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Bear Necessities of LifeMusings of Teddy Bear Necessity's Household
to Whom It May Concern Ton Ton the TV Airedale
2006.05.31 (Wed)
Through a Japanese social-networking site, I got acquainted with this person who turned out to be somebody who indirectly influenced my life. My life as an Airedale servant, that is.
I've told this story on Airedale-l several times before, but the reason why I got into Airedales in the first place was all because of this TV series in late 70s in Japan. This show featured a language-speaking (i.e. Japanese-speaking) Airedale named "Ton Ton" that was actually an alien from outer space and it was such a riot. The word "ton ton" in Japanese is an onomatopoeia that means "knock knock." Say, the sound of knocking on the door is described as "ton ton." The Airedale "Ton Ton" was named so (in the show) because he had this unique condition in which he turned into a stuffed animal whenever he heard the knocking sound. Even if he was in the middle of a sprint, if a carpenter was hitting nails at a house construction site, for instance, he would turn into a stuffed animal in mid air. It was so unique and mesmerizing to my young and tender dog-crazy heart. The aforementioned person I met was the owner of Ton Ton (aka "Bonnie")! He gave me the permission to use some of the rare photos from the show. So cool! How 70s! LOL. Having some serious discussions over dinner. Even though this series obviously influenced ME enough to fall in love with Airedales, which eventually lead to Teddy, I have yet to meet an actual person who watched this show aside from my mother (who watched the show with me in those days). So you can imagine just how excited I was to get acquainted with Ton Ton's 2-legged relative! The power of internet is absolutely amazing. How did we ever live w/o www before? Scotland Yardale
2006.05.25 (Thu)
We used to call Teddy a "Scotland Yardale" because she acted like the police all the time. For example, if I raised my voice even a little, she'd come trotting over right away to check on me. If I was yelling at her daddy, she'd jump up on me and plead to stop the madness. She kept us (well, mostly ME) in check.
This was true on our walks as well. In the photo above, Teddy looks content to go for a walk with daddy, but it wasn't really so. Right before the photo was taken, she protested to go forward because I was too far behind (so that I could take the photos). If I strayed even a little, she'd constantly look back to make sure that I was really following them. That girl sure liked her family being together. She was such a faithful, fiercely loyal companion we could ever hope for. Camp Woof
2006.05.24 (Wed)
Teddy (right) & her pal Bearcat doing what Airedales do best in a doggie paradise. (Warning: Turn down the volume if at work!)
Material Girl
2006.05.23 (Tue)
Here are the collars Teddy had collected over the years.
There are 35 shown here, but there were more. The collars that were meaningful in Teddy's life, like the ones she always wore in her most favorite park in DC, at Camp Woof, when she went boating, and etc., Teddy took them over the rainbow bridge. Those were the collars with which we associated Teddy's sparkling and twinkling eyes. But the remaining collars too have a lot of memories in them. These are the girly collars Teddy wore most often in spring. These are the special-occasion-collars, like for Christmas, snow day, Halloween, Chinese New Year, July 4th, boating, and in the country during the hunting season (with a cow bell). These leather collars were primarily used in the city rather than in the country. She wore many of these to go shopping at the Saks 5th Avenue, for example. And then these. The left one was what Teddy wore in the last days of her life on this earth. The right one was not Teddy's for I bought it after Teddy's departure. This was one collar that slipped through my fingers when Teddy was with us. And believe me, such a thing rarely happened. I used to see this collar often in DC when Teddy was a puppy, and this was the collar I was going to get once she was old enough (so it wouldn't get destroyed). But then the store that carried those went out of business. I saw the same collar in some NY doggy boutiques a couple of times afterward, but I was so aghast with the astronomical price (compared to what I saw in DC) that I didn't end up getting one. So when I found the same collar again, this time in Tokyo, I had to grab it. I figured that this was my first step in preparing myself for the life with another Airedale. The Airedale that is not Teddy. Besides, no matter how much I'd adore the little creature, I wouldn't think I'd want her to don on Teddy's collars .. at first anyway. Perhaps she'd need her own new collection, but I suppose that'd be a bit absurd, woudn't it? Airedale Puppies
2006.05.22 (Mon)
I've got a good fortune of meeting Miss Ivy, who is a 4 months old (3 in this photo) Airedale puppy in our neck of woods. She and her family are giving me the much needed Airedale fix now and then, and her cuteness just melts my heart. Look at her face! Puppies sure are the best therapy for the soul.
But at the same time, truth be told, her exuberance and naughtiness almost startle me in some ways. After the placid senior years of Teddy, I must have forgotten what Teddy was like as a puppy. She must have been this powerful, too ... or was she? I've always thought that Teddy was a very gentle puppy. Prior to her arrival, I had heard so many horror stories of Airedales that I was gearing up for a problem child. Instead, I thought I got a very demure and composed little miss. (Well, at least until she realized her full Airedale potentials and became a renegade teenager.) Did I think that because I was expecting the biggest brat in the history of Airedales? Was my expectation so low(?) that anything normal was bliss? Looking at these photos of Teddy around 3 months of age sorta confirms my memory, though. I mean, look at her eyes! Don't they look so gentle and demure? Couldn't have belonged to a monster. Oh all right, I'm probably just remembering only the good things. Not that there wasn't much downside to Teddy's puppyhood. It sure was a blast and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Terrier Lunch
2006.05.07 (Sun)
It’s been 5 months since my last entry. How time flies!
We are still dog-less, but we are doing fine. We aren’t ready to get another dog yet, but we still socialize with dogs and their people. Just the other day, we had a lunch-on with a bunch of terrierists: 17 dogs (mostly Airedales and Welshes) and 24 of their servants at a cafe called "Charleston House." This is an Airedale cafe. Can you see the logo with the head study of an Airedale? The owners have 1 Airedale whose registered name is Cedar Creek’s Charleston. Although they have 2 Welshes as well, clearly, the cafe was named after their AIREDALE. But of course! some participants waiting for the shindig to start The skinny Airedale in the middle is a very demure girl named Alma, and Russell and I are totally in love with her because she reminds us so much of Teddy. Just like our girl, she's skinny, prim and proper and very aloof. The bigger Airedale lying on the floor is TJ. He's a very furry, goofy and gentle boy whom we also adore. The one next to TJ is Miss Limo, who is a feisty and sassy JRT. There were 6 Airedales, and I think they are mostly from the same line. What impressed me was that they were all very good-tempered and well-behaved. Of course there were Airedale exuberance but no single quarrel or fight broke out .. unlike the smaller terrier side that sounded like a war zone at times. You can't see too many dogs in the photos, but believe me, they are all there. Oh how we wish Teddy were still with us. She would've pretended like she didn't care to make new friends, no doubt, but I know she'd have liked to meet all these nice Airedales. |