Just shy of a year after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Connor was gifted a yellow lab by the generous breeders, Jessica and Jamie, of North Shore Labradors. We named our new family member, Bear. (We always called Connor, Connor Bear, so it seemed liked a fitting name. Plus, it fit are already sports named dogs.)

Since bringing him home, Connor and Bear have become inseparable. Bear naps with Connor on the couch, sleeps on the end of his bed every night, plays in the snow, goes swimming and everything in between.

Bear is far from a therapy dog but he is Connor's therapy dog. He has eased the long days of chemo, the side effects of the medication and given us so much love. He completes our chaotic family of boys.

This past Wednesday I rushed Bear to our vet after he was showing signs of distress. Unbeknownst to us he had eaten a rope toy, and one of the kids socks. He quickly underwent surgery and suffered a cardiac arrest as he was being stitched up. Thankfully, he survived but has some healing to do. The doctors and staff at Four Paws have been nothing short of amazing and the words "thank you" fall flat.

Bear miraculously made it through Wednesday night and Thursday. He temporarily lost his vision but he has since regained in. He has lost weight, two feet of intensities and may have some complications (time will tell). But he's alive!

We are once again finding ourselves stressed with a financial burden, and this happened almost 3 days to the date when Connor was diagnosed. We are so thankful Bear is alive, but now we are left with a hefty vet bill. There is no doubt in my mind Bear has fought his way back so he can come home to Connor. He has taken a page out of Connor's book; they are fighters together. It's no wonder they are best friends.