BEAR

Person Of Interest’s calculating canine is a true doggy hero

UK Broadcast TBC, Channel 5 US Broadcast Finished, CBS

Yes, this month our Best In Show is actually a dog. While this does look as though we’re scraping the barrel somewhat, in fact we have some very good reasons as to why Bear deserves to be singled out – and if you watch Person Of Interest, chances are you’re already on our side here.

Bear isn’t an ordinary dog, see. He’s a military canine, a trained killer, able to interpret and carry out complex commands at just a couple of words from his trainer – as long as the commands are in Dutch. Taken from his original owners by a nasty gang, Bear first appeared in the season two premiere episode, when Reese realised what an asset he was and got the dog to turn on the gang with one command.

After this, Bear was an invaluable part of the team. He helped to get a nervous Harold Finch back into the outside world after suffering from panic attacks. He went

undercover with Reese. He disarmed bad guys, kept an eye on jumpy victims our heroes were trying to protect, helped to soften otherwise unfeeling characters and regularly saved lives. In one episode, Bear knew to fetch a fire extinguisher when Finch asked for it, thus saving both their lives – who trained him to do that? Good dog.

Bear was played for two seasons by a Belgian Malinois named Graubaer’s Boker, a dog as well-trained as his on-screen counterpart (in 2014 he won the World Championship for Utility Dogs, the equivalent of a doggy Olympic gold medal). Later, Bear was portrayed by dogs named Lola and Gotcha. Now the show has finished, we’ll miss seeing the adventures of these furry guys – but in our heads, Bear is off helping people, like a formidable Lassie who won’t take any of your human shit. Jayne Nelson