R.I.P....Teddy Carlo Saldivar Brown.....

Ara and Tolkien lost their beloved dog, Teddy. He was a long-haired, miniature, Chihuahua. It was such a horrible night for them. Teddy was put to rest on March 23. I was at home, when Thorin called me. He immediately sounded upset, over the phone. Thorin told me that he and Rachel (the kids step-mom) were coming to the house, to break the news to them. Thorin then went into the story of what had happened to Teddy....
Thorin said he came home like usual, and let Teddy outside to go pee. He walked over the shed, to get some tools to do some yard work. He heard Teddy barking, growling, then went over to see what was going on. Apparently the neighbors dog dug under the fence, and came into Thorin's yard, and started to attack Teddy. Thorin said the other dog is a "mutt" but much bigger than Teddy. Teddy is pretty small. Our dog Reci, and our cat, Kat, are bigger than Teddy. Thorin ran over to rescue Teddy. The mutt had Teddy's neck in his mouth. Thorin tried to break them apart, but the mutt would not let go. He told me he had to literally punch the mutt in the head, so the dog would release his grip. Thorin said he immediately picked Teddy up, and he was clearly bleeding a lot. He got in the car, and called his wife, telling her what had happened. He rushed Teddy to the vet, and any hope, was gone. The dog that attacked Teddy had broken Teddy's spine. They say that if they would have kept Teddy alive, he may have lasted a week, but would have had to breath with a tube, and would never be able to walk again. Its so tragic and heartbreaking. Teddy was in so much pain. Rachel told us that they gave Teddy pain medicine, and then had to make the decision, to put him to sleep. They were and still are devastated...
Thorin and Rachel came down to my house, to break the news to Ara and Tolkien. There is nothing worse, than seeing your kids so upset, so hurt, so frustrated, and so depressed. I have never had to see them go through this sort of loss, and it has been really, extremely hard for them. I wish that I could take all their pain and frustration away. Its such a helpless feeling, as a parent. I watched their faces as Thorin and Rachel told them what had happened. They immediately broke into tears, the most painful tears I have ever seen them shed. My son bowed his head down and kept sobbing, "No! No! No!" The kids sat for hours, crying over the loss of their beloved dog, Teddy.
Thorin and Rachel left the house, and apologized to me, for having to come down to the house with such horrible news. I went downstairs, to try and comfort the kids. Ara sat on her bed, with her head down and the tears were non-stop. Tolkien left Ara's room, ran into the family room, and buried himself under a blanket. He was curled in a ball, so hurt and so sad. I went back to check on Ara, and she was able to talk to me about it, and express, verbally, what she was feeling. We hugged one another and I assured her that with time, she would start feeling better. I tried to talk to Tolkien, but he is still taking all of this pretty hard. He would not speak to anyone. He locked himself in his room and would not let me in. I told him that if he wanted to talk, that I'd listen, and be there for him. Reci sat outside his bedroom door, the entire time he was self-locked in there. She wouldn't leave his side, so to speak. I encouraged the kids to sleep with me that night. I didn't want them to be alone. I wanted them to be able to find me easily, if they needed or wanted me. Later Ara blogged about Teddy. She told me that writing about it, made her feel somewhat better. She wrote a song for Teddy, looked at pictures of him, and self-medicated with a bag of Doritos. That night, the kids slept with me. We had a hard time falling asleep. Ara stayed in her own world, listening to music. Tolkien tossed and turned all night. He kept waking up and when he would wake up, he would sit up and start sobbing. I held him all night, and cried with him. He is absolutely crushed. The next morning, the kids were clearly exhausted. Ara reluctantly woke up, went downstairs and got ready. Tolkien made it to his room, crawled back in bed, and could hardly get dressed. He cried through the whole process of getting ready.
Now, don't get me all wrong. I am worried about Ara...but Tolkien is having a really hard time dealing with, and expressing himself. He has been walking around with a vacant look on his face. He is so mopey, he doesn't want to do anything. He does seem to do a little better, when he preoccupied with some activity, but I can tell that it is taking everything in him, to get through the day. Its worse at night, for sure. Naturally his mind has time to wander back to thoughts of Teddy, and how he died. Ara told me that she had a bit of trouble getting through the school day. She told me that she began crying in P.E. but was able to pull herself out of it. All I can do for them is listen, be supportive, offer my shoulder to cry on and try and keep them occupied. I will have them tonight, and tomorrow night, and Emma will be gone. I am going to take them out to dinner tonight, go to Hastings, and we will watch some TV, when we get home. I know that they have to go through the grieving process, but it doesn't make things any easier for them. Like I said, all you want to do as a parent is protect your children. You don't want to see them hurt and so upset. Yes, I understand again, that the loss of a pet, is a very normal part of growing up, and learning....but it is so very hard to see and be part of. I know it will get easier for them as time goes on. I know how much Teddy meant to them...I am so sorry, and wish there was something more, that I could do......I'll close for now with Ara's blog, about her dog Teddy.

He never deserved it. He didn't deserve it. It wasn't his time. They'll never be able to pay back for what they did to him. They'll never be able to apologize because we'll never forgive them.And their dog. The mutt. The stupid mutt. If he ever comes back again.My emotions - mixed with anger and misery and pain.It'll never cure...What they did to him. What they DID. I have a feeling of hate. HATE. Hatred. I don't think it'll ever go away.Revenge? I want it, but will I get it...perhaps not.He was like a little brother. He was like my best friend and more. He was my little Ted. I'll never forget him. I have to get out all of it and this is one of the only ways. I loved him so much. I cared for him so much. He was a part of our family. He was the greatest dog in the world.I can't stop crying for him. He's in a better place. He wasn't in pain too long but the suffering he had to go through for the small amount of it...He didn't need to go away that way. He didn't need to see the end that way. He didn't deserve it. He did not deserve it.I really, in my mind, am saying terrible things about that dog that killed him. Teddy was our dog.We've had him for about six years.He was a chihuahua.He wasn't just a chihuahua though.He wasn't yippy, he didn't bite...he was a lazy, chubby, caring lil' guy. He licked everthing even the air. He was the cult of personality, which is his themesong...thanks Living Colour.He was the cutest little dog in the entire world. He had a cute waddle to his walk. Yeah, he peed on lots of my clothes but I forgive him and that means he marked his territory on them!I'll always remember the rockin' little dude. He was the best. He was with me through lots of things, but he did NOT deserve this!My dad took Teddy out for his daily pee. My dad went to go check the shed, for some tools for later on yardwork. Teddy was not too far from him.He heard Teddy bark. Teddy's bark is not very fearsome, it's a small little bark...We hear him bark at the dog behind the other fence lots, so it wasn't a big deal.Then he heard the fence...The other MUTT had dug under it and come into our backyard. My dad heard Teddy squeal and barking and growling.He rushed over to the scene. Oh, he described it as terrible and bloody. He tried to pick up Teddy but the MUTT wouldn't let go...So he punched the dog in the face and grabbed Teddy. Teddy was bleeding, he cradled Teddy in his arms and screamed at the neighbors, saying how much they'd pay and things like that, he called Rachel (my stepmom) immediately.He rushed Teddy to the vet. As soon as he arrived they shot him with a pain reliever...soon they told my dad they couldn't do a thing.Teddy's last breaths were probably mixed emotions. I can't help to wonder what was going on in that little mind of his...his whole life...the misery of his old owners...the happiness of his time with us...?My dad and stepmom arrived at my mom's house and told us. I'm still crying. It feels like I'll never stop it, either.I want him back. There is no other dog in the world just like Teddy. He's his own little being, or, he was.He must be in a better place. He took the Stairway to Heaven, perhaps?Now he's with Candi, our other dog, and JD...and Yogurt(cat)...and Herbie...all having a good time reminiscing and eating bones...heh. The little guy always ate kibbles n' bones. Greenies, that is. He shouldn't have been taken away. He deserved a much longer life than that. I'm mad. I am extremely angry with the neighbors. They should've fixed that dang fence. They should've...ah. I'm mad. I want to scream. I HATE everything. I'll miss him. I'll miss him too much. We cared about him. He was like the baby of the family, along with our kit named Sage...We're getting a new dog, we already were when Teddy was still with us. But that one will NEVER replace Teddy. Teddy was the greatest dog anyone could ask for. All dogs have their ups and downs but Teddy only had ups. He never did anything wrong but pee! But that was just his instincts, if he had to go he had to go!He'll be with us forever, he won't go away everHe'll be in our hearts, he was from the startI'll miss him always and cry through my daysbut nothing will bring him backNothing will bring back the cult of personality, Teduardo the Sword Fighting Chihuahua. ...I don't know what else to do, or say, but cry more. Because he was the best. I'll miss that guy. I really will.Greatest dog...Teddy Carlo Saldivar Brown, Monday, March 23rd 2009...Rest in peace, Tedd!You were the CULT OF PERSONALITY!Remember...Live and Let Lick.