Rescued Tasmanian Labradoodle, Ted, racks up $10k vet bill

Ted, a 19-month-old labradoodle, made 35 visits to the vet in five weeks after being rescued from a puppy farm. Lucky, he now has a family firmly in his corner.

Rescued labradoodle Ted with his foster carer Ingrid Oliver of West Launceston, northern labradoodle foster care project manager Lauren Chenhall and RSPCA CEO Andrea Dawkins. Picture: Patrick Gee

After 35 visits to the vet in five weeks, Ted the labradoodle, is affectionately known as the $10,000 dog.

Rescued by the RSPCA from a puppy farm that it shut down this year his vet bills have been funded from over $300,000 in donations from Tasmanians whose overwhelming generosity helped give 250 dogs a new life.

Ted, who is 19 months old, needed treatment for vomiting, bladder and bowel infections, retained testicles, an ulcerated stomach and surgery to remove a mass from his stomach.

He made 35 visits to the vet over five weeks from mid-August and in one 24-hour period he vomited 16 times.

Ted’s vet care, including consultations, scans, medication, anaesthetic, surgeries, and hospitalisation cost $10,144.55, much more than most of the other labradoodles whose treatment cost between $1000 and $3000.

Rescued labradoodle Ted with his foster carer Ingrid Oliver of West Launceston. Picture: Patrick Gee

For foster carer Ingrid Oliver and her family, Ted was worth every cent.

The Olivers currently have a two-year-old and 13-year-old labradoodle and are seeking Launceston council approval for a kennel licence so they can keep Ted.

“We had another dog that we’ve got from the puppy farm over 10 years ago and he had lots of health problems,” Ms Oliver said.

“Once this situation arose, we thought we could be in a position to help out.

“We couldn’t bear to think of any dog out there in the same situation as he was suffering.

“The kids fell in love with him, and so did my husband and I, and we couldn’t not keep him.”

The three Oliver children, aged 7, 5 and 2, named him Ted because they thought he looked like the bear on ABC TV’s Play School.

Rescued labradoodle Ted with his foster carer Ingrid Oliver of West Launceston. Picture: Patrick Gee

Ted’s trips to the vet were challenging.

“It’s definitely been tough to make that many trips to the vet with three kids,” Ms Oliver laughs.

“He initially wasn’t good with our other two dogs, but they’ve adjusted to him being around, and now they just play and wrestle the whole time.

“He’s still timid and a bit nervous around new people, but he’s fantastic around dogs and children.

“Anyone who looks at me will probably think, I can’t decide what dog I want because they’re all different sizes and they’re all different colours.”

Ms Oliver’s love for labradoodles knows no bounds.

“They are a really good family dog.

“They’re very loving, they’re very cuddly, but they’re also energetic enough to want to run free on the beach, and go to the dog park and have a really good time.”

RSPCA CEO Andrea Dawkins is inspired by the Olivers devotion to Ted.

“Ingrid and her family have just gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure that Ted had all of the care that he needed,” she said.

“When you foster a dog you don’t expect to have to go to the vet 35 times, and be concerned about going through surgeries and the recovery time and medications, so hats off to them.

“They are an extraordinary foster family.”

Ted, Ms Dawkins said, was “doing absolutely brilliantly”.

“You would not know, looking at him what he’s been through.”

Rescued labradoodle Ted with his foster carer Ingrid Oliver of West Launceston, northern labradoodle foster care project manager Lauren Chenhall and RSPCA CEO Andrea Dawkins. Picture: Patrick Gee

Lauren Chenhall, who co-ordinates foster care, said it was a joy to see the labradoodles rehomed.

She said there were times it was feared Ted might not survive.

“He had major surgery done on a Saturday, and I took a phone call after the endoscope and the vet said ‘we found a mass, and we need to know what it is’,” Ms Chenhall said.

“It’s a joy to see them removed them from the property and popping them all into foster homes because at the end of the process of adoption, it’s a completely different dog.

“I love him.

“Ingrid, and I call him the cat camel because of his little condition and all that he’s gone through, and all the trials.

“When he had a urination problem, he actually went to the vet once again, and he’s overseeing vet referred to him as behaving like a cat.

“Ingrid and myself came up with camel, because Ted would go days without drinking.

“Every time Ted would drink fluid he would profusely vomit within seconds of it hitting his tummy.

“So that’s how we came up with camel because he would go days without drinking.”

Ms Chenhall said it was wonderful to see many of the labradoodles now adopted and new owners catching-up regularly.

“It’s beautiful to see the love, joy and happiness for the dogs who have food, warmth, unconditional love and are making new doggy friends with adoptees catching up.”

Originally published as Rescued Tasmanian Labradoodle, Ted, racks up $10k vet bill