Teddy Roberts

EXTREMELY SAD NEWS (6th June 2014)

Maggie wrote to tell us: “It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Teddy went to the Rainbow Bridge last week. I couldn’t write this until now. He was 12 and as well as the spondylosis he came with back in 2009, his sight had gone and the arthritis in his front legs got worse and his general condition deteriorated to the point where his quality of life was no longer good so we had to take THAT decision.

We are happy he is now running free and we still have Holly who has
taken over barking at the doorbell duties and is enjoying not having to share the cuddles.”

TEDDY’S STORY

When Teddy came into IRR care, he was about 7yrs old and a neutered Golden Retriever. The ferry was delayed 24hrs because of dreadful weather but, eventually, he was safely in foster with Jane in the Midlands after an overnight stay with Lyn in Bristol.

He is an adorable boy with a lovely nature and he has clearly been well loved at one time in his life. We suspect he may have belonged to an elderly person who has died or become ill and been unable to care for him as he is very overweight, has had no recent exercise and came in a dreadful state, filthy and full of matts, so the first job was to get him properly groomed.

Jane said “Lisa, the groomer, said he was very tolerant with her but had a go at her near the end of the session when she touched a certain part of his back. However, by the time I got there he was sitting on her lap having some love!!! She said he doesn’t like having his feet or back end touched but she couldn’t see anything wrong in those areas. All in all, she said he is not in too bad a condition but, underneath all that matted coat, he is rather on the portly side.”

After another day it became clear that Teddy had a problem with his back end so he has now been to the vet and is on anti-inflammatories. He will shortly be Xrayed by the vet and then treated by a McTimoney chiropractor once the source of his discomfort is fully ascertained. His teeth are also going to be cleaned.

Jane says: “Teddy appears to be a very gentle boy and is OK with our own dogs Tess and Harvey to the point he is not interested in them at all at the moment so I do wonder if he has been an only dog at some stage in his life, also he has not been phased by our cat and our new addition a 12 week old mad kitten!! He has been up the garden to see the chickens and he doesn’t seem to bother.”

UPDATE ON TEDDY 1.12.09

Jane says “Teddy has mild Spondylosis of some areas of his spine, T13-L1, L1-L2, L2-L3, L5-L7. There are no signs of hip dysplasia and his pelvis and hocks are fine. The vet says his weight does not help and he could do with losing some weight which we are working on. He has put him on some more anti inflammatories for another week but, now he is getting regular exercise and being cared for, he should improve. It doesn’t stop him running up and downstairs when you’re not looking and he will walk for miles if you let him with no ill effects !!!!!.”

“He has had a scale and polish and has had to have his left canine tooth removed. He has got a few dissolvable sutures in and is on antibiotics as the root was infected. He also has very bad ear (left) mites for which he has been given some drops.”

“He is such a happy dog and loves attention but he is not bothered about dogs as it is humans that he loves!!”

FURTHER UPDATE ON TEDDY

Teddy has settled well, he is such a happy dog and loves attention. He is not bothered about dogs as it is humans he loves, especially men!!! Think he would be better as an only dog.

He’s food possessive so we have to feed him away from the others but as long as you are aware of this it is not a problem.

Walks well on a lead but occasionally will pull on a lead sometimes if he sees something more interesting. He is not too impressed with busy roads and gets spooked when cars whizz past but loves to get in the car and will sit by it till you let him in and he travels well.

TEDDY HAS GONE TO HIS FOREVER HOME

Teddy is now living in Reading with Maggie and Andy. Maggie says. “We had a good journey back with Teddy and he seems to be settling in OK. He is Andy’s new soul mate, just very gently not being very far away from him. He had a good night and we went for a walk in the snowy sunshine this morning.”

CHRISTMAS UPDATE ON TEDDY

Maggie says ” Christmas went well for Teddy, he coped very well with the comings and goings and has made friends with everyone, he has met all our young (and it is very rare to get all 4 in the same place at the same time) and has accepted them into his life. He adores our grandsons and welcomes them with a very big waggy tail. He is the only dog we have had who is reluctant to get out of his bed in the morning!”

“He totally ignores Brick (my daughter’s toy poodle) on his visits and is enjoying meeting other doggie people on our walks along the Kennet and Avon canal.”

“We plan to introduce him to our vet this week, just a get to know you visit so that if he does need to go to the vet in the future it won’t be totally strange.”

UPDATE 12/02/2010

Maggie says: “Teddy is fine. As he realises he is not going to be moved on again, he is slowly allowing us to see more sides of him. Tennis balls are definitely for demolishing and he has decided that he likes water so we often bring home an extremely wet, muddy, happy dog. Most of the time he is extremely obedient; his recall for me is excellent although some more work is needed by Andy. I think that it is just my tone of voice is more upbeat and sounds more exciting!

His stamina is improving although he is still stiff when he first wakes up, takes a while to get moving in the morning – bit like me really! We have the main walk of the day first thing, 8 year old Dan comes as well so we have to be done before he goes to school and then we usually go out again during the afternoon. He sleeps well, his bladder control is amazing, he has stayed a night with my daughter with no problems at all.

We love him to bits, he just fits in so well, we can’t imagine life without him now.

UPDATE 12 JULY 2011

Maggie writes “During June Teddy became lame on his right front leg and was reluctant to let me handle his paw. When grooming him I noticed a lump had developed under his ‘right arm’. The vet examined the lump and decided it was a Lipoma (fatty lump) and took samples just in case it might be cancerous. Results of that were good as it was benign. However it was uncomfortable for Teddy because the lump was pressing on his nerves and causing him to limp, particularly after even a small amount of exercise and when he first woke up in the morning or after a snooze.

The upshot was that Teddy had a further blood test to check his kidney and liver functions (which are fine) with a view to the vet operating to remove as much of the Lipoma as possible.

The op took place on Thursday 7th July and the lump was removed. He was still very dopey when I picked him up from the vet, complete with Penrose drain and buster collar. He felt a bit better on Friday as he was trying hard to dislodge the drain. I came up with the idea of putting an old polo shirt on him tied round his middle, which had the advantage of making it harder for him to dislodge the drain with his back foot and would also help to keep the wound cleaner.

By Saturday he was eating little and often and all bodily functions were working again and he enjoyed a short stroll to the field and back. Sunday he was disappointed because we didn’t go further! The drain is now gone and Teddy is allowed to walk further on a lead, but without the buster collar, so his dignity will be intact again!!

How nice it is to be back to normal again.”