Joanne was looking at three Standard Poodle puppies on the internet when she “heard” her recently passed dog, Cooper, excitedly announce, “Get that one!"
Out of curiosity, she and her husband, Charlie, drove over to “just look” at the puppies. They made a pact that they would not spontaneously take a puppy home -- unless one chose them.
They held two bi-colored, seven-week-old pups and their little chocolate-colored brother, Kona, who Cooper had chosen for them. When Joanne was about to tell the breeder which puppy she wanted, Kona toddled from across the room, laid down at Joanne’s feet and fell asleep. The amazed breeder said, “I have never seen a puppy do that!”
“Kona was named after Hawaiian coffee beans but when we called him, he didn't respond,” said Joanne. “In frustration, Charlie exclaimed ‘Well that's a bean!’ and the puppy turned his head towards Charlie. So we renamed our new family member Mr. Bean.”
Cooper had deeply loved Amber, their rescued brown- and-white, German shorthaired pointer with “Amber” colored eyes.
When the couple arrived home with their little brown bean, Amber excitedly greeted them at the door. Mr. Bean mysteriously and instantly appeared to recognize his doggy-sister. They were bonded from moment one! Cooper obviously wanted his family loved and taken care of after his departure, so he chose the paw-fect fur baby for them.
“It is surreal how much Mr. Bean is like Cooper,” said Joanne. “Cooper would walk through our legs for us to pet his rear end and Mr. Bean does the same thing. Mr. Bean is also addicted to one thing -- TV! His favorite movie is Lawrence of Arabia because he likes watching the camels! His favorite TV show is ‘Lucky Dog.’ When we announce ‘Lucky Dog is on’, he runs into the living room, jumps on the love seat and props his head on the armrest paw-pering to watch his
favorite show from his favorite location.
He also enjoys watching the Westminster Kennel Club’s dogs as they parade on the show and all veterinarian shows. Once, when they had a dog laying under a drape prior to surgery, Mr. Bean went over to the set and started whimpering! We wondered if he was comforting the animal or telling us he was deeply concerned about its injuries.
Mr. Bean is just like us! He also has his favorite commercials. When he hears the music from his favs, he runs into the living room and stands in front of the TV waiting to see the dog that he knows is in the commercial that is about to come on.
Mr. Bean is a local celebrity! When we are out walking, his personality and good looks stop residents and tourists alike, so they can love on and pet him. He’s a major hit at the care home too! He takes his pup-ularity in stride. I wonder if he paws-ibly thinks that he is a TV movie star too?”
