April 19, 2007 - December 11, 2017

Paddington was an iconic figure for the Maehill neighborhood and indeed the entire city of Lenoir. Very unfortunately his time has come and we had to put him out of his intolerable discomfort after a massive tumor was discovered, Monday, Dec. 11th. Paddiington was a loving puppy to a woman who unwittingly was caught up in a divorce and couldn't keep him. She finally had to go rescue him from her ex-husband's porch where Paddington had been tied up and neglected. He weighed a scant 44lbs but should have been around 65lb. She insisted on transferring him to TOESR. We adopted him in November of 2007, at around 7 months old. Paddington was a gentle, loving dog and was a great ambassador for rescue dogs and large dogs. He loved everyone, especially children and other dogs and even cats! We laughingly referred to him as 'the best known dog in Lenoir' as everyone seemed to know of him. At full growth, he weighed in around 100 lbs and always welcomed our many foster dogs and cats. In 2009, Paddington won the first open competition to appear on a Raffaldini wine label representing all rescue dogs and even had a spot on Charlotte's WBTV. The same year he took the Lenoir Police Canine Academy classes and passed. The canine unit and many of the police officers came to know him. He would hang over the front wall and greet everyone in passing. People would bring their children to meet him. Mail carriers would use the phrase 'the house where the big dog lives' as a marker and all the UPS and FedEx drivers knew him. He was well-traveled throughout the U.S! Paddington was a loving and much loved member of our family; sweet, kind, generous, smart, intuitive with almost human eyes and truly had a soul for the ages. Rest in Peace, Paddington