Books with title The Hair-Pulling Bear Dog, Book 1, D.J. Dillon Adventure Series

D.J. Dillon's life is suddenly turned upside down when an outlaw bear attacks the family's small farm and kills their livestock. His father has forbidden the lonely boy to have a beautiful collie dog as a companion, but now decides that D.J. should have a hound to trail the bear. Against his will, D.J. is forced to accept an ugly mutt that is supposedly experienced at hunting bears. But at the first encounter with a bear, the dog is afraid and runs away. Instead of the father allowing D.J. to get rid of the dog, he has to keep and train him. This sets up suspenseful situations that plunge boy and dog into life-threatening experiences in the 10 novels in this series. In this first D.J. Dillon book, the mutt proves his courage in a final catastrophic encounter, and D.J. learns a life-lesson about judging people.

D.J. Dillon rescues a motherless bear cub which seems like a fun pet at first, but as the bear grows his love of city life constantly gets him into trouble that impacts D.J. The local bully, Nails Abst, claims the cub is his, and adds to D.J.'s troubles in trying to keep the bear. Through a series of hilarious misadventures, the cub helps himself to children's ice cream cones and grocery store items, causing damages for which D.J. is blamed. At the annual Labor Day picnic, the cub becomes such a nuisance that angry townspeople make D.J. aware that he must find a new home for the bear. But D.J. won't let the hard-hearted Nails have him. In this second book, an unusual situation helps resolve the bear and boy's problem while he learns that letting go of something you love is the hardest part of caring.