Ted is a rescue Dane who lived in a lonely, small yard in Dallas the first 5 years of his life. He lived to run the fence and dig holes in the yard. We only know this because when his people moved they left a neighbor to care for him and never came back for him and so the neighbor brought  him to Dane Angel Network and told the story.

Dane Angel Network took him in and paid for a tumor to be removed from his mouth, heartworm treatment and of course altering.   He was fostered by a wonderful couple who had a large number of Danes and Ted learned about indoor living, toys and living in a Dane. All very good practice for being at our busy house.
 
Ted's birthday is September, 15th, the day he became ours. He has lived with us since 2002. When Ted first came he was solitary. He did not really know what to do with other dogs completely. He had lived without much positive human attention for so long he could not reverse his tendencies to stick to the fringes. He enjoys playing alone for the most part to this day, but now engages in play with other dogs as well as with his people.
 
Ted also had a fear of men. We think he may have been punished ( maybe for digging) when his master came home from work each evening because each day at around 5 pm he would become very frightened and tense. I, not knowing what was up, would let him outside where he would instantly go to far corner of the yard and hide, when Jack came home about an hour later he would not greet him, come inside or go near him for hours, when  he felt nothing bad would happen, he would come in, but steered clear of Jack. He did not act like this in the mornings or on days that Jack did not work. It took a few months of gentle treatment to teach Ted that he was not going to be punished when Jack came home. He was welcome to dig all the holes he wanted. When he would dig a perilous hole that might hurt someone we just filled it with a mixture of gravel, dog poo and dirt and he would find another spot.
 
The introduction of toys was a bright spot and meant more holes for Ted. He loves to dig and re-dig a hole until its just right for the toy to be in and then get another toy and do the same. He has toys stashed all over the yard and we love to act like we are not watching so he will retrieve and hide his toys in relative secret.
 
For the sake of  extra bonding Jack and Ted went to basic obedience classes and
they both loved it. Ted loved going places with Jack and graduated third in his class. They are tight buddies to this day because of those classes.
 
Bringing Ted from a lonely boy to a member of a bigger community with dogs big and small, cats of all kinds and fast moving older children had its ups and downs. He was not prepared for any of it and we all learned to adjust. He did kill a cat and needed intensive re-training to view cats differently. He learned to avoid cats leaving the room when they entered. Now he tolerates their tails under his nose, but love cats? No way! LOL!

Ted is the is the coveted alpha dog that everyone loves, except Andrew. But that is another story. He loves to be outside in the garden and is the perfect garden buddy. Digging, aerating the soil, and tilling the ground as well as being a dedicated field mouse chaser. I am sure the field mice whisper his name in fear.
 
We often are winsome thinking how different life would have been for Ted had we been his only family. How he would have not had such obstacles to overcome, but in the end we are simply thankful for the times we are having with him and hope for many more years of good health for him.

Update 2007

For months I have dreaded updating Ted's bio to reveal his death, as if him being alive in cyber-space was my last lifeline to our special boy. Ted is the reason I do everything I do about great danes. He is the purpose I find for trying to find a healthier, happier life for each dane we own and why dane rescue is close to my heart. He is the sole reason we have so many beautiful great danes in our home. Our lives are eclipsed by his passing and we wonder again when the sun will shine.

Ted had a bad heart, years of heartworm damage as well as damage left by the cure. See heartworm treatment is very toxic and can destroy heart tissue along with the heartworms. If a dog is young enough or the damage is light enough the risks are small, but for 5 years old danes and older its a risky choice.  In defense of Dane Angel Network they were not certain of Ted's age at time of treatment.

Our vet was very concerned about his heart. He often wondered how Ted was standing upright let alone breathing.  We found out about 2 years ago he had a tumor on his Thyroid Gland ( probably had it for years). So then it fell into place. The tumor caused his Thyroid Gland to over produce so that is why he was obsessive about running the fence line, and digging holes and just being active in general. Also this could have contributed to his dangerous jealousy of cats and dominance issues with other dogs. It also is what kept him alive to the age of 11 with a heart as battle scarred as a kitchen sponge.  Ted was similar to athletes on steroids...phenomenal endurance and strength and a hair trigger with dogs and cats.

We left the tumor. To remove his tumor was to kill him faster.

Ted's robbing Peter to pay Paul live strategy ended January 19, 2007 at about 3 am. He was always a deliberate dane. He only woke me up if he needed something and about 20 minutes to 2  he did just that. He wanted to go outside. Was desperate for it. I took him downstairs and stood on the porch trying to find the flashlight so I could see him do his business. I always check to make sure each of our dogs have health stools and urine. Well he was having nothing of it. He walked off into the night beyond the porch light. It was quiet for about 15 minutes, then I heard him shuffling around the fence line. I gave him his space, not because I knew he needed to be along, but  because I didn't have shoes. He made it all the way around the perimeter then came and found me. It took him another 30 minutes. And I was snoozy by then. curled up in a stick chair on the porch.

We went back upstairs and he climbed in bed with me. A surprise since he couldn't get up into bed anymore, but he did it just the same. I started to dose and he was wide awake nudging and snuggling with me playfully. I petted and played with him for about 30 minutes then caught sight of the clock (nearly 3) "Its late", I thought. I was just getting ready to tell him to quiet down and get some sleep. When he bent his head back and made a muffled scream. I wrapped my arms around him to the sound of Jack running up the stairs. Jack had fallen asleep in front of the TV but now he as there and put his arms around Ted too. Our hands searched for a pulse but found none.  We rocked our Ted in our arms knowing he was gone. As if his life was torn from him with a scream. The sun came up that morning on a world without Ted. Everything changed.

Ted taught us to believe in messed up dogs. To understand that negative behaviors can be changed. That love and training to a dog with a disturbing past can change ingrained behaviors. He gave us confidence to continue to be gentle loving leaders to our pack and let the behavior issues just melt away.  Ted taught us about conditional love. His love had conditions. He needed to be taught how to act right to be a loving dog. Living with Ted and discovering the depths he could love changed our lives. We have taken on dogs with deeper issues because of Ted. And those dogs take us further along in the understanding of what brings a good dog out of a disturbed one. In short, Ted made us better dog parents, better people, and a better family.

Our Eternal Love and Gratitude to Theodore Russell Cates for being our guide, our teacher and our dear companion. With joyful tears of thanks,

The Cates Family.