I was born in the cold, dark month of February on a windswept farm in northeast Ohio. As the weeks went by, things didn’t seem to get any brighter, but no one else seemed to notice. They just went about their business as if all was right with the world. For a short while, I had the comfort of my mother and brothers and sisters, but after not too long, my mother was taken away, and we were on our own. I tried so hard to eat the new food they gave me, but the pieces were so big, and they kept falling out of my mouth. I got a little bigger, but not much. One day, I heard a loud rumbly noise approaching, then something slammed. Rough hands grabbed me, and I was tossed into a box even smaller than the one I was used to. I heard a voice say, “Thank you, Mr. Yoder. I’ll be back next week for more.” Then I was inside the loud rumbly noise, and we were moving! I was very scared, but I kept quiet, and after a while, rough hands grabbed me again. I could feel the outside air for a moment, then I was put into another box with other puppies, but they were not my brothers and sisters. It was very noisy, and smelly. It was still hard for me to eat the food, and the other puppies kept getting most of it. I couldn’t see them, but they kept pushing me out of the way. I kept hearing the words “pet store.” Maybe that’s my name? But no! There was one voice that was different from the others. This voice had soft, gentle hands, and she kept calling me Teddy. That’s my name! I kind of like it, especially when she says it. She also kept saying there was something different about me. I always knew I was special, but no one else had ever seemed to notice, or care. She said it wasn’t normal for me to bump into things, and she mentioned the word blind. I’m not sure what that means, but she seemed sad. So she talked to her boss and asked him if she could take me home. He said yes, because I was so special ?. At first, everyone was very excited, her mom, her dad, the other dogs. But after a little while, they said I was so special I needed to go to something called rescue, although the dad kept saying something about a one way trip to the vet’s. I didn’t like the sound of that, so I was glad when rescue said they would take me. The big day finally came, and I was put into a box again. More loud rumbles and movement. It was a very exciting day, and when I got where I was going, I was so excited, I couldn’t eat or drink. The nice people were worried, so they took me to an “emergency room.” There was a little prick, then I felt water under my skin. Within minutes, I came back to life, racing around, barking, and tugging on a blanket! The people said I was ready to go the next day, and boy did I! I spent the whole day inside loud rumbly things, but not in a box this time. People held me in their arms the whole way. I kind of liked that. I finally got to a lady named Katie, who took me home with her. I kind of like it here. Plenty to eat, and she doesn’t let the other dogs have any of my food. I get to run around the whole house. The other dogs are nice to me, especially Larry. He keeps wanting to play, but Katie worries because he’s so much bigger than me. Sometimes when Katie isn’t looking though, we play together in the outside pen. I like it out there. The air smells so sweet, and there seems to be something bright above me. I hardly ever bump into anything, but Katie says I need a test to see why my world is so dim. Maybe they can do something about it! I think I’d like that. Teddy was examined by a vet neurologist on July 8. There’s nothing wrong with his eyes or his optic pathways, she feels that the cause of his blindness is neurological, so he needs an MRI and a spinal tap to try to determine the cause and whether there is anything that can be done about it. There is a possibility that something will HAVE to be done in order for Teddy to lead a normal life, but the MRI and spinal tap are the first step. She feels she can keep the cost for these tests in the neighborhood of $1500, so we are trying to raise that amount. Right now, we have a generous offer from an anonymous donor to match up to $500 in contributions. We’re almost there but will then need an additional $500 to reach our goal of $1500. Donations in any amount are so greatly appreciated. Teddy is very brave and independent, he is definitely worth it!