As you can see by the picture of Tots Bear, our little Tots was not recovering from her most recent setback. Here is the story, as reported by our Facebook Administrator. We couldn’t say it any better.
We are so sorry to share with you that the incredibly difficult decision was made late yesterday to release Tots Bear of her pain.
Tots arrived to ABR on April 18th as an injured cub of the year. She was found alone on a trail in Big South Fork with no mother bear around. She weighed 5.42 pounds and had a broken left humerus bone, as well as broken teeth and jaw. Since that day, Tots has faced many health obstacles, never quite reaching optimal health while in our care.
Her fractured humerus bone healed very slowly after surgery, requiring two separate rounds of shock wave therapy to initiate growth and fusion of the fractured pieces. She also suffered two seizures throughout her stay, both after receiving the necessary immobilization drugs needed to conduct her medical exams. On top of all of this, she acquired an infection at her surgery site, which required weeks of rigorous antibiotics.
For a long time Tots Bear was kept alone while she healed. However we often referred to her as the “model bear patient”, always finding ways to entertain herself and make the best of her time in confinement. Eventually she was introduced to Jackie P. (another injured cub of the year) and the two were inseparable. After being released into a Wild Enclosure just two weeks ago, we thought Tots was finally in the clear. However, two days ago, curators noticed Tots Bear limping on our camera system. She had re-fractured her humerus bone at the original site, her calcium levels were low and veterinarians found another infection, this time in the bone marrow of her injured leg.
For the past 48 hours curators tended to Tots in the Hartley House, but this time around she refused to eat any foods that contained medicine. Curators tried anything and everything to encourage Tots to take her antibiotics, but to no avail. Tots Bear wasn’t being her lively self and refused to move from her spot on a dog bed in the Hartley House. So much so, that curators could no longer entice her to shift rooms in between feedings, and therefore had to enter the room with her to replace her food and untouched antibiotics. After talking with the veterinarians further at UTCVM, the impossible decision was made to relieve her of this suffering. She passed peacefully yesterday evening, surrounded by her compassionate team of veterinarians from UTCVM-University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and our dedicated curators. We are so sorry.
Rest in peace, sweet Tots Bear. 
May she run pain-free over the Rainbow Bridge.