I am sorry to announce that the Teddy Bear Hospital
is not accepting new patients until September 2026.

Below are the case stories of some of the patients I treated earlier.
You can find many more in the News section and the News Archive.

Bruno (June-July 2021)

Bruno is probably over 100 years old, and his present owner has had him since birth. He was much loved (not least by a dog))), but because of his age he was no longer in a great shape when I first saw him. It took me a while to get Bruno back into shape. When he was reunited with his owner, her first words were: It's him! This is how I remember him! This was the highest praise I could have hoped for, because my main aim is always to restore the Teddy, not change him!

Kyrill (December 2017 - January 2018)

In December 2017, a very special Teddy came from Germany to be treated at Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital. His name was Kyrill, and he was rather old. He had come into his lady owner's life in November 1941. Originally from Russia, Kyrill lived all his life in Germany and was very well loved. I was very pleased to have him as a patient at my hospital, and he appeared to be pleased too))

Kyrill's treatment took some time, but it was worth it, and in the end he could look at the world with new eyes))

Upon his return, Kyrill's adoptive mother said:

"How wonderful!!! Kyrill arrived in best condition and he looks so nice and perfectly healed!
I love the collar on his neck, it is very very chic and fits beautifully to his appearance.
"...Thank you very very much for the wonderful work you did, you made me really very happy."

Panda (August 2021)

This panda (called Panda) has been one of our most challenging patients.

Quite old, he arrived literally in pieces, and had to undergo serious reconstructive surgery. I was really impressed by Panda's owner, who had kept - and sent to me - most of the bits and even the stuffing. I used new felt as "lining" for Panda's head and body, and sewed on top of it all the pieces I had, plus some matching new ones. The latter had to be aged artificially to look like the original. In the end, the patient was well enough to enjoy a bit of sunshine in the garden before travelling back home.

"That's incredible! I've never seen him in better shape," wrote Panda's owner when I sent him the first post-op photo of the patient. Once the last detail - the mouth - was added, the owner's verdict was: "That's exactly how he was!"

Marty (December 2023)

72-year-old Marty came to me in desperate need of help.

His most pressing problem was that, some time before his arrival, Marty had parted company with his head. At least the head was still around, which was more than could be said about his eyes and nose - these had really gone AWOL. Once I have dealt with these major deficiencies, I was also able to treat some of Marty's smaller injuries and ailments. Whole again, Marty inspected himself critically in the mirror.

He pronounced himself happy with the results, and his owner too was quite pleased to see Marty back to his former self.

Nellie (March 2024)

Even though it is called Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital, by no means all of my patients are bears.

Thus in 2024 I admitted an unusually large number of elephants - including Nellie. She required rather comprehensive treatment: I removed what remained of her foam stuffing, cleaned her hide very thoroughly, and re-stuffed her with polyfill. I also mended the hole on her tongue, reattached her legs, and repainted her eyes. Much to Nelly's delight, I made her a nice new skirt and tied a pink silk bow round her neck.

Ron (last visit March 2026)

Even though I treated Ron the Maileg Rhino before, his active globetrotting lifestyle inevitably meant that he would eventually need further treatment. When I unwrapped him upon arrival, I saw that he had indeed sustained a lot of damage all over his body, limbs and head since his last visit.

There was no getting away from the fact that he was getting on in years, and it was clear that, even after surgery, his scars would be very visible.

The solution that I proposed was to make Ron an outfit befitting an intrepid world traveller that he was, which would cover the scars. Ron's adoring owners wholeheartedly agreed, and suggested their own design for the outfit.

And so, after tending to Ron's numerous wounds, abrasion and so on, I fashioned him a suit from the fabric that his owners had chosen, adding some personal touches, such as a red belt and a matching scarf.

My proudest achievement, however, was the special rhino-friendly design of Ron's trousers, with a small vent for his lovely tail.

Ron returned to his owners, with a strong suggestion that he should take it easy from now on and not exert himself too much, as he is not as young as he was...

Baba (January 2026)

A nice rabbit called Baba, aged about 40, was admitted to Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital after being savaged by a dog. Fortunately, the owner had a very good photo of Baba from years ago, which helped me restore her to her former glory. I also made her a dress like one she used to wear when she was younger, and this made Baba (and possibly her owner too) jump with joy))

Bob (March 2024)

Few of my patients will have been made at a model aircraft factory. Yet this is where Bob the Terrier must have come from, many years ago. Bob has a fine pedigree: he is a Tri-Ang Toy, made in Britain by Lines Bros Ltd. some time in the 1950s. His self-confessed "dog loon" owner had rescued Bob when she saw him left out in the rain on someone's porch. Like most rescue dogs, he then needed a lot of care to see him back to health.

When Bob was admitted to Sasha’s Teddy Bear Hospital, I first gave him a good clean. Then I fixed his eyes, which had kept falling out, and emboidered him a new nose and smile. I even gave him a skin transplant in a few places, and grafted some new matching fur on to his ears and his back.

Richard Lion (March-April 2023)

One day I received a request to re-create someone's favourite childhood toy - Richard Lion, a 1950s Merrythought character from a children's comic.

The owner played with his lion a lot when he was a boy, and even made him new clothes with the help of his mother. Alas, the lion was misplaced at some point. Then, years later, the owner started thinking of him again after watching Repair Shop. Examples of Richard Lion are very rare, but he did find one, in a pretty poor condition. He then emailed and asked me to re-create the Richard Lion that he remembered from his childhood. The task, however, involved not only repairing the lion himself.

I also had to give him the same clothes as those made for the earlier Richard Lion: a corduroy suit worn over pale yellow underwear - the trousers and the underpants with a special hole for the tail - and a felt cap.

Fortunately, the owner had excellent memory, and his drawings and instructions were most precise and clear, so I knew exactly what I was aiming at. The owner even sent me the fabric for the suit.

After the job was completed and a reborn Richard Lion made his way back to Yorkshire, I received a most pleasing email: "Richard Lion has arrived, and he's great. Thank you so much, it's really appreciated. You've done an excellent job."

Garfield (June 2022)

This 40-year-old patient, who lives in Panama, suffered life-threatening injuries - unsurprisingly, in a scrap with a dog (no, it wasn't Odie). The damage to his face was so extensive that we had to find a donor and perform what may well be the world's first combined eyes, nose and teeth transplant. This worked a treat, and Garfield's loving owner was over the moon when he came to collect him.

Teddy (October 2024)
Many patients come to me with a fascinating back story, but there have been few to match that of Teddy. His owner, who had had Teddy as a boy, found him and other old toys in the attic many years later when sorting out his mother's possessions after she passed away.

The owner then followed his daughter's advice and put them in the wash to clean. Alas, what came out no longer looked anything like Teddy - leaving the owner and particularly his daughter distraught. Fortunately, they got in touch with Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital - and Teddy's recovery began.

While making Teddy whole again, I was asked by his owner to put inside him a very special white feather as a memento of his late mother. This I did, placing the feather into a little sachet I made for it.

Another Teddy (October 2025)

Much as I love dogs, I have to admit that they can be a danger to Teddy Bears. My patient Teddy bears witness to this: an unfortunate encounter with a family pet left him with no ears or nose, practically no face, and a big hole on his shoulder. Restoring Teddy to his former glory required quite a bit of research. I was therefore very pleased when his owner exclaimed on seeing him after surgery that this is exactly how she remembered him from before the dog incident.

Toffie (January 2024)
70-something Toffie arrived in 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.

   

Yet another Teddy (August 2025)

Teddy required multiple surgery when admitted, so his treatment took some time. After a gentle clean, I completely re-stuffed him, replaced all his joints and paw pads, darned and patched all the holes, gave him new glass eyes, and re-embroidered his nose, smile and claws. Teddy was smiling happily when it was all over, and his owner, who had him since she was a little girl, was very happy too to see him back in good nick!

George (May 2025)

A traditional Teddy called George, who is over 100 years old, came to the Hospital on St. George's Day.

He belonged to an old lady, who had received him from a relative when she was a child. She always treated him well, often dressing him in various costumes - so his body was better preserved than his head and limbs. The fabric was of course very fragile, and there were many holes to patch, as well as scars from previous repairs to tidy up. I also topped up George's nose and gave him new stuffing and a new growler - I very much hope that his owner will recognise the voice that he lost long ago.

As for his somewhat wonky ears, we decided to leave them as they were, because they had become part of his unique lovable personality.


"South African" Ted (June 2022)

At the beginning of 2022, I was contacted by a nice lady in South Africa, who asked if my hospital admitted patients from abroad. When reassured that we did not discriminate against them, she sent 72-year-old Ted on his way.

Ted actually started life in the UK, and only relocated to South Africa with his family in 1970. It was on that journey that he sustained a lot of damage and nearly drowned. Even though he was resuscitated and went on to live abroad for over 50 years, he was badly in need of proper treatment for his injuries.

Other patients and my helpers at the hospital watched with some trepidation as Ted emerged from his box on arrival. He did indeed look rather in a bad way, missing an eye and part of his head and paw.

However, Ted showed that he had the inner strength and was determined to get better soon - and so it proved! Surgery took a long time, but he made a full recovery and was ready for a long journey back to his family.

Yarry (February 2023)

57-year-old Yarry arrived in Hospital with an obvious neck injury and some unsightly holes in his limbs. His nose and smile were also in need of some attention. Made by his adoring owner's grandmother, he had been with her since birth, and she would run into a burning building to save him. She vividly remembered from years ago that Yarry once looked quite different - in her mind's eye, he was red and orangey. When I unstitched Yarry's green-and-black top and brown leather trousers, it became clear that she was right - he had different clothes under the later addition!

Alas, his original orange shirt and red pants were beyond repair, so I had to think of sonmething else to make him look like he used to. A day trip to Abingdon, with its amazing Mason's Fabric Shop and no less wonderful charity shops, provided a solution. The fabrics I found there were a perfect match for Yarry's old clothes. And so, having brought Yarry back to health, I set about making him new trousers and shirt. I also added a little fetching removable collar. When my work was finished, the owner told me she was completely overcome with emotions upon seeing her beloved Yarry just as she remembered him.

Eeyore (March 2022)

Eeyore, a Merrythought pensioner, arrived in hospital from Lancashire.

His precise age is unknown: he had been passed down to his present owner and had been in her care for 63 years. Over the years, he had become so worn that he was kept in a plastic bag so as to not lose any more of his sawdust stuffing. His badly damaged legs were bandaged. After treatment, Eyore is now able to stand once again, and he is liberated from life inside a plastic bag.

"It made me cry when I saw him after his 'makeover', he now has a new lease of life. Thankyou Sasha, you did a wonderful job," his owner wrote to me when Eeyore arrived back home again.

Bunny (July 2024)

Many patients undergo quite a transformation at Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital. One such was Bunny. After a good clean, he was treated to a full re-stuffing and extensive repairs to his threabare pjs, complete with a lace collar! Bunny was overjoyed with the care he received, and his owner shared his feelings.

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