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by MVF on 02 August 2009 - 21:08
So sorry for your loss, but you get great credit for keeping him alive so very, very long!
by DebiSue on 02 August 2009 - 21:08
So very sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like Teddy had heaven on earth with someone like you to care for him. Know that many here are feeling your pain.
by Annie on 03 August 2009 - 09:08
Michael49
Yes, I did breed the litter Teddy was in. A family chose him when he was three weeks old, but a week or so later I thought there was something strange about him and got our Vet to check him out. He said he was just a small dog and he would catch up with the other two litter mates eventually. Teddy was a normal size puppy born. He weighed 1lb 5oz. Anyway, I had this feeling that he might be a dwarf, although I had never encountered one before. I told the family that wanted him that they could not have him. We would not sell a puppy with a question mark about his health, we would rather take the responsibility for his welfare ourselves. Eventually the Vet agreed with me that he was in fact a dwarf, and that he had this terrible heart defect, also confirmed by second opinion. We could have taken the easy option and had him put to sleep then at twelve weeks of age, but he had got under our skin. He had been brought into the house at four weeks of age to see if we could get him eating (not a problem when he got older !!!! he was a greedy little tyke and would fight anything for food).
The Vet said we will vaccinate him and give him a good few months, but be prepared as he may just die very suddenly. That was not in Ted's plan !!!!! He was trying to mate our bitches at seven months of age, so back to the Vet's for neutering. I said to our Vet, please be careful with the anaesthetic with his heart being so bad. He came out of the operation bouncing, and guess what, no bad heart any more!!
Other problem Teddy had was he used to chase his tail and bite it. He damaged it so badly that he had to have it amputated. He came out of the Vet's with a pink bandage on his stump. The girls in the Vet's surgery absolutely adored Teddy, and if he had to go in for any treatment they used to fight over who was going to look after him. They used to say don't worry about coming for him, he can stay here all day!!!
Malcolm Griffiths saw him at our house one day when he delivered the Dog Treadmill to us. He said he had a fantastic character. Teddy was running around playing with his stepson while we had coffee.
I used to take Teddy to Training Class and to Open and Championship Dog Shows, I never hid him away. I got mixed reactions to him, I suppose some people thought I was mad to keep him. But I used to say, don't scorn him, this could happen to any of you, and you need to know as much as possible about dwarfism.
Everyone that met him here at our Boarding Kennels loved him, and many of them wanted to have him, but at the end of the day he is our responsibility and we took it very seriously. Teddy gave a lot of love back to us, so it was an experience having him that I would not change for the world. I could have let him go on a bit longer, and maybe he would have reached the magic 14 years but he had had a stroke, was almost deaf, blind in one eye, lost the use of the right side of his face so found it hard to eat. He was falling all over the place and banging into doors etc... so we knew we had to do the right thing for him.
Like I said, no regrets for having Teddy.
Ann
ps He outived his two litter mates by several years!!!!
Yes, I did breed the litter Teddy was in. A family chose him when he was three weeks old, but a week or so later I thought there was something strange about him and got our Vet to check him out. He said he was just a small dog and he would catch up with the other two litter mates eventually. Teddy was a normal size puppy born. He weighed 1lb 5oz. Anyway, I had this feeling that he might be a dwarf, although I had never encountered one before. I told the family that wanted him that they could not have him. We would not sell a puppy with a question mark about his health, we would rather take the responsibility for his welfare ourselves. Eventually the Vet agreed with me that he was in fact a dwarf, and that he had this terrible heart defect, also confirmed by second opinion. We could have taken the easy option and had him put to sleep then at twelve weeks of age, but he had got under our skin. He had been brought into the house at four weeks of age to see if we could get him eating (not a problem when he got older !!!! he was a greedy little tyke and would fight anything for food).
The Vet said we will vaccinate him and give him a good few months, but be prepared as he may just die very suddenly. That was not in Ted's plan !!!!! He was trying to mate our bitches at seven months of age, so back to the Vet's for neutering. I said to our Vet, please be careful with the anaesthetic with his heart being so bad. He came out of the operation bouncing, and guess what, no bad heart any more!!
Other problem Teddy had was he used to chase his tail and bite it. He damaged it so badly that he had to have it amputated. He came out of the Vet's with a pink bandage on his stump. The girls in the Vet's surgery absolutely adored Teddy, and if he had to go in for any treatment they used to fight over who was going to look after him. They used to say don't worry about coming for him, he can stay here all day!!!
Malcolm Griffiths saw him at our house one day when he delivered the Dog Treadmill to us. He said he had a fantastic character. Teddy was running around playing with his stepson while we had coffee.
I used to take Teddy to Training Class and to Open and Championship Dog Shows, I never hid him away. I got mixed reactions to him, I suppose some people thought I was mad to keep him. But I used to say, don't scorn him, this could happen to any of you, and you need to know as much as possible about dwarfism.
Everyone that met him here at our Boarding Kennels loved him, and many of them wanted to have him, but at the end of the day he is our responsibility and we took it very seriously. Teddy gave a lot of love back to us, so it was an experience having him that I would not change for the world. I could have let him go on a bit longer, and maybe he would have reached the magic 14 years but he had had a stroke, was almost deaf, blind in one eye, lost the use of the right side of his face so found it hard to eat. He was falling all over the place and banging into doors etc... so we knew we had to do the right thing for him.
Like I said, no regrets for having Teddy.
Ann
ps He outived his two litter mates by several years!!!!
by smc on 03 August 2009 - 14:08
SORRY TO HEAR OF YOUR LOSS WE LOST JILL OUR LITTLE DWARF EARLIER THIS YEAR AND LIKE YOURS LIVED TO A RIGHT OLD AGE THEY ARE VERY SPECIAL LITTLE DOGS TO ANYONE WHO HAS EVER OWNED ONE.
by Joyce on 03 August 2009 - 16:08
Hi Ann
So sorry to hear the sad news. Loved reading your post on Teddy, he sounds like he was a right little character.
So sorry to hear the sad news. Loved reading your post on Teddy, he sounds like he was a right little character.
by malshep on 03 August 2009 - 18:08
Teddy was a great companion and friend, I am so sorry to hear about you loss, please take comfort in knowing he had a great life with caring owners.
Always,
Cee
Always,
Cee
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