Our Dog Teddy

Eight years ago, we got a white Cavapoo, which is a King Charles mixed with a Poodle. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have another dog in my life after my previous dog, Sparky, had passed away more than ten years ago. Just after a couple of months of dating my wife, she told me that she was going to get another dog because her previous dog, Lady, had just passed on. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the full responsibility of having another dog, because when I was just a young teenager at the time when I had my dog and I had help taking care of him. Fabiola went ahead and got one anyway, and even though I wasn’t the greatest at walking him, I mostly fed, played with, and learned to love him. Teddy had a lot of anxiety problems, but that doesn’t mean that you stop loving an animal or a child. He always had to be next to me and mostly Fabiola; he loved snuggling with her, right up against her. You never really think that when a pet dies, it’s that hard, or that you believe that you will get over it sooner rather than later. Well, I still think of my old dog, Sparky, from time to time.

Teddy was a very loyal and noble dog. He loved everybody and would always bark out of excitement whenever he saw a familiar face; that was his way of greeting you. Teddy quickly became a member of the family, and at times, we would even almost forget that he was a dog and think of him as part of the human race. I noticed that Teddy was losing weight every week and was starting to get a little worried. One morning, we came downstairs to start the day and noticed that he was on one of our couches, moving from one spot to another, and couldn’t stay still. Fabiola had to go and take Khloe to school, and said that we would take him to the vet when she got back. At first, we thought he had a treat stuck in the back of his throat, and he had behaved like that before. Fabiola came back, and we took him to the vet, thinking that it would just be a routine visit. Then, we would take him, and Teddy would get better. Well, our vet said that he weighed only five pounds and had lost a lot of blood, and that we needed to take him to the emergency vet hospital right away, which we did.

I had to return to do a few things because we had a few guests staying with us, and Fabiola was still at the vet. At first, she told me to meet her at the vet hospital, and then she told me not to come; and when she sent that message, I knew that was not a good sign. At the hospital, they confirmed Teddy had a splenic malignant tumor (hemangiosarcoma). Well, they put Teddy on a metal table just like in the ER and started work on him, IV insertion, pain medicine, oxygen mask, stabilized temperature and heart rate, and gave him medicine. They had tried four times to get his blood pressure stabilized, and on the fourth try, his heart rate started to plummet. I hadn’t heard from Fabiola for some time, but finally she called me and said the unthinkable: Teddy’s dead. I didn’t know if I should believe it or not, but I knew my wife wouldn't mess with me when it comes to situations like that. When I got there, Teddy was lifeless, being held in Fabioa’s arms in a blanket. We spent our last minutes with him in a small room alone; I took him, held him for a while, and put him on a metal table they had, but made sure he was wrapped up in the blanket, and we said our final goodbyes. Teddy, you will always be in our hearts and minds and will always be missed. Mommy, Khloe I, and the rest of the Roman and Arzabe family will love and never forget you. Teddy, our dear boy, may you rest in peace.