Ted E. Bear Fife 2002 - 2018
Among all the highs of this past Summer was a truly big low. Teddy turned 16 years old in the Winter of 2018, and while the aging had been happening for a while now, it really started to accelerate this past Summer.
Most noticeably was after we picked him up from boarding upon returning from our trip to Tennessee. He hadn’t had a shave in a couple years. He was getting old, and it wasn’t something I wanted to put him through. However, the vet had talked me into doing it while he was being boarded to get rid of some matting issues. When we picked him up the shave revealed skin and bones that I hadn’t noticed underneath all his fur. It really put his age into perspective and gave us all a reality check.
Things continued to get worse as the Summer wore on, and we had to come to the very hard conclusion that it seemed to be Teddys time to go. While I had been preparing for this eventuality for a while, the actual reality of it was so much harder than I had expected.
I got Teddy in the Spring of 2002 when he was just 4 months old. He was my first dog, and the fluffiest little puppy in the pound. He was the runt of his litter, and we believe he was abused before we rescued him. I fell in love instantly. A month later Jordan and I started dating, and Teddy became our dog, and we became a little family.
Teddy was with us through 5 moves, 6 homes, 3 states and the birth of Isla and Holden. He adapted to life with kids pulling his hair and chasing him all over the house. He followed Isla wherever she went, and was patient with Holden while he relentlessly pulled his tail right up until his final days.
He was a loyal and loving member of our family and we will never forget him. I will always remember him as the fastest dog at Cherokee Park. Running circles around all the other dogs, and evading the leash when we tried to take him back home.
I’ll never get another “first dog”. I’m so glad Teddy happened to be the one.