The name Bear Hug Plumbing didn’t come from a marketing meeting or a list of business names.
It came from a dog.
A chocolate Lab named Bear that my wife and I adopted from the Coconino Humane Association here in Flagstaff.
Bear wasn’t a puppy when we brought him home. He already had a little gray around his muzzle and carried himself like a dog who had seen a thing or two. He was calm, steady, and seemed to understand people in a way that’s hard to explain.
I didn’t grow up with dogs, so this was all new to me. I had no idea how much a dog could become part of a family.
From the beginning, he was loyal in a way that didn’t need attention. He was always nearby, always watching, always wanting to be part of whatever was happening. He didn’t ask for much, but he gave everything he had to our family.
What I remember most is the way he connected with our three young kids.
Like every family, there were days when one of the kids was struggling. Maybe something happened at school. Maybe they were disappointed, frustrated, or just having a hard day.
More than once, I’d see one of the kids sitting on the floor with their arms wrapped around Bear. And Bear would simply stay put. Calm. Patient. Content to sit there for as long as they needed him.
He was never expected to fix the problem.
He just showed up.
And somehow, that was enough.
Bear taught me that trust isn’t earned through big gestures. It’s earned by showing up, day after day, when people need you.
That kind of loyalty. That kind of quiet support. It leaves an impression.
Bear has since passed on, and he’s buried in a grove of trees in the forest near our home. It’s a peaceful place, and I still think about him often.
And that’s where the name came from.
Because the feeling Bear gave our family is the same feeling I want people to have when they call us. Not just confidence that the plumbing problem will be fixed, but the reassurance that someone dependable has arrived. Someone who genuinely cares. Someone you can trust in your home.
Because at the end of the day, this business isn’t really about plumbing.
It’s about people.
And if we can bring even a small piece of that same loyalty, comfort, and dependability into the work we do, then the name Bear Hug Plumbing means exactly what it should.
