As fibs go, it was a whopper: when Sue Markham’s husband Robert said he didn’t want a ‘big dog’, she told him the puppy they had adopted was a Jack Russell.
But the 1lb 5oz ‘terrier’, christened Yogi but known to all as Bear, just kept growing and growing... into a 15-stone Boston Great Dane.
Now aged nine, Yogi has his own three-acre paddock for exercise, gets through £160 worth of food a month – including four scrambled eggs and sausages for breakfast each day – and wears a horse coat when it’s cold outside.
Sue Markham, 57, (pictured) told her husband Robert that their new puppy was a Jack Russell terrier because he had said he did not want a big dog. But when Yogi continued to grow it became clear he was a bigger breed
The 1lb 5oz ‘terrier’ (pictured) named Yogi but known as Bear, just kept growing... into a 15-stone Great Dane
Mrs Markham, 57, said: ‘When I saw Bear I fell in love with him and knew I wanted him but I knew Robert didn’t want a big dog.
‘So I told a little fib and said he was a Jack Russell. But it started to become fairly obvious when Bear dwarfed any other dogs in the village, so the game was up.’
Her husband, also 57, said: ‘I thought a big dog would be a lot of work and could be trouble. We only have a small living room.
'I thought, “How much trouble can a Jack Russell be?” By the time he was five months old, he was bigger than any Jack Russell he came across at the park and he had this big tongue that lolled out of his mouth and a tail like a baseball bat.’
Mr Markham, a refinery worker, said he couldn’t be annoyed at his wife’s fib as he had ‘fallen in love’ with Bear
Now aged nine Yogi has a three-acre paddock for exercise and wears a horse coat when it’s cold outside
Yogi, who measures 6ft 10in from nose to tail, even has his own two-seater sofa at the family home in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.
Mrs Markham, a grandmother of four who works as a Salvation Army volunteer, said: ‘Bear sees himself as one of the family.
'He certainly thinks of himself as a real person. He sits on his own sofa and watches the TV with us.
'He’s very protective of it. If a stranger comes in, he won’t let them go and sit on his sofa.
‘But last winter, an old female cat we call Toffee started coming in the house for warmth. She must have been about 10 or 11, so quite old like Bear.
'We thought he wouldn’t be a fan, but instead he welcomed her onto his sofa and they often curl up and sleep together.
Yogi, who measures 6ft 10in from nose to tail, even has his own two-seater sofa at the family home
Mrs Markham (pictured with Yogi) said: ‘When I saw Bear I fell in love with him and knew I wanted him'
‘She now regularly comes to see him to keep warm or to keep company. It’s very odd as she’s not our cat she seems to just come to see him!
'They’re good friends and Toffee is always following him around, and he will happily lick her on the head very gently.
'Bear sees Toffee as his own pet, I think, as she’s certainly not our cat.’
Mr Markham, an oil refinery worker, said he couldn’t be annoyed at his wife’s fib as he had ‘fallen in love’ with Bear.
He added: ‘He’s a very good natured dog with a lot of character so it would be hard for anyone not to love him or be angry with him.’
Yogi the Great Dane with his best friend Toffee the cat. The pair often curl up to sleep together on his sofa
Yogi gets through £160 worth of food a month including scrambled eggs and sausages for breakfast each day
