I was looking forward, with much anticipation, to  meeting Teddy, the three-legged puppy which joined the animal family at the High Court in Berbice.

I had, minutes earlier, revelled in another passion, apart from writing to a colleague during a lunch break at the Berbice Assizes on Tuesday. You see, I love dogs and cats. In fact, I have four dogs — Sasha, Abby, Cassandra and Pringles, along with Misty the cat, and her four offsprings.
Although I have seven siblings, I grew up as a single child with animals at my grandparents’ home in New Amsterdam. I remember my first cat, a black and white tabby which dropped her litter of three kittens into my lap when I was just six years old. I recall ‘Champ’, the overprotective bull dog who would guard my infant sons from intruders, and would later run along with them to school.
I have had a fair share of pleasant experiences with animals, but when I was told of the three-legged Teddy, my anxiety soared and I did not know what to expect. I conjured many mental images of how he might look; his peculiarities, and his abilities and disabilities. But as I stood on the stairs of the recently completed mediation centre, I was dumbfounded upon noticing a court staffer   cuddling a brown bundle of fur, his small black nose protruding in her arms.
“Can he walk?” I asked, as she gently placed him on the walkway. Before I received her response, Teddy somersaulted out of her hands and ran around, sniffing at the new surroundings, as his mother stood nearby observing the proceedings.
I removed the camera from my bag in an effort to get snap shots of this relatively active puppy, but this proved to be a tedious task, as the six-week-old mixed breed was immensely enjoying his freedom.
The absence of one of the forelegs did not hinder Teddy’s movement. He moved as quickly as any other four-legged puppy would.
His care giver, who preferred not to be named, said he was part of a litter of six, two of which were bulls, born to one of the High Court dogs, ‘Brown girl’ , who had wandered into the court compound over three years ago. This reporter was told that the slut had dropped twice before, but had never delivered a deformed pup; and as such, it was surprising that she had delivered a three-legged pup.
However, since that delivery on March 5, persons unknown have stolen his siblings, leaving him behind, presumably because he is differently able. But Teddy has proven that he will not be subjected to his disability, as he demonstrated that he can somersault, run, and utter barks just like any other puppy.