Teddy

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.'"
    -Matthew 25:41-45

I very seldom quote the bible.  As a matter of fact, the bible and I have had some big disagreements.  But today, I was reminded of this quote from Matthew, as I worked with a dog named Teddy.

I perused our walking equipment, searching for the best harness to use on Teddy.  Teddy is a very young small Terrier mix, white and tan, with blue steel eyes.  After rescuing Teddy from the County shelter just three days ago, we came to learn he has impaired hearing and vision.  Yesterday, my partner Tom took Teddy out to an exercise yard to see what we were working with.  Things did not go well.  Tom said Teddy just skirted around the yard, avoiding any human contact, not responding to verbal or visual stimuli.  Our boss put the word out, if we can't get this dog to show it can bond to a human, then we had no chance of adopting it out.

So I chose the small green harness.  It's the one I've had the best luck with, and I knew that I, and Teddy, needed luck today. No matter what happened, I had to get Teddy out on a walk.  Even if it was the ugliest walk ever experienced by man and beast, I know that a good walk goes a long way in building trust, and maybe with trust, a bond can grow.

As I walked through the yard and approached Teddy's pen, he looked my way.  Sort of.  Maybe.  It was hard to tell because you can only see the top half of Teddy's pupils.  I let myself in as Teddy bounced around my legs.  Down on a knee I went for greetings.  I'm used to young dogs mouthing when they get excited but Teddy was working overtime.  He pulled at my sweatshirt and grabbed my fingers as I kept him at a safe distance from my nose.  We did this dance for awhile until he got tired of trying to get a grip on me.  When he settled down I attempted to get the harness on him.  His little legs were just moving too fast for me so I went for option two.  I picked Teddy up and an amazing thing happened; his legs went still.  I looped the harness around him, snapped it on top.  Victory was mine.

As I attached the leash and put Teddy back on the ground I fully expected he would go berserk at the sensation of the leash.  But no, forward we began.  Well, mostly forward.  There was some jetting back and forth in front of me, and some stopping to smell bushes, but this was not about proper walking technique.
Up the gravel driveway we made our way to the hardtop road.  I stopped to offer him some stringcheese as a reward.  At first I pulled off too small of a piece and it was hard for him to see my offering.  I pulled off a longer strip and he eagerly gobbled it up.  Off and walking again.  Along the way I stopped several times, calling him back to me when he reached the limits of the leash.  Each time he would come bounding back, reaping another cheese reward.  As we walked back toward the yard I noticed that Teddy was spending more time near my side, and less time in front of me.

Back in the yard I unleashed Teddy from his harness and walked away from him.  It was then that I received my reward.  Teddy followed me.  Having finished off the stringcheese I went to my pocket and pulled out a hard biscuit, breaking off a small piece.  Teddy liked the biscuit also.  I did several walkaways followed by trips up and down the porch to Augusta's house, Teddy followed.  Once Teddy strolled off to get a drink of water from a large bucket in the yard.  I took the opportunity to go hide behind a tree.  When Teddy finished drinking he turned and looked and I wasn't where he left me.  I wouldn't call it a panicked look but I could definitely see that he was trying hard to find me.  He turned his head from side to side, walking up to the fence, and then turning to look behind him.  I called out to Teddy to get his attention as I peeked around the tree.  Nothing at first.  I raised my voice in a loud "Beep beep beep!"  He turned toward me.  I waved my hands from behind the tree but he was having a hard time seeing me.  Finally I stepped from behind the tree and he recognized me, and into my arms he ran.  More biscuit.

I sat down in the shade and Teddy gave me my second reward, he laid down beside my leg.  We had bonded.  It was then that Matthew's quote crossed my mind.  What kind of adoption group were we if we only helped the easy to adopt dogs?  Now and then shouldn't we at least give a chance to the less fortunate?
I'd like to think that we are better than that.

P.S.  I will attach a photo to Teddy's story as soon as I can.