I have a very complicated relationship with Teddy , who happens to be Marley's brother. Marley took MONTHS to warm up to me and Teddy is the same. The poor puppies were abandoned under a scrap vehicle in the middle of nowhere. They were tiny, malnourished, terrified, orphaned and tick-infested. Marley came home first and she was such a timid puppy, but when Teddy joined our family, she started to come out of her shell. 

My relationship with Teddy has its ups and downs - when I was covering one of the council's online I would spend hours in Teddy's room just listening to the debates, writing notes and preparing frameworks for my stories. He would chill by me, lay his head on my leg and would sit close to me whenever I would finish the session and switch to Netflix. However, since I went back to the office, the time I spent with him reduced massively, so I became a stranger to him once again. He no longer wags his tail at me - its heart-breaking how he bows his head down, growls and hides his tail between his back legs when I approach. It's almost as gut-wrenching as Marley's fear of  me when she first joined the family. 

However, I have made efforts these last few days to amend my relationship with Teddy once again. I like to call him Theodore - makes him more fancy, but my sister refuses to change his name. I have recently learnt that Teddy likes carrots, watermelons and apples. So I would leave a slice on top of his crate every night before heading to the living room. Of course, he would BARK his head off at me if I come too close, yet he would so rudely crunch away at the fruit I had left him. It's music to my ears hahah at least he's accepting food from me. Im actually jealous of my mum who feeds him by hand and he would jump up to get lettuce or a slice of bread from her hand directly. But when it comes to me, the hairs on his back would immediatly spike up when I come within 10-feet off him. 

However, I'm optimistic. He has started to take the fruits I leave him on his crate, given that he still barks, but that's progress. 

The key is unconditional love and patience. I LOVE you Teddy despite how annoying you find me. I will scratch you again one day.