Nearly everyone in my class had a pet of some sort.

Lots of them had dogs, and a fair few had cats, budgies and goldfish.

Max Wallace had a hamster and Adam O'Hara had a tortoise which he claimed was sixty years old, though I'm pretty sure he was exaggerating.

Sam Tripp had a small lizard and a pet rabbit, which was a strange combination.

But no one I knew had a grizzly bear sleeping in their garden shed, or sat beside a grizzly bear most nights watching TV. Marco wasn't a pet, of course. He was my friend. My best friend. Can Patrick stop his friend being sent back to the zoo?

An absurd and hilarious tale of real friendship.