A tiny miniature long-haired dachshund pup who has seen his fair share of trauma in his young life, is undergoing training to become Katherine's newest therapy dog.
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Born with a cleft palate seven months ago, Teddy was the runt of a litter of puppies at Mt Stanford Station, six hours from Katherine, and his chance of survival was slim.
But after finding a home with Heidi Shae, who operates Katherine's Barnyard Mobile Petting Zoo, the pup was given a new lease on life, undergoing cleft palate surgery at Katherine Vet Care at the age of four months.
"He had the roof of his mouth sewn together, and bound by stitches he survived the delicate surgery," Ms Shae said. But prior to his check-up date the tiny pup "popped a lot of the stitches" and still had a large hole in the roof of his mouth.
This led to a second surgery. This time he had the skin of the roof of his mouth pulled further across to stitch together.
"Little Teddy was a champion the whole time," Ms Shae said. "This led us to look into training and registering Teddy as a therapy dog. His cuddly nature as well as his challenges have made Teddy suitable for such a role."
Ms Shae said Teddy's training - with monthly sessions at the PAWS Animal Rescue Centre in Darwin over the next 18 months - will give the little tail-wagger the skills to operate as therapy dog in schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
"Our aim is to complete the necessary training and expand the Barnyard Petting Zoo to spread our services into the Katherine community and surrounding communities with a focus on people with disabilities, the elderly, trauma survivors and children with learning difficulties," Ms Shae said.
Teddy attends the Katherine Community markets on Saturdays and currently volunteers at MacFarlane primary school every Monday morning as part of his training.
"The children love his visits and they get the opportunity to learn what a therapy dog is and soak up some therapeutic cuddles."
Anyone with a sausage dog or little dogs who want to socialise with teddy is encouraged to contact the Barnyard Mobile Petting Zoo.
Annie Hesse
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
