About

The Polar Bear was a holiday surprise for members of the Virtual Kennel Club™. All VKC members were invited to pick up a free Polar Bear for the first few days following its release. Those who were not members could join for a temporary enrolment fee, get a free bear, and enjoy the knowledge that half of the membership fee would be donated to the World Wildlife Fund. In January 2010, Mr. Genosse sent a contribution of $250.

VKC support for real-world charities did not stop with this gesture, generous as it is. The Widget is the VKC's charitable dog. Find out more about the ongoing charitable support on the Widget page.

In December 2011, the VKC released a Polar Bear Cub.

Instincts

• Basic Positions: stand, sit, down, bang, beg, bellyup, shake, rest
• Basic Activities: come, wag, speak, sniff, howl, wander
• Other Activities: go, run, on, greet (These require you to name a destination; for example, "Fido go Sandry" or "Fido run redball" or "Fido greet Bichon")
• Owner-only commands: heel, follow (Follow also requires you to name a target)
• Special command: fetch (Requires a redball toy, available for free at the Information Kiosk at every VKC Dog Park)

Special Poses

The petting animation is a huge hug. The avatar approaches by raising his hands in an invitation to the bear. The bear responds by raising himself up with his front paws reaching for the sky. As the avatar moves in closer, the bear wraps his forelegs around the avatar in a giant bear hug.

The following poses add liveliness and charm to tricks you teach your bear. They must be used with the command pose. For example, to get the bear to bow down in the play pose, you would say, "Iceberg pose play."

• crane (bear stands tall and holds paws above his head)
• hug (bear stands up and places paws as though to hug someone)
• play (bear lowers his front end while keeping his hind end up with his tail held high)

Color Options

The color of the bow on the polar bear can be changed using the tint and color commands.

• tint -1 (restores the bow to its original red color)
• tint -2 (makes the bow invisible)

Other Considerations

There are two versions of the Polar Bear: original and special. The original bear, the one released in December 2009, is a no copy version managed by the VKC database, just like the dogs. If this bear is lost, becomes injured, or needs an update, you use the services of the VKC Dog Clinic, located in every VKC Dog Park.

The other is the special version of the VKC Polar Bear, released for the Project FUR Japan fundraiser in April 2011. The special bear is copyable but not transferrable. If this bear is lost, becomes injured, or needs an update, you simply rez a new one from your inventory. Remember to always keep one copy of the bear in your inventory as a backup. The services of the VKC Dog Clinic are not necessary.

Prim Count

21

Release Date

December 2009

April 2011 — re-released in support of Project FUR Japan