them brought me pure joy. You have to be a food lover to fit in our house, and our girl certainly loved her meals, right up to the very end. If we were in the kitchen, Lunabear was close by stamping her little feet demanding some snackies. It was the quickest way to befriend her.

One of the more hilarious LunaBear memories was when Cameron and I tried to teach her to slow down eating and we made her sit and wait for her bowl. Well, we did it once and never again because she started trembling and making the most pathetic sad face at us and couldn't bear the bowl not being devoured. It was hysterical.

LUNABEAR'S FRIENDS

Luna was a gentle soul. She never destroyed anything, she wasn't aggressive, and she loved her little stuffed toys. At our first house she would pick a toy out each night and gently carry it to upstairs to bed. It was always cute if one was a little too big for her mouth and Cameron would help her. He'd say "should we pick a toy to bring to bed?" and she knew to go pick one out of the basket. By the end of the week we would have lots of toys in bed with us until I brought them back downstairs and we started the whole process over. Just one of the many adorable and happy moments she gave us. 

LUNBEAR CELEBRATIONS

They say a picture's worth a thousand words, and these really are! We never knew Luna's actual birthday because the shelter had 2 dates far apart listed. So instead, we celebrated every year on January 27th because it was the day we brought her home. She was always a good sport about it.... I think mostly because she liked the treats.

LOVE TO OUR LUNABEAR

The pain and sadness of losing our LunaBear is greatly felt and always will be. Adventures aren't quite the same without our little bear. But the joy and moments she gave us that we shared together as a family will forever live on and we are lucky to have had her for 8 special years. RIP our little LunaBear.