Customer Reviews

Bear, Heart of a Hero: The Story of a Man and His Ground Zero Search and Rescue Dog

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

What is never made clear in this book is: What is Mr. Shields Captain of? I feel that using that title is deliberately misleading.

Also I called the NYC Parks department and they say thet Shields was never an employee! Never mind director of marine safety.

The other claims in the book are simply too nebulous to be taken seriously.

What else is not true?

This book is NOT True at all. The guy in this book tells of tales of all these great things that never really happened. Scott Shields is not even a real captain of any kind. It is a book of fiction. I worked down at WTC, and this guy was never around. Like the saying goes, "don't believe everything you read" or in this case....Don't support this book by buying it.

Scott shields who has not a real Capt. was there as was his aged dog Bear. that's no in doubt. WE who have written in the negative have first hand knowledge and WERE there. Walking around the site for hours maybe days, meeting and greeting and making sure to have lots of photo ops. does not make one a hero. Poor Bear didn't have a choice. Scott took is UNCERTIFIED, UNTRAINED dog into one of the most dangerous places in history. Yes, bear made finds of DECESED PEOPLE or tripped over them and they WERE IN THE COMMAND STATION RIGHT WHERE THEY WERE TO BE. My untrained dog also would have found the smell of us alive or not under ruble. it was a smell that didn't belong there. There are live trained dogs, cadaver dogs and then you have the find the ball dogs which bear and his "son" Theo. are.
period.
the book is a good read if you love warm and fuzzy and the facts don't matter, not does the Mr. shields making himself a hero. Like i said the poor bear didn't have a choice.
I tended to them both at forward triage and know what i speak of. Bear was an old k9 that was negligently brought there. Animal cruelty comes to mind as Mr. shields also brought his UNTRAINED and aggressive new k-9 Theo. to new Orleans for the photo ops.

UPDATE- Also be aware Scott Shields and his Sister Patty both have been convicted and sentanced to prision time in federal ft. dix facility for FEMA and RED Cross fraud. they are also barred from pertending to be a search and rescue person, fire staff and his org. has been ordered dissolved. OH, YA.... He actually has to get a JOB!!!! God Forbid!!!!

What are we to think of this self-proclaimed "hero" now that he has been indicted by a grand jury for fraud? I do not think an individual who has been indicted by the federal government for fraudulently obtaining and utilizing post-9/11 rental assistance monies should be considered a hero at all. Mr. Shields has taken advantage of us all (including Nancy West, the author of this book), and using the guise of a 9/11 WTC canine search and rescue hero to do it is particularly disturbing. I would not recommend purchasing this book as it only further supports this con man and his hero facade.

When I read this book, I had a hard time understanding why Mr. Shields was considered to be such a hero. He subjected his elderly, untrained, 11-year old dog to the one of the worst disaster sites in history. It is sadly ironic that Shields essentially killed his trusting old dog in order to find dead people (who would have been located at some point anyhow during the recovery process). Additionally, as a search and rescue professional myself, I know untrained responders are a liability in any search, regardless of the size and situation. Not only might they become "victims" themselves, they run the risk of putting trained rescuers in danger. I feel this book encourages this type of response, and at the same time represents someone as a hero who clearly is not. If you are interested in reading a book about real search and rescue dogs and their efforts at the WTC, do not consider purchasing this one.

It is obvious that Nancy West is a very clever and talented writer. Her ability to infuse Scott Shield's story with pathos and make a heart-rendering portrait of Bear is impressive. Too bad the character she chose to write about has turned out to be so much less than her words and book suggest. Her central character Shields has turned out to be a teller of tall talls in real life, and uses this book to misrepresent himself as a "great hero" of 911. Mr. Shields should stick to the facts of Ms. West's book and stop inventing stories such as "commanding" search teams at Ground Zero, calling himself a "Captain",saying that his dog made live finds and saved the most victims at 9/11.(Good grief even this book says he was only there for 3 days!) This guy even introduces his current untrained dog, Theodore, as Bear's son and parades him around in a search vest. Mr. Shields should try reading his author, Ms. West's, "notes to the reader" on this page so he can learn the facts of his own story. Please, Mr. Shields, stop trying to deceive the public with your tall tales. I give Ms. West's writing "2" stars. Shields character "0"

I read this book and wept at the bravery and sacrifice of Scott Shields dog, Bear. But after hearing that the story was one of mostly made up facts, I can only justify giving this book this rating. Shame on you Scott Shields for sacrificing your "beloved" Bear for your own personal gain.

I also knew Scott and Theo, post 911. I was inspired by the story and have owned Goldens my whole life. I cried like a baby over the book about Bear. My old Golden laying at my feet while I read it. Great writing, if it had only been true.

The only good thing that came out of this is that my company was energized in the emergency management market (where we really do save lives) to build systems for emergency responders (like I thought Scott was). So a tiny bit of good came from it.

Motivation comes from strange places some times and I was motivated by Bear's story.

Bear was a very brave old dog and I am sad the story isn't what it was presented as. I still cannot help but love Bear. Don't blame Bear for the fact the story got out of Scott's control and his weakness took over from there.

Theo (not Bears relative) is still a wonderful Golden. He was not agressive #when I knew him) and is a fine dog as well. The fact that neither was trained for SARS makes me angry that Bear was exposed to these conditions at this age. This makes me mad at Scott, but it just shows what a huge heart these dogs have.

Scott has to deal with the mess he has created and realise he has not done justice to Bear and his memory. Good dog, bad human.

Greg

Poor bear! This man lead an 11 yr old golden retriever (if he was a true SAR dog, should have been retired by then) to ground zero. Scott as well as Bear was not a rescuer, Scott is not a Captain of anything other then his own private boat. He admitted to his fraud charges in March and should be sentenced shortly. Rescue workers during Katrina and WTC did not have time for photos and utube videos. They were there busy saving lives. Shame on you Scott!

Book about a poor dog who had the unfortunate luck of being owned by a big fraud. Scott Shields was found guilty of fraud for receiving funds for 9/11 victims and workers, grossly exaggerating his time at 9/11. I met this man in Katrina, and must say he is an incredibly delusional, self absorbed, and pathological liar. Don't buy this book, its based on fiction and not factual events.