It's a Dog's Life: A Day for Teddys Everywhere

Wednesday, 5 February 2025 16:20

By Teddy (via Helen Stockton)

Teddy is delighted that his name is the cause of celebration this month, and is happy to compare his endearing attributes to that of a soft toy, as Helen Stockton, his human interpreter explains

I recently discovered that 10 February is Teddy Day. Now whilst I’d love to claim the day as my own, I suspect that what they’ve got in mind is the toy rather than the Border Terrier variety. Having said that, Teddy is a very popular name for our breed as we do look a bit like bears. We have small ears that sit neatly atop of our heads, a short muzzle and a generous coat. Speaking for myself, we are also partial to a cuddle.

However, these are qualities that many dog breeds have, meaning that Teddy usually appears in the top ten names for male dogs, regardless of breed. Clearly, the apprentice, Bear’s appellation was chosen to compliment mine, although, to be honest, if I was choosing an animal to call her after, a monkey springs to mind!

The name for teddy bears apparently came from the US president Theodore Roosevelt, although why bears are called Teddys and not Theos is, quite frankly, beyond me. Anyway, he famously and rightly, in my opinion, refused to shoot one whilst out on a hunting trip and this caught the public imagination, transitioning into the production of the toy bears that we all know and love.

Whilst ‘Them Indoors’ clearly have the ultimate teddy bears in myself and the apprentice, ‘Her Indoors’ also owns a few of the toy variety. She has one from when she was a young child, rather more years ago than she readily confesses to these days, who, to be frank, looks
a bit worn.

Then she has a posh bear who was handmade by someone in the village and who has his own waistcoat and knitted scarf. He is kept on top of the bookcase which is fortunately high enough to be out of the range of Border Terriers, even small, springy ones or tall ones that can do a nifty number, walking on their back paws.

Myself and the apprentice share our own teddy, but he is a birthday bear and only makes infrequent appearances when one of us is celebrating. As the average life span of a soft toy given to us as a plaything is about ten minutes, playtimes tend to be rather brief and more closely supervised than is, strictly speaking, fun. However, it’s good whilst it lasts, and he does survive to play another day which is more than would happen if we had our way.

So, whilst I will be making a bid for extra fussing and treats on the 10th, I’m happy to share and allow the toy variety their moment in the spotlight too. Treasure your Teddys, animate or otherwise, and share the love. You know we’re worth it!

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It's a Dog's Life: A Day for Teddys Everywhere

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