Honza Bear Roars and Then Sputters
You may wish to read Part I, John and the Lumbering “Honza Bear”, of this series first before reading Part II below.
“Nolan, this is Lucy. She will be your primary dog,” said the instructor.
Specialist John Nolan looked down at the seven-year-old black lab. He put his hand out for her to sniff. He felt her wet nose and watched as she wagged her tail slowly. She sniffed him cautiously. John stroked her head. She nudged his hand with her snout. John knew she was satisfied with her investigation of him.
John looked over at his other pal, the yellow Labrador Honza, who was watching the meeting through his chain link kennel. Honza let out a groan as he stretched his front paws forward. He placed his square head down on them. He never took his eyes off of John.
John sighed and thought this didn’t compare to the greeting he had received from Honza a week before.
“Lucy is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. She knows what she is doing. She doesn’t take all day to do it,” said the instructor as he eyed Honza, who let out a slight sigh as he opened his mouth wide for a 30-second yawn. John could see the dog’s wet pink tongue fall and hang out of the side of his mouth.
John could feel those brown eyes. He knew Honza was staring at him. He felt his stomach churn. Why did he feel guilty about petting Lucy? Shouldn’t he pair up with Lucy? She had two deployments already. She would be his best bet for survival in a combat zone, right?
During the specialized search dog course that followed their meeting, Lucy became John’s primary dog. But his heart lingered with Honza. His instructors were determined to pair him with Lucy, yet John spent his free time conducting extra training with Honza who he thought might be starting to come around.
One day during training John’s senior instructor pulled him aside after watching him and Honza work a training problem and asked, “Nolan, what have you done to Honza? I’ve never seen him work this well for anyone else. Heck, I’ve never seen him work this well, period.”
John was elated and replied, “He just gets me Sergeant. And I get him. He may be slow, but he is thorough. I’m okay with him being thorough when we are searching for things that could blow us up.”
As his instructor walked away John knelt down to pet Honza who had flipped over on his back. As John stroked his belly Honza began making grumbling noises that sounded like a bear.
Honza Bear was starting to come around.
By the end of the course there was no doubt that Lucy was a better search dog and John’s instructors urged him to choose her instead of Honza. But John’s heart already belonged to The Bear. When John departed dog school for Virginia it was the big yellow head of Honza Bear sticking out of his car, ears flapping and tongue hanging in the breeze. John was ready to take his chances with the Lumbering Honza Bear.
Soon he would wonder, though, had he made a mistake when he followed his heart instead of his brain?
This was the question John asked himself three months prior to his scheduled deployment to Afghanistan. John and Honza were preparing for a deployment with a Special Forces Unit in December. There was one small problem though.
Honza had bombed certification. Certification is a requirement for a dog team to deploy. It is a series of trials to test a team’s proficiency in finding explosives. An explosive team must certify at 95% proficiency or they aren’t allowed to work as a team.
They had failed their first certification miserably. Honza had looked like he was out raiding picnic baskets, not searching for explosives.
That meant that three months before John and Honza were supposed to deploy they were uncertified and unsure of their future as a team.
Once again John wondered, should he have chosen the grizzled combat veteran Lucy?
He knelt down and Honza leaped up on his knee and pushed his body against him. John pulled him tight and pushed his nose against the wet nose of Honza and asked, “Can you do this, pal? You know I need you. I take care of you and you take care of me. That is how this works. Got it?”
Honza let out a crisp series of loud barks. John hoped Honza understood because if he didn’t they wouldn’t be doing anything together for much longer. He would have to get a new dog and who knew what would happen to Honza Bear. John knew they must pass certification on their next chance.
Did John make a mistake by following his heart instead of his brain?
Should John have chosen the grizzled combat veteran Lucy?
Will they pass certification and deploy as a team?
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18 comments on “Honza Bear Roars and Then Sputters”
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No! Nolan didn’t make a mistake. It’s never a mistake to go with what your gut and heart tell you. The Bear will come around. Sometimes, the longer it takes to learn, the better it sticks. Can’t wait for the next installment. Thanks, Kevin. Love your stories.
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Kevin Hanrahan says:
Thanks Barbara. My only worry is sometimes you have to lead with your brain when heading to Afghanistan! I hope that John will turn Honza around though!
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Yeah. I don’t have any idea what it means to be a soldier, but I can tell you that I have the greatest admiration and respect for our men and women who serve in the military. You all have my heartfelt thanks. By the way, I voted for Honza Bear today in that service awards thing going on. :0)
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Thanks Barbara. Great point about Honza. I totally forgot to mention the link. My wife has been voting for Honza and I for Gabe. I comitted to Gabe before I had met Honza.
Here is Honza Bear’s link for the Hero Award: http://www.herodogawards.org/vote/?nominee=41969818 VOTE HONZA BEAR TODAY!
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Wanda says: Ah, during instruction, Honza was motivated by being concerned he’d be replaced. But then got complacent?
Looking forward to the next installment to find out if Honza got his act together and passed certification.
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I wonder if you are right Wanda. Did Honza get complacent? I wish I could ask him!
Colleen Custer says: Hi Kevin
I read the first one yesterday and was excited to see this one up today. I am already exited to see what the next one will bring. Me personally I always seem to gravitate to the dogs that are the slow learner but are totally the lovers.
Great story!! Can’t wait for the next one. 
Colleen
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Thanks Colleen. There is no doubt the bond is there! Now John just has to turn Honza around. I am rooting for them both!
aww I just love Nolan even though my name is Lucy. I just wish Nolan would get to go home with John and that there was no war and they could just play fetch together and go on an actual picnic. I know I’m being crazy, but I do wish that. i can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.
http://www.findyoursparkle2.com
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Hi Lucy! I didn’t include it in the story but John actually had a Lucy and a Lucie! So complicated it was spinning my head so I took it out. Plus….…I love Honza and thought he should dominate the story line. Bottom line….John put all his money down on that Bear character. I’m rooting for the Bear!
Kevin,
Honza the Bear story is one of your most catchcing angles. I like how the human heart shows a profound implication in this story as reguards to man and his best friend. A lot of stories emphasize so much on romantic love. I think the condition of love is so big and of so many different colors it is refreshing to see into a soldiers heart in this way. Your blogs actually have connected me to my dog a little more. I am glad he is here on lifes ups and down. I also liked the Yogi Bear cartoon, lol sometimes I feel I am just silly lilke Yogi Bear (I am cheering for Honza:)) but I know ,like everyone, we all have mystical understandings, character, intelligence and the warmth of the heart in its many different chambers which is more than the physcial ones. Blessings to you and yours Kevin.
Sincerely,
Adriana Villafane-Johnson
PS a little extra TY’s and salutes for serving Kevin. I voted yesterday in a city election. I am always extra grateful to those that serve on voting days:).
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Hi Adriana. There is no greater love than a Soldier/ Marine/ Airman or Master of Arms and their working dog. They rely upon one another for survival.
I didn’t make that Bear analogy up….. John really does call him the Bear. He is always grumbling and rumbling! Plus he is hilarious with the doogles on!
Whenever I read the story about Corey and Cooper I need to hug my own dogs. It breaks me up inside.
Mary Watts says: Love it
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Thank you Mary!
Julia Hugo Rachel says: There is a yellow lab named Benny. We named her Ben, after “Ben of Hyde” one of the first Yellow Labs.
She acted like a male from the get go, she was strong, a brute and would knock 2 pups away from her mom when she nursed, just for the heck of it. She wanted it ALL. She was like a Bull in a China Shop and she new it and used it.
Then we gradually started calling her “Benny” and even hung a Tiffiany and Co. Vintage Silver Medallion of a Scorpion on her collar (she is a Scorpio).
Benny had “something”, but she was/is stubborn and she has other odd traits that folks just “don’t get”. Benny ended up surprising the heck out of us. I never would have picked her from that litter, in fact she was my LAST pick. Now, I wouldn’t trade her for the world.
She is just coming into her own at 4 years old. It took her a while, but she is unstoppable. She also communicates with her eyes, her stare. We seem to know what she wants just by the “look”. We swear she blinks in morse code (too much time looking at her?)
I hope Honza The Bear makes a surprise leap forward as Benny did. Rooting for Honza, but SAFETY FIRST.
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That is funny about Benny Julia! Tiffany and Co, huh…… she had excellent taste! Honza is about four and I hope you are right about him making a surprising leap forward. I will post his next piece soon. He is such a neat dog to follow.
Tami says: Ok, I’m only 2 into this, totally hooked and totally in love with this Honza Bear!! Lumbering personality… sounds like my Golden Scooby Doo alright!! <3 Must go back to read more!
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Thanks Tami…..Honza really is a character…… I saw him two weeks ago, that dog LOVES John….it is amazing.
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No! Nolan didn’t make a mistake. It’s never a mistake to go with what your gut and heart tell you. The Bear will come around. Sometimes, the longer it takes to learn, the better it sticks. Can’t wait for the next installment. Thanks, Kevin. Love your stories.
Thanks Barbara. My only worry is sometimes you have to lead with your brain when heading to Afghanistan! I hope that John will turn Honza around though!
Yeah. I don’t have any idea what it means to be a soldier, but I can tell you that I have the greatest admiration and respect for our men and women who serve in the military. You all have my heartfelt thanks. By the way, I voted for Honza Bear today in that service awards thing going on. :0)
Thanks Barbara. Great point about Honza. I totally forgot to mention the link. My wife has been voting for Honza and I for Gabe. I comitted to Gabe before I had met Honza.
Here is Honza Bear’s link for the Hero Award: http://www.herodogawards.org/vote/?nominee=41969818 VOTE HONZA BEAR TODAY!
Ah, during instruction, Honza was motivated by being concerned he’d be replaced. But then got complacent?
Looking forward to the next installment to find out if Honza got his act together and passed certification.
I wonder if you are right Wanda. Did Honza get complacent? I wish I could ask him!
Hi Kevin
I read the first one yesterday and was excited to see this one up today. I am already exited to see what the next one will bring. Me personally I always seem to gravitate to the dogs that are the slow learner but are totally the lovers.
Great story!! Can’t wait for the next one.
Colleen
Thanks Colleen. There is no doubt the bond is there! Now John just has to turn Honza around. I am rooting for them both!
aww I just love Nolan even though my name is Lucy. I just wish Nolan would get to go home with John and that there was no war and they could just play fetch together and go on an actual picnic. I know I’m being crazy, but I do wish that. i can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.
http://www.findyoursparkle2.com
Hi Lucy! I didn’t include it in the story but John actually had a Lucy and a Lucie! So complicated it was spinning my head so I took it out. Plus….…I love Honza and thought he should dominate the story line. Bottom line….John put all his money down on that Bear character. I’m rooting for the Bear!
Kevin,
Honza the Bear story is one of your most catchcing angles. I like how the human heart shows a profound implication in this story as reguards to man and his best friend. A lot of stories emphasize so much on romantic love. I think the condition of love is so big and of so many different colors it is refreshing to see into a soldiers heart in this way. Your blogs actually have connected me to my dog a little more. I am glad he is here on lifes ups and down. I also liked the Yogi Bear cartoon, lol sometimes I feel I am just silly lilke Yogi Bear (I am cheering for Honza:)) but I know ,like everyone, we all have mystical understandings, character, intelligence and the warmth of the heart in its many different chambers which is more than the physcial ones. Blessings to you and yours Kevin.
Sincerely,
Adriana Villafane-Johnson
PS a little extra TY’s and salutes for serving Kevin. I voted yesterday in a city election. I am always extra grateful to those that serve on voting days:).
Hi Adriana. There is no greater love than a Soldier/ Marine/ Airman or Master of Arms and their working dog. They rely upon one another for survival.
I didn’t make that Bear analogy up….. John really does call him the Bear. He is always grumbling and rumbling! Plus he is hilarious with the doogles on!
Whenever I read the story about Corey and Cooper I need to hug my own dogs. It breaks me up inside.
Love it
Thank you Mary!
There is a yellow lab named Benny. We named her Ben, after “Ben of Hyde” one of the first Yellow Labs.
She acted like a male from the get go, she was strong, a brute and would knock 2 pups away from her mom when she nursed, just for the heck of it. She wanted it ALL. She was like a Bull in a China Shop and she new it and used it.
Then we gradually started calling her “Benny” and even hung a Tiffiany and Co. Vintage Silver Medallion of a Scorpion on her collar (she is a Scorpio).
Benny had “something”, but she was/is stubborn and she has other odd traits that folks just “don’t get”. Benny ended up surprising the heck out of us. I never would have picked her from that litter, in fact she was my LAST pick. Now, I wouldn’t trade her for the world.
She is just coming into her own at 4 years old. It took her a while, but she is unstoppable. She also communicates with her eyes, her stare. We seem to know what she wants just by the “look”. We swear she blinks in morse code (too much time looking at her?)
I hope Honza The Bear makes a surprise leap forward as Benny did. Rooting for Honza, but SAFETY FIRST.
That is funny about Benny Julia! Tiffany and Co, huh…… she had excellent taste! Honza is about four and I hope you are right about him making a surprising leap forward. I will post his next piece soon. He is such a neat dog to follow.
Ok, I’m only 2 into this, totally hooked and totally in love with this Honza Bear!! Lumbering personality… sounds like my Golden Scooby Doo alright!! <3 Must go back to read more!
Thanks Tami…..Honza really is a character…… I saw him two weeks ago, that dog LOVES John….it is amazing.