BONKERS BEARS UP UNDER ADORATION AT NURSING HOME.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer LANCASTER - He's not your typical movie star, but the residents at the Lancaster Health Center adored a·dore v. a·dored, a·dor·ing, a·dores v.tr. 1. To worship as God or a god. 2. To regard with deep, often rapturous love. See Synonyms at revere1. 3. him anyway. The convalescent con·va·les·cent adj. Relating to convalescence. n. A person who is recovering from an illness, an injury, or a surgical operation. convalescent 1. pertaining to or characterized by convalescence. 2. hospital's visitor was Bonkers, a 7-year-old, 450-pound American black bear, now staying with his Minnesotan owners and six other bears in Acton while the bears appear in commercials and the upcoming ``Dr. Doolittle 2.'' ``Animals have a miraculous mi·rac·u·lous adj. 1. Of the nature of a miracle; preternatural. 2. So astounding as to suggest a miracle; phenomenal: a miraculous recovery; a miraculous escape. 3. way of drawing people out of their depression,'' said Blu Ullrich, a board member for Villa Lobos, an animal rescue organization that arranged for Bonkers to visit the convalescent hospital's patients. ``By observing them, they get excited about something. It's another reason for getting them (residents) out of their rooms,'' said Ullrich. In the home's patio, residents fed grapes Grapes - A Modula-like system description language. E-mail: <peter@cadlab.cadlab.de>. ["GRAPES Language Description. Syntax, Semantics and Grammar of GRAPES-86", Siemens Nixdorf Inform, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-8009-4112-0]. and marshmallows to Bonkers as co-owner Ruth LaBarge led the bear on a chain around an enclosure consisting of string and metal stakes. Although it seemed rather flimsy for a 450-pound bear, Bonkers has been trained to stay inside enclosures surrounded by wires that give off a small electrical charge when touched. Bonkers associates the string with the wires and won't touch them, his owners say. Bonkers' owners are LaBarge and Scott Handley of Bear . . . With Us, who are living in Acton through December at least. LaBarge has raised bears for 33 years. She got her first bear at age 17 as a wedding present from her husband. Besides appearing in commercials and films, Handley's and LaBarge's bears visit hospital patients, Scout troops and other groups. Handley gives lectures to Scouts on bear safety and how to bear-proof campsites. Bonkers has appeared in the movie ``Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story'' and on television in ``Charmed'' and ``Buffy, the Vampire vampire, in folklore, animated corpse that sucks the blood of humans. Belief in vampires has existed from the earliest times and has given rise to an amalgam of legends and superstitions. Slayer.'' As charming as he is, Bonkers did not make the cut for ``Dr. Doolittle 2.'' The bears are booked for filming through December, but Handley and LaBarge aren't looking forward to winter in Minnesota and are hoping for another job to carry them in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, until summer. CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV edition only -- ran in AV and Conejo edition only) Bonkers gets his snout snout the upper lip and the apex of the nose, especially of the pig. Called also rostrum. Has a specialized skin to survive the rigors of rooting, is supported by a separate bone (the os rostri), and also has a few sensory hairs. stroked during a visit to the Lancaster Health Care Center. (2 -- color in AV edition only) Bonkers strolls the halls of the Lancaster Health Care Center on Wednesday with trainers Ruth LaBarge and Scott Handley. (3 -- 4 -- color in AV edition only -- 4 -- ran in AV edition only) Hazel Schultie, 84, above left, feeds Bonkers as trainer Ruth LaBarge stands by, far right. Director of Nurses Patty Barkas, left, and resident Jonathan Willmont watch the feeding. Above right, Bonkers is the center of attention from center residents. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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