Ted E. Bear

Izzy here reporting in. My family made it through the busiest day of the year in our village. I have to tell you, I was so busy watching the floats being put together. You see, the parade is assembled right next door so people bring their floats and do the finishing touches right next door. Sooo many people, sooo many things to watch. I did bark at one man. I didn’t like the fact he came close to my area. It was a gentle bark, but he went back where he was suppose to be. The kids can come see me, but that one guy I just didn’t like. My brother and sister spent a lot of time inside watching the front yard and the people on the porch.

During the parade, Mom and Dad made sure we were all safe inside the house as they had to pull a couple of those floats with their vehicles. I heard Mom talking about wanting me to be in the parade too, but very quickly decided it would not be a good idea as I would be too hot, even with the windows down. After the parade, Mom came home and gave me a big hug. She said she made the right choice, I would have been tooo hot. It would have been fun though I just know it.

Now comes the evening. I just knew something different was going to happen. My ramp was all set for me to get in the trailblazer, so I could just feel it, I am going with Mom and Dad. Yup, out the door Mom, Dad and I go. We all went to Grandma’s house. I am not sure why I was able to go, but I was a happy girl. Well, until…….

YUP, it got dark and then a lot of loud noises started, then bright lights flashed in the sky. I was not a happy girl, I was panting, as well as shaking. Mom and Dad comforted me, but I decided to get some attention by some other family members. Mom was close by as she had my leash. Finally I decided to lay down between two chairs. Mom was right there touching me. I stopped shaking and watched the lights in the sky. I am still not sure I like it, but it was better than being home a lone.

Overall, we all had a very nice day. All 5 of us were very tired and slept very well.

Until next time,

Izzy signing out.

Izzy reporting in!!!! Just knew it, Mom was soooo busy today working around the house, I just knew something special was happening very soon. Mom started our day with a walk with Grandma. The talked and talked about food, it made me very hungry. Then they talked about other stuff, like a parade. I guess Mom and Dad are in the parade. Mom mentioned having to was both vehicles, so they must be driving them in the parade. After our walk, Mom got right to work painting by the front door. I was not allowed to help. I just had to watch from behind a gate. I just know I could have helped spread that black paint. Then Mom went outside and started that machine she rides all around the yard. When she is done, the grass is shorter, but it smells sooo nice. Back inside she came, gave me lots of lovin of course. Then she went to work in the kitchen for a while. Then she went outside and did some work in the garage. Next thing I know, I am on a leash and going outside. Mom’s vehicle is in the front yard, the hose is out and a shepherd’s hook in the yard too. Mom walks me to the hook, and takes the leash off me and hooks a rope to me.

Hmmm I am attached to the shepherd’s hook. I have never been in the front yard like this. I was not sure what to do, so I went to the end of the rope and watched world go by. Mom kept an eye on me, but she was also busy washing that big maroon thing. It was fun in the front yard, a different feeling for me. Mom put the maroon thing away, came and got me and off on another short walk we went. This time I was on a rope and Mom was practicing my recall. Hmmm not sure if I really want to remember what recall is, but I tried. It was really hot so we went back home. It was fun while it lasted.

Ok so next thing I know people start arriving at our house. They start talking about French Festival. I asked Mom to help me with this part. Here is the link so you all can see what is happening in our village. http://capevincent.org/frenchfestival.asp

Thanks Mom. I am also noticing a lot more people in town. If I remember correctly, I will see lots visiting our house. I love meeting new people. Oh I also remember fireworks. I will report back on Sunday to let you know how those go. I think I will be with Mom and Dad at Grandma’s house. I sure hope so. I will try to think positive about fireworks this year. 

I hope you enjoyed the link. I will let you know how the weekend goes next time.

Until next time.

Izzy signing off.

Izzy checking in. One week ago we began out life with out Ted. We all have had our ups and downs. Mom and Dad have given my siblings and I lots of hugs and kisses.  We have all missed his goofiness and his way of checking up on all of us. I have taken over some of his tasks. Now it is my job to be sure all are up to bed on time. Last night I made a point to get everyone upstairs and in bed. Man, he sure had his hands full with Missy, she likes to clean up the floor after all of our snacks.

I am finding that I have missed out on a lot of attention. I would watch Ted follow Mom and Dad around the house and think, “What a goofy boy, it is just as easy to lay here in the pillow and watch the world go by.” Boy, did I miss out. Now I am up following them around getting all kinds of lovin. 😛

I do miss Ted terribly. I know he is watching as he is guiding me each and everyday. With him watching, I am being watchful over my family and making sure they are ok. We have many adventures ahead of us, and we will do them all together.

Until next time,

Izzy signing out!!!!

Izzy reporting in. Mom  has been taking me for walks bright and early in the morning, like before 8 am. I am all for a walk, but I really do like my morning nap!!!! Anyhow, out the door we go and guess who we have met up with each morning? Yup, you guessed it, Grandma. 🙂  I think it all has to do to with Mom’s phone making a noise and Mom pushing buttons on it. Then out the door we go.

I am being good, I am really trying to heel for Mom. Do you know how hard it is to heel when a  rabbit hops right in front of me? It is really hard!!!! I try with all my might, Mom giggles then has me sit and watch. I wiggle and wiggle, then the rabbit leaves. Whew, made it through that. Then a squirrel runs up a tree, oh my godness, what is a golden to do? Yup, sit and watch.  After we go a block or so, the flexi leash comes out and I can wander, sniff, jog, prance, squat, and run back to Mom. We have such nice morning walks!!!!

Boy, oh boy, by now Mom has taken her sweatshirt off and is talking about how hot it is. I look up at her and say, “Yes Mom, it is warm out, but thank you for taking me for this walk. It is a lot of  fun to be with just you.” Mom and I finish up our walk and then I hit the spa!!!

After my time in the spa, I get back to my morning spot.

My morning snooze place!!!!

Until next time,

Izzy, signing out!!!!

Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof!!!! Hi!!!! I am Ted’s litter-mate, sister Isabella. I am better known as Izzy. Below is a picture of Ted and I the day Mom and Dad brought us both home. Ted was the chosen one by Dad, I was the chosen one by Mom. I am on the left and Ted is on the right.

We sure did have some adventures together as pups. Mom, I think has already written about those adventures, so if you have not had a chance to read her previous pages and posts, take a look around this blog and you will learn a lot about the two of us.

5 months ago, Ted left for a couple of days. I was actually a tad jealous, he had Mom and Dad all to himself. Little did I know what he was going through. Then he returned, oh my, I thought. Ted what happened? Where did your leg go? I scolded myself for being jealous!!!! I decided that Ted needed me beside him. So I helped Mom take care of Ted. Everytime Ted moved, I was right there making sure he was ok. I was so happy how well he progressed and moved on his three legs. When Ted was ready, Mom took the two of out on walks together. It was so nice to be out and about again. What a long winter we had.

Ted was doing so well, he even went on walks alone with Mom. I decided not to be jealous this time. He deserved his alone time with Mom. Last week, Ted was having issues breathing. Then Wednesday, Ted took his last trip to the vet. I could feel that something was wrong. Then Mom and Dad returned without my brother and were in tears. I knew, I just knew I would not see my brother again for a very long time. We are all dealing with our lose and Ted is in our every thought.

Here is our last picture together.

Mom has talked with me a lot lately about what our life is going to be like without our boy!!!! She says that I will be even more spoiled than before. Boy did my tail wag then, of course I really don’t know how I could be spoiled any more than I already am. But hey, if she wants to spoil me, then I will let her.

I have noticed a few things already. Mom is using two different leashes with me on walks. We start out with the short leash and I have to heel. Man I really don’t like to do that. Don’t get me wrong, I love being next to my Mom, but I also love smelling everything and chasing anything that moves. Then, if I have been real good heeling, then Mom switches to the flexy leash. Oh boy, now that is the leash I really like. I can wander, smell, trot, and oh yes, pull Mom. Sometimes the smells or the squirrels just get the best of me. Then Mom switches back to the short leash and I have to heel again. This is all good with me though, I have a lot of Mommy and me time now.

I hope you will enjoy reading about my adventures as much as you liked reading about Ted’s adventures. It is definitely different with out Ted, but  I know Ted is watching over me, so I better be good. Mom tells me that we will all meet again some day.

I have upsetting news. Yesterday, after a very long night of listening to Ted breathe, we took Ted to his regular vet. Ted was having trouble breathing with his mouth closed and when panting, he used a lot of energy to breathe. The vet sent us to the emergency vet, the same place he had his amputation. To make a long story short, Ted was accumulating fluid around his heart. The fluid was blood. After the removal of the blood, Ted’s breathing did not improve. The blood returned as fast as they took it out. After much discussion about his prognosis, which was determined as poor, the decision was made to put Ted down. We feel it was the best decision as even with more testing, the likelyhood of him making more than a week was very slim. We believe he had one or two cancer cells that caused a major blood vessel or artery to burst. This was causing the chest cavity to fill with blood.

Ted had two purposes here on Earth. His first purpose was to help my family through the death of my father. Ted was only a puppy, but he brought great joy during a difficult time. He is now with my dad and my first dog. Ted’s second purpose was to help my husband heal after coming out of the hospital. Ted had his amputation  three days after my husband came put of the hospital. Ted’s zest for life on three legs showed my husband that it can be done.

The decision was a very difficult one, as some of you know. We put our feelings aside and made our decision based on what was best for Ted, what would be his quality of life.

Mom here again. We finally received the pathologist’s report on the cells in his bump. Great news, no cancer cells. He has an infection in that bump. So, benadryll is stopped, saline solution is still clearing his eyes till the discharge stops. Whew, what a relief.

This is Mom reporting in. About a week and a half ago Ted got a bump on the bridge of his nose. I attibuted it to a bug bite. I monitored it over the weekend, then called the vet. We agreed that it could be a bug bit, so benedryl was administered. The bump did not go down. Around the same time, Ted had swallowed a toy from the boys next door. He gave the toy back with grass around it, he threw it up. The toy was relatively small, size of a silver dollar, but had very sharp points on it. With that, Ted would cough every so often, which the vet and I agreed, his throat was irratiated by the toy.

Today, a friend called as she was in the house doing stuff, and said that, “Ted is not acting like Ted. He is having difficulty breathing and his eyes are red and running.” I immediately called my vet. I left work, got Ted and off to the vet we went. Ted was breathing fine when I got him, his eyes were blood shot and had a yellowish discharge.

Ted was such a good boy. He has a slight fever, which they say can contribute to the heavy breathing. There was a sample of the cells from the bump on his nose taken. The vet looked at them and said she did not find any abnormal cells, but is sending them away to a pathologist. I should get the results tomorrow. For now, Ted is taking benedryl 75mg 3 times a day for the bump. I am washing out his eyes with saline solution 2 times a day, and he is taking pepsid 2 times a day for his coughing.

Ted is now resting very nicely on the couch. I am hoping he gets a good nights rest and the bump goes down some by tomorrow and the report comes back in the positive direction.

Mom got the RV out yesterday!!! I am soooo excited I can hardly contain myself!!!! She is such a goofy lady, she got the hose out, the bucket out, the brush out, and the soap out. Next thing I know she is wayyyy up on top of my movable home. I was nervous for her. I was watching to be sure she did not fall.

Wheww she got back on the ground. She looked like she was petting the RV, but I really think it needed a bath. She had been mentioning that it was dirty, so I think that is what she was doing. Finally, I saw her again, she was on the other side of my movable home for a long time and I could not see her. Scrub, Scrub, Scrub.

I was waiting for her to say, come on, we are going for a ride. That did not happen yesterday, maybe today. Oh wait, she was talking to Dad and they have to work the rest of the week, so just maybe it will happen on Friday!!! I just love traveling in that big box. I get on the couch, look out the window and “chase” the cars as they pass. Oh what fun.

I added a picture of my movable home for you to see.

I just had to post a picture of me in the living room.

Tom, my husband is a cancer survivor as is Ted. The two will walk the survivor lap together. Izzy and I will be close by as care givers and to take Ted if we need to. Ted, Izzy and I will be traveling to the even in our motor home. This will give the dogs a place of refuge if need be. I will try to take pictures of our boys taking the walk.