The director of Missoula Animal Control emailed me last week to ask if we could take an elderly, blind dog they had at the shelter. Someone had seen a car pull up to the curb, the door open, and a tiny dog deposited on the sidewalk. Then the car drove off. Fortunately, the person who saw this happen called Animal Control, and they zoomed over to pick up the dog.
He's an itty bitty thing, weighing all of 6 pounds. He's emaciated, with his bones sticking out all over his body. And his hair was so matted the staff at Animal Control had to shave him down. His mouth is awful, too — it's been a long time, if ever, since he's had any dental work done. The shelter listed him as 12 years of age, which seems right to us.
Animal Control had him for a couple of weeks, and we've had him since last Tuesday evening, so he's had plenty of groceries recently, but this next shot will give you a better idea of how thin he still is:
You really can feel every bone in his body. Literally. Here's the top down view:
Every vertebrae in his spine sticks out. His ribs feel like strings on a guitar. I can only imagine what he looked like when Animal Control first found him.
Despite his condition, he is spunky and vocal and very bright. In less than 24 hours he figured out where everything was. At first I was calling him "Little Man," not being able to decide what to name him, but it finally came to me: Teddy.
So if Teddy's been here since Tuesday, why did I wait until now to post him on the blog? Well, Alayne's been on the road for the past several days, and I hadn't said a word to her about Teddy's arrival. I wanted to see how long it would take her to notice a new minion in the pack. You know, a "welcome home surprise." (I'm allowed to make exactly two 'executive decisions' per year on my own … unless the first one goes badly. In which case that's the only one I get for the year.)
When Alayne got home yesterday evening, there was the chorus of happy small dogs to greet her at the back door — Goldie, Daisy, Widget, Bailey, Dexter … and Teddy. Alayne came through the door, got down to pet them, and it went like this: "Hi, Goldie love! Hi, Daisy! Hey, Widgie! Mister Bailey! Hello, Dexter! Oh, you guys, I'm so happy to see … [Pause] … well, hello there … who are you?"
Elapsed time was about 7 seconds.
As she made her way through the throng to pet Teddy, she looked up at me and said, "Who's this?"
While I starting telling her Teddy's story, he was already making his way towards her, ears up, tail wagging. Alayne began cooing over him.
[I could tell I was going to get an A+ for this particular executive decision. Whew. I've got one left!]
This little tyke moved right in from his first evening here. He gets along great with everyone, seems pretty well house-trained, and is just a doll. Teddy can be an insistent character, too, but only at meal time — he barks and barks when he knows I'm making his food.
I have a vet appointment for him in Helena on Tuesday — eye exam, blood work, dental, physical, etc. He has a world-class set of cataracts, but I don't know if that's the primary cause of his blindness or secondary to something else.
Yesterday evening after dinner, Alayne and I were sitting in the living room catching up on things. I was in the big wing-backed recliner when Teddy came over, stood up and put his front paws on the side of my chair. I picked him up and put him on my lap, and within a few minutes, he was lying across my chest, sound asleep and as content as could be.
To all of you who support the ranch with your donations — well, that's why we can say 'yes' to a little blind guy like Teddy. Thank you.
Teddy says, "You know, I've had a rough life but I think things are going to be just fine from now on!"
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This is the last week for the contest — voting ends next Sunday, July 26th at midnight (PST). Please enlist your family, friends and colleagues to join you in voting for the ranch as we count down to the finish line. Remember, you can vote for us every day in The Animal Rescue
Site/PetFinder's Shelter Challenge.
Enter
"Rolling Dog Ranch" and our state postal code, MT for Montana,
and it will bring up our listing so you can cast your vote.
With one week to go, we're still No. 3, and that means a $3,000 grant if we can hold that spot! Thanks for voting!
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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