Teddy

On Saturday, Sept. 25, 2003 my oldest daughter Cassie, then 17 (and a most avid lover of dogs) convinced me to go with her to our local PetSmart store to see the pets that were up for adoption. Every Sat. she would take our 1yr. old Shih Tzu, Dixie, to see the other dogs. Being a new dog-owner, I of course wanted to show-off my Dixie, so we went. As I was shopping for a new leash for my tiny 8# Shih Tzu, Cassie came up to me in the aisle with tears in her eyes. "Mom, you've GOT to come see this dog!" As I rolled my eyes, I followed her to the back of the store to see "this dog".

They said his name was Teddy. He was sitting on floor as timid and reserved as could be. They said he had been recently groomed, but his haircut looked like he had been cut by a 5yr. old with a pair of kiddy scissors, all choppy & uneven! He wouldn't stand up, only sat there, looking so sad, & seemed to be afraid of people. I couldn't help but wonder if he had been abused. Needless to say, Teddy came home with us that day!

We were told he was about 3-4 yrs. old, but when we saw the Vet the day after he came home, he told us he was more about 6 yrs. old. Teddy was & still is afraid of sudden noises & has a terrible fear of walk near or around any motor vehicles, whether they're running or not. Something must have happened in his life that imbedded this fear in him, so we take special care when walking him through the driveway, that he has plenty of room to go around our cars. But, Teddy does love riding in the car! He sits in the back seat & has to have the window down, no matter how cold our Illinois winds get, with his head out the window facing forward. We're still trying to figure out a way to get a picture of him doing this, because when the wind blows in his face, his big ears fan out like wings & it's the cutest thing to see!

Teddy did come to us with a few health problems, but we knew in adoption of an animal, that was a chance we had to take, and part of the commitment of adopting. He has very few teeth. A few in the front & a couple in the back, but no side teeth, so his cute pink tongue is usually hanging out the side of his mouth! Teddy has no trouble eating though! He eats the crunch Little Bites dog food, & Milk Bones & loves crunchy pizza crust! He can even spend hours chomping on a rawhide bone!

After watching Teddy fall a few times going up or down the few stairs in our house, we went back to the Vet. After several X-rays, the Vet determined that Teddy was born with defective hip & leg joints. He has shallow sockets that his bone joints are supposed to be snugly fit into. It makes him walk a little crooked, but the Vet says it doesn't cause him any pain.......we would know if it did. This can be corrected with surgery, but the Vet says it will cost thousands of dollars & put Teddy through much pain during recovery. He said as long as Teddy's not in any pain, we should leave well enough alone & let him just enjoy his life! So Teddy may be a little clumsy at times, but he's got a good trot & can run pretty fast when he sees birds or rabbits in the yard. He's a little to slow to catch them, but he sure has fun trying!

I don't know how anyone could have abandoned Teddy! He is such a sweet & loving dog! It only took about a week or so for him to get used to all of us in the family & he also had to learn how to accept our affection to him. He was a little afraid of hugs & cuddling at first. But now, he loves Belly Rubs & when we sit on the couch, he has to lay right up against someone, touching. And on any given night, you'll find Teddy snuggled up next to any of us on any of our beds!

Most importantly, we will forever be grateful that Teddy came into our lives because just 5 months after we adopted Teddy, my husband passed away from a short battle with Pancreatic Cancer. In those few short months, he fell in love with Teddy, & Teddy with him. It was so very sad to watch our dogs, Teddy & Dixie, as they sniffed around the side of the sofa where my husband used to sit, looking for "Daddy". A friend made a suggestion to me to help our dogs understand that Daddy wasn't coming back. Both Teddy & Dixie understood the words "all-gone", as when we shared a little pizza crust or snack with them, they were told "all-gone" & would just walk away knowing it was gone. So, after weeks of our hearts breaking watching them look for Daddy, I sat down on the sofa with them, looked them straight in the eyes & said, "Daddy's all-gone! ........okay? Daddy's all-gone!" At first they looked a little confused, but afte that we never saw them sniffing around looking for Daddy anymore.

Dogs & many other pets, are some of God's greatest creations! They "need" us as much, if not more, than we need them! It's indescribable how much happiness & joy Teddy has brought into our lives; not to mention the comfort he was to our entire family when my kids lost their Dad. Teddy brightens our days, warm our hearts, comfort our pains & makes us laugh again! How lucky we were to find him that day!!

Christine Z& Family.......& Teddy & Dixie too!

McHenry, IL