Upper Peninsula Dog Retiring After 9 Years of Grizzly Bear Fun

Can you picture your own dog wrestling and playing with actual live bears at a zoo in Michigan's Upper Peninsula for almost 9 years?

Some would think that's literally impossible, but we're here to tell you that it actually happened with a dog named King!

According to mlive.com:

About nine years ago, 10-month-old chocolate lab King was introduced to a 4-month-old grizzly bear cub named Millie at Garlyn Zoo Wildlife Park in Naubinway, about 40 miles west of Mackinac Bridge. About a year later, male grizzly bear cub Hutch was introduced to the mix. The three of them have been living in playful harmony ever since.

I just wrote an article about black bears in Michigan just a few days ago. There are roughly 10,000 to 12,000 black bears in Michigan alone. Most of them roam around in the Upper Peninsula.

This is an amazing story about a dog named "King" who spent many active dog years wrestling with grizzly bears. They obviously all got along just fine.

King is now retired and taking it easy these days with his owner. King has arthritis and a few hip problems. It's too difficult for King to play with the bears any longer due to his condition.

When King was active with the bears, I wonder how this dog behaved around humans. Here's what mlive.com has to say:

King has never been aggressive toward humans and has interacted with people his whole life, but he’s accustomed to playing with bears that are many times his size – and that means he uses his mouth and gets rough, he said.

King is 10 years old now and played with his grizzly companions for about 9 years. I'd say he's earned his retirement papers. Nice job "King!"