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There are a couple of dogs that have been to the trail in my time with SRC, Jude (of the House of Teddio) and Missy (of the House of Weezinator. ShawmontRunningClub.com.). This is about one that’s never been and, frankly, never will. Teddy Closer is not our census taker Teddio. He is the 11-year-old maltese that Wife and I adopted at the beginning of 2025. Coincidentally, all 3 dogs are small.
Teddy Closer has mitral valve disease and congestive heart failure. His owner passed on as her own health declined through 2024 when we began fostering him. Over these 2 years, he has done well, even improving overall. “Has” is in the present tense … barely. Saturday afternoon of the last SRC run — and unconnected — I was home alone when I heard him shriek. That’s my best description. As I got up to check on him, he made the noise again and I found him in the living room lying on his side. He was absolutely quiet. When I picked him up it was obvious that he had no heartbeat. Given his health, CPR wasn’t a serious option. I checked the time, 2:40 p.m., and realized this was how he was going to go out.
As I held him, trying to take in this moment, he also took it in. Teddy Closer seemed to gasp. A few seconds later I felt one pulse that turned into an irregular heartbeat. A minute had passed since I first heard him. Over the next minute his heartbeat became steady and regular. Teddy Closer came to his senses before long. A few minutes later, he was acting like nothing had happened.
Wielding my professional library skills, I discovered an article from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association. Intended for veterinary staff, it said that most dogs who spontaneously resuscitate (with CPR) succumb again within 24 hours and never leave clinical care. Not Teddy Closer, he’s back to normal activity and behavior just like before his miracle moment.
This is not a piece about recovering from running injury or finishing races miraculously strong. It has no connection to other Shawmont Running Club dogs. Except through me. So, it’s not a typical Rumination, but sometimes, writer just has to write.
Teddy Closer, you may not be negative splitting, but you didn’t positively splat this time, either.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe) #negativesplitorpositivesplat #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/17/26), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption and enumeration.
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