WINDHAM – Jim Lilli, director of the Dunn County Humane Society in rural Wisconsin, has grown accustomed to the sight of a 3-year-old coon hound named L.L. Bean.

And though his job is to find loving homes for his animals, he admits placing the hound that shares its name with Maine’s most iconic brand has been difficult.

“We get a lot of coon hounds up here, people like to use them for hunting,” Lilli said. “But they do have a hound bark, which is a lot deeper (than other kinds of barks) and sometimes not a lot people like that.”

Still, Lilli was not deterred, and a year and a half after acquiring the dog he has successfully linked L.L. Bean the dog with Pam Burt of Windham, who just so happens to work for the company of the same name.

L.L. Bean, the dog, got the “L.L.” for his long, droopy ears in the shape of Ls. Once that was established, “Bean” was a natural addition, since the Maine-based mega-retailer often features dogs in its company catalogs.

Despite the snappy name, the adoption did not come easily. Lilli featured Beanie, as the dog is sometimes called, three times as the shelter’s Pet of the Week, an outreach effort of the rural Wisconsin shelter that runs in the local newspaper and TV station. The third mention proved to be the charm, and after the holidays, he’ll begin the 1,000-plus mile trip, via a special pet transport service, to Windham, where he will start a new life with his new owners, Burt and her husband, Ron, who live at 50 Pipeline Road.

Pam Burt is a 12-year employee at L.L. Bean’s call center in Portland. The devoted employee – whose extended family knows better than to mention competitors such as Land’s End or Cabela’s at the dinner table – learned of the dog’s plight from an internal company newsletter last month and immediately took an interest in the good-looking coon hound.

“I can’t explain it to anybody except that when you see something and you just know it’s right, that’s how I felt the minute I read the story,” Burt said.

The woman responsible for finding the dog is Laurie Brooks, who works in public relations at L.L. Bean’s corporate office in Freeport and monitors online mentions of the company. Brooks saw the story of the Wisconsin dog when Beanie was first listed as a Pet of the Week by the shelter last year. When the dog was again listed last month, Brooks said she decided to share the story with other L.L. Bean employees.

“I thought for sure someone would have adopted it by now, so I said, oh, no, we can’t have this,” Brooks said.

Brooks contacted Lilli and inquired whether the dog could handle the long drive from Wisconsin to Maine if someone from the company wanted to adopt it. Lilli gave the go-ahead and Brooks alerted the newsletter department to include the dog’s story in an issue that would reach the company’s 3,500 employees.

All told, four employees expressed interest in adopting the dog and submitted applications to Lilli. Lilli then interviewed each applicant over the phone and settled on Burt, who was the first to respond.

Burt already has one dog, named Ember, that she adopted from a shelter, and is excited add another.

“(Lilli) was so honest with me about everything. He put everything out there honestly about the barking, the challenges, and I just felt that he was so honest,” Burt said. “But from the moment I read this story, I told all my coworkers around me (at the call center) I’m getting this dog, I don’t care what it takes.”

Burt and her husband have past experience with a shelter dog, a German shepherd/black lab mix named Ariel, and are aware of the challenges that may lie ahead. While Ariel passed away a few years ago, their other dog, a Siberian husky/golden retriever mix named Ember, is the same age as L.L. Bean, at three years and two months. Ember has a calm personality and they are hoping the two dogs get along.

“I would rather have shelter dogs just because I feel they are the ones who need the homes,” Burt said. “I know the dog can be challenging, but I feel we’ve been through challenges with Ariel, too, so I’m prepared.

“Knowing this dog has been in a shelter over a year, and that it’s been on the news as Pet of the Week, that broke my heart that there’s not someone out there that could give it a home,” she continued. “I just saw this story, was inspired, heartbroken, and just felt like this dog needs a home and felt our home is just perfect for this dog.”

While the Burt family, which includes 13-year-old Zachary, 11-year-old Travis, as well as 22-year-old James, who doesn’t live at home, will have to take care of veterinary bills and food for their new pet, the L.L. Bean company is helping by paying for transport and providing a custom-monogrammed dog bed.

Brooks said she put out a donation basket in the executive office in Freeport and within a short time had collected the $865 required to pay Virginia-based Precious Pets Transport Service to deliver the dog to Windham.

Once news of Burt’s adoption spread throughout the company, employees at a Brunswick-based facility that makes dog beds donated a fluffy bed monogrammed with “L.L. Bean (the dog).”

“Pam is so wonderful,” Brooks said. “The employees have been thanking her for doing this. She is a very giving person, and now the tables are turned on her, where people are giving back to her, so she is just overwhelmed by that.”

The dog is set to arrive sometime between Jan. 6 and 9. And while dogs are not usually allowed at L.L. Bean facilities, Brooks said a welcoming party will be set once the dog gets used to his new surroundings in Windham.

“We don’t allow dogs,” Brooks said. “But this one we’re going to have to make an exception for.”

A coon hound named L.L. Bean, seen here on his daily walk
through the backyard of the Dunn County Humane Society in
Wisconsin, has been adopted by a Windham woman who works at L.L.
Bean’s call center in Portland. (Courtesy photo)
Pam and Ron Burt, with their dog, Ember, will be welcoming
another dog shortly, a coon hound named L.L. Bean. (Staff photo by
John Balentine)