Bear, a 6-year-old Maltese-Yorkshire terrier mix owned by Michele Generose, is no stranger to the Priceless Pets Photo Contest.

The first year the Morky was entered, he won first place. Last year, he won second.

“This year we got a bit of a late start and he won third place,” Generose said.

Originally, Generose’s late mother, Mary Ann Chaney, owned Bear. Generose claimed him when her mother died in 2012.

“She had a lot of health issues,” Generose said. “I purchased Bear for her as a companion. He was a constant companion for her.”

Generose said Bear has “quite a character.” He loves to “talk,” and he loves stuffed animals, she said.

“He wears little sweaters,” she said, adding he was would get “really excited” whenever her mother would buy him a new one.

Bear gave her mother “a reason to get up and move around,” Generose said. “She had somebody to take care of,” she added.

Bear almost saved Chaney’s life one night during a diabetic episode, Generose said. “He started barking, and that alerted me. Her sugar had started to drop. We ended up taking her to the emergency room.”

Now, Generose said Bear is “a joy in my life.” He likes to greet her when she arrives home, she said.

“He’s constantly with me. He’s like a child in a certain kind of way. He will crawl up in my lap.”

Bear is quite the Casanova, according to Generose. “The women absolutely love him,” she said.

“He can’t help me pick up a guy, but he flocks to females wherever we are.”

Generose said it never occurred to her not to take Bear when her mother died. It was a natural decision, she said, one that has brought new joy into her life.

They participate every year in the Mutt Strut, a fundraiser for the Suffolk Humane Society, also supported by the Suffolk News-Herald’s pet photo contest.

“It’s something we do in a large part in tribute to my mom,” Generose said.