A Dog Called Bear
A Dog Called Bear was based on a real dog, actually called Sam. But there's no confusing the power and poignancy of this illustrated story about Covid-19 in Ellesmere Port.
The book, A Dog Called Bear, is the fruition of a project at the Westminster Community Centre that was part of the How Society Has Changed strand of Covid-19 Reflections.
Artist Jayne Lawless was brought on board to work with local communities and uncover Covid stories that explored how people supported each other during the pandemic. From a working-class background and with 20 years’ experience, she knew she had to come with an open mind and a willingness to actively listen.
There were lots of creative people at the Wezzie, as it’s affectionately known, but there were no structured arts groups there. Jayne regularly went along on Wezzie Wednesday, a busy day at the centre because of the food bank or Citizens Advice. ​
Whilst there, Jayne met Wezzie volunteer, Deb Jones, and one day, while chatting, they were interrupted by “the loudest bark I ever heard in my life”. Peering outside, they saw a huge dark German shepherd-type dog. “I just said to Deb, that’s not a dog. That’s a bear.”
Deb explained that it was her neighbour’s dog, Sam. It was a lovely puppy before Covid hit but lockdown had thwarted its ability run outside, play and socialise; and it was often anxious and agitated around people. Jayne knew there was a story to be told through Sam’s eyes. She says “my thoughts were about how Covid had had such a profoundly negative effect on the life of this young dog – full of life and happy, then suddenly confined to his house.”
Having run sketch clubs around the country, and in the US, she imported the model to the Wezzie. A key part of the process was a battered old scrapbook, in which she wrote a “brainstorm of words and thoughts, some based in reality and some fantasy”.
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Jayne passed the scrapbook round so people could take it home for a week and record their own ideas, recollections and drawings. “This scrapbook became this precious commodity, but nobody was scared of it because it wasn’t leather-bound or anything. Because it was full of tea and coffee stains and bits of cheese on toast people would just stick a picture in, and so the scrapbook became the vehicle.”
Writer Ginni Manning and illustrator Gill Smith joined the team to shape the ideas into a cohesive story, and by continuing to work with local creatives at the Wezzie, ensuring they retained ownership.
“When Ginni presented the first draft, it gave me goosebumps. We began to see how this book might work – not quite a children’s story or a graphic novel but a visual poem. Ginni somehow managed to convey a celebration of resilience and breathe life into our hero, Bear, and bestow him with love and dignity.
“There were many conversations, cups of tea and ideas thrashed about. We edited it together – sometimes the words stood on their own and sometimes words were omitted as an image could convey an emotion. All of this laid fertile ground for the final stage when I buried myself away to work on the final illustrations.”
The haunting, beautiful A Dog Called Bear was published in summer 2023 as a permanent record of the pandemic. It’s available to buy here.