08/13/2026
In Loving Memory of Clara Bear
Our “Care Bear” 💜
Sunday we said goodbye to Clara Bear—our sweet Care Bear, the matriarch of our Yorkie pack.
Clara was never just one of the dogs. She was the boss, the supervisor, the keeper of order, and she made absolutely certain everyone knew it. She was full of personality, wonderfully stubborn, and the undisputed alpha of our little pack. If someone stepped out of line, you could count on Clara to notice.
She loved the important things in life: pup cups, snack time, car rides, and keeping everyone else in their place. And somehow, despite her opinionated nature, she patiently tolerated all of my picture-taking antics over the years. Whether she wanted to participate or not, Clara Bear was going to be in the picture, because snacks of course.
She was simply a constant—a familiar little presence woven into the everyday rhythm of our home. And when you’ve loved someone for that long, you don’t realize just how much space they occupy until suddenly that space is empty.
Our pack will feel different without its matriarch.
There will be an empty seat on the car rides, one less face waiting for snacks, and no Clara Bear making sure everyone remembers who’s in charge.
I would have given anything for more time.
Thank you, Clara, for the years of companionship, laughter, stubbornness, attitude, and unconditional love. Thank you for helping make our house a home and our crazy little Yorkie family a pack.
You were loved beyond measure, Care Bear, and you always will be.
Run free, sweet Clara Bear.
No more struggling. No more tired heart.
Just endless pup cups, unlimited snacks, and everyone behaving exactly the way you think they should.
Forever the matriarch.
Forever our Care Bear. 💜🐾
We later learned that Clara had been quietly living with congestive heart failure that had gone undetected. It came on suddenly and progressed with heartbreaking speed, leaving her heart severely enlarged and overwhelmed with fluid. She was struggling to breathe, and it became clear that she was suffering in a way we could not ease. As much as we wanted to hold on, we knew it would not be fair to ask her to keep fighting when her body was failing her. With the deepest love and the heaviest hearts, we made the decision to let her go peacefully and gently, so she would not have to struggle anymore.