Druid's animal companion question

[Fenrisnorth]

In 3.5 I remember druids could get bigger and better animal companions... is this no longer the case? I see that there is an advancement for them at 4th level, but seriously, some of them are kinda lame... a medium sized bear? can a druid sub out for a bigger bear? like a brown bear or a grizzly? you know.... something bigger than he is? I mean the fricking WOLF gets LARGE? that's messed up. please tell me I missed something.

[Daniel Moyer]

Never noticed that, even the larger bears in the the Bestiary seem to have taken somewhat of a hit here and there.

My suggestion, though you may not like it... take a Big Cat(crunch/stats) instead and say it's a Bear(fluff/concept), problem solved.

Big cat in a Bear suit!

I don't even think a Pathfinder Society DM would deny you that small bit of logic, assuming you explained BEFORE you started playing... and 'pouncing' with a bear, lol. Both are completely legal companions, however the Big Cat gets you where you want to go.