27 February 2024

I treated a particularly varied collection of species at my Teddy Bear Hospital this month. The most unusual one was a 5-year-old girl Heffalump, who had a complete re-stuffing. She needed it because of all the hugs from her adoring owner))

Barnaby the basset hound received new eyes, having parted with his original ones in a tumble dryer, and had a complete re-stuffing too. 40-year-old Nigel (who identifies as a bear though I think he may have been a panda at birth) also received a complete re-stuffing, along with a gentle clean-and-brush, and had a few holes mended.

The most serious case was Monkey: he had been chewed by a dog, losing an eye and a large part of his head. I cleaned and brushed him, patched him up, gave him new eyes and some extra stuffing, thus restoring him to his former happy self to the delight of his owner.

23 February

Two good friends, Monkey and Panther, were admitted to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital together. Even though they had been through a lot, having travelled everywhere with their owner since she was little, both were a bit scared of surgery - so they needed each other's support.

Monkey's operation was quite unusual: he was originally a microwavable hand warmer, and I had to remove the heating pouch from his tummy to turn him into a normal toy. He also had a few scars that had to be tidied, and needed some work on his toes and a stuffing top-up. Panther wanted a new felt nose and had many splits in his fur which I had to make good. He also needed a complete re-stuffing.

20 February

In the course of my work at Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital, I do not really do home visits. In Bruin's case, however, I had to make an exception. It was not that the patient was too ill to travel, far from it, but at over 6 foot tall and weighing about a ton (well, I never had a chance to weigh him but he was definitely too heavy for me to move him on my own), Bruin was just too big. And so, armed with my medical bag full of needles, thread, cotton wool, scissors and so on, off I went to treat the patient in his home, only a few miles from the Hospital. Having served two generations of his owners as an impromptu slide, Bruin had some nasty wounds on his legs and lost quite a bit of stuffing. After two sessions of surgery, he was back in rude health and ready to play with his current young owner for many more years.

18 February

53-year-old Bunny was looking quite sad when admitted to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital: not only was he very threadbare and without a nose or a smile; he had also lost the main feature that helped him identify as a bunny - his ears! Fortunately, his owner had a old photo of him, which, along with my own research, enabled me to recreate the Bunny that she remembered and loved.

I also treated a pair of good friends in their 50s, Beary and William. The former was in a worse state of the two, having become separated from his head. Beary was all smiles when I put him together again, made him a new ear and healed his many wounds. William too perked up no end following his treatment. Being a cat, he was particularly pleased to have his claws and his tongue back.

9 February

Teddy has been with his owner for as long as they can both remember. Over the years, he lost weight  and a considerable part of his nose, and his skin was riddled with holes. When he was admitted to the Teddy Bear Hospital, I put all of that right.

Teddy also asked me (through his owner) to knit him a nice woollen jumper to keep him warm in winter.

4 February

Bunnykin came to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital to get new stuffing, new eyes and a new nose and smile. The treatment complete, he was very happy to see, smell and smile again. 

Robert Bear was one of many patients admitted to hospital after a run-in with a dog. He was in fact luckier than many, as the dog only got his nose. As he was checking out after successful surgery and a gentle clean, Robert promised me not to seek a re-match with the dog.   

As for Winnie the Pooh, he was eager to be reunited with his right leg. He explained that it was rather difficult to climb a tree in search of honey when you were short of a leg. I told him I had never tried but had no reason to doubt his experience, so Pooh and his leg were soon back together, and much happier for it.

1 February

When Panda's owner got in touch with Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital, he made it quite clear that his (once) four-legged friend was feeling rather flat after an unfortunate encounter with a dog.

Luckily, all the stuffing that he had had taken out of him was meticulously preserved and brought to me in neat plastic bags along with Panda's husk, and his torn-off right ear.

Reviving Panda was no easy task. He had a sizeable part of his chest missing, and his fur had a surprising number of small holes. And yet, when the treatment was completed, I was really pleased with the result. I believe Panda too was quite chuffed (though it is hard to read pandas' facial expressions), and I know that his owner was!

30 January

I have had quite a menagerie at Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital this month.

Bunny was sad because she had gone grey, and was also very keen to get her gingham soles and ears back. Tiger was short of stuffing, but more importantly, her whiskers had shrunk and were no longer whiskery.

Another patient, Teddy, only needed a bit of plumping up. And then there was Michelle, the girl who had lost her head. I got it back for her, so she left Hospital very happy indeed, as did all the other patients, no longer troubled by their various mishaps and ailments.

22 January

70-something Toffie came to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital heavily disguised, wearing an elaborate face mask, and a onesie covering his whole body. When I removed the disguise, the reason for it became clear: the poor chap's face was terribly disfigured, he had wounds in chest, tummy and limbs, and his skin was largely see-through. 

The situation called for drastic measures. So, all his stuffing was removed, he was given a good wash and left out to dry. Next, a painstaking restoration process began.

In the end, I was quite pleased with Toffie's appearance, and his owner agreed, saying he now looked just as she remembered him from years ago.

17 January

Having discharged a pair of marsupial patients, Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital has gone back to its usual ursine contingent.

Panda had his dislocated leg reset, and also received some cosmetic treatment to bald patches on his face. Baby Teddy had more extensive reconstructive facial surgery, received new eyes, and had numerous holes mended. As for Snowy, he was mostly in need of a good clean to live up to his name again))

8 January 2024

The first patients to be discharged from Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital in 2024 were Kanga and Baby Roo.

When they arrived here back in December, Kanga was clearly suffering from a scary open wound in her chest, through which she had lost some of her stuffing. Baby Roo, meanwhile, had delveloped a rather nasty facial disfigurement. A closer examination revealed that both mother and baby also required extensive skin treatment.