The biggest news is that Beemer decided he wanted a new name to go along with his new life - a name that he felt would perhaps more adequately represent his stature and prowess as the mighty dog he knows he is. He chose the name Theodore Bartholomew (Teddy or Teddy B to his friends). However, he does sometimes get addressed by his full name when he is being particularly mischievous (bratty).
So far he has adapted to his new home and family wonderfully. On the way home in the car Saturday he cried a little - probably for his foster parents - then when we got in the house he spent a couple of hours exploring and taking turns sitting on our laps. Finally when he was on my lap he rolled over on his back and let "it all hang out", which I feel was his way of showing submission and trust.
Sunday my wife Mickey took our Granddaughter to the bus and he just sat and howled the most mournful sounds for the first hour or so before finally going to sleep. Mickey came home with a new crate and toys and a seat belt harness and he wore us out playing fetch for the rest of the day. He loves his stuffed animal toys. It's really funny to see him dragging out a bear 4 times his size to see if it's for him. So far he has about 20 toys/bears scattered around the house.
Today (Monday) he is much more secure and comfortable - he doesn't follow us around every minute or cry when one of us leaves the room. He went for a ride using his seatbelt harness and was perfect in the car. He has gone potty a couple of times on leash - probably the first time he's ever done that - and he will probably be fairly well housebroken in another week or so. I get the feeling that he hasn't had enough human contact in the past - at the moment he wants someone to be touching him almost all the time. We haven't found anything that scares him.
Tonight the Bichon from next door and his people visited and they all got along just fine after the usual doggy equivalent of "I'm the boss here" and "my people are better than yours" etc. As far as we are concerned, we couldn't have found a better match and I think Teddy feels the same way. Thanks for finding him for us.
In May, 2008 George and Mikey shared this charming story with us - How Teddy Lost His Blue Bow.
Last week we took Teddy to the groomers. This was the first time he had been separated from us since he came to live with us, but he didn't seem too worried when we left him. Four hours later we picked him up and the groomers said he had been a perfect gentleman. They put a blue bow in his hair (first picture) to reward him for being so well behaved. And they wanted to know where we had purchased him. They were very surprised when we told them we got him from PUP - they had just assumed that only "problem" dogs were available for adoption, not such a sweet and gentle dog as Teddy.
The next morning it was raining. Teddy was ONE STEP into his morning walk before he turned around, sat down, braced his legs, and told us he "didn't do rain". I reminded him that a 7 pound dog really had no choice in the matter and I picked him up and carried him out to the street. He, of course, immediately turned around and went back in the house. An hour later we had the same discussion and the same results. Another hour passed and I opened the front door again. Maltese are great problem solvers and Teddy knew he had a problem, so this time he laid completely down and then rolled over on his back. Then to complete this pitiful picture, he closed his eyes and let his head fall over sideways. I suggested to him that he might want also want to let his tongue hang out, but by this time I was laughing so hard at him that it didn't matter. He had solved his problem and I shut the door.
Eventually he had to go out so badly that he walked out in the rain and got soaking wet before he was finished. When we came back in the house, he was so proud of himself that he raced madly around and around though the house, bounding onto and over furniture, barking and growling at any toy he came across - absolutely manic. He didn't stop until he was completely exhausted. Then he realized he was still wet, but instead of waiting for me to dry him with a towel, he decided to take care of it with a "shake". Not a nice gentle little shake, but an enormous effort befitting a brave dog in from the wet and cold. His shake started with a little quiver of the nose, gained speed and intensity as it headed south, and finally knocked him right off his feet when it reached his tail. Then he was so proud of himself that he took another half dozen laps around the house at full speed, finally spinning out on a tight turn - with his bow flying across the room. And that's the tail o
f how Teddy lost his blue bow.
Teddy was tired after all this exercise, so he crawled into his crate for a nap. My wife and I went downstairs to do some work on the computer and when we came back upstairs we found he had awakened and emptied a big basket of stuffed animals (second picture). The reason you don't see Teddy in the picture is because he knows he's not supposed to play with those particular ones, and he didn't want to get scolded. A little while later he came to us and put one paw on my knee and looked at us with his big brown eyes - no he didn't get scolded.
After dinner, Teddy likes to watch television with us. He sits on the arm of the sofa and watches closely for dogs and cats and sounds he recognizes (third picture). This day had been just too tiring for him, however, and he soon went to sleep and fell off the sofa arm (fourth picture).
And so ended another day in the life of Teddy. Every day brings another adventure. We are so happy he shares his adventures with us.
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