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Black Bear Tales: The Story of Sweet William

© Gerald Eugene Smith

This story is from a marvelous book about and by the well-known animal trainer Pat Derby (also known by her maiden name Patricia Shelley). This is from her book "The Lady and the Tiger". It describes her methods of training animals with love and affection and her constant struggles against animal cruelty, whether the deliberate cruelty of psychopathic sadists (such as are all too many well-known animal trainers) or the unintentential cruelty of sentimental incompetents (the sort who try to keep a "pet" leopard in the garage). I bought the book (used) largely because of the wonderful photo on the back that vividly illustrates her principles. It shows her standing before her favorite grizzly bear Seymour who is sitting up. He is hugging her carefully about the waist with his huge paws and she is hugging his neck. The two are raptly kissing each other mouth-to-muzzle, she with an intent expression and closed eyes and he with the gentlest, sweetest, most loving smile I have ever seen on the face of an animal. No amount of words can convey the truth of her point about love in relating to animals as that wonderful photo can. Pat is a short and slight but combative and vivacious red-headed Gemini from Sussex in England. She is actually a descendent of the famous poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley and has some of his temperament.

She and her husband Ted often bought or took in abandoned or abused animals. Some of the saddest stories she told were of wealthy (or at least well-to-do) people who had bought a great cat (cougar, leopard, cheetah, etc.) as an "exotic" pet. The people had raised the animal with affection and good care, and the big cat was a happy and healthy part of the household. But then the owners decided that their "pet" was too expensive, or cramped their lifestyle with too much responsibility, or the novelty had worn off and they were just plain bored with their pet. They would come and hurriedly dump the cat on her, with many excuses and promises to visit (never honored). All too often, the cat, once it realised it had been abandoned by the only people it had ever loved and exiled from the only home it had ever known, lost all will to live. Steadfastly refusing to eat, drink or sleep, the cat would visibly weaken by the hour and be dead in only a very few days. Pat has a special animosity against the "exotic pet" trade for this and many other very personal reasons. Too often, she has seen the results.

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