Six Months with Toby

Toby and I met exactly six months ago, on June 12. I still remember his brown eyes pleading for me to take him home, gently placing his paw on my arm as we sat together on the grass outside the animal shelter. I knew that this was the dog God had chosen for me, and six months later, I’m so thankful for him.

He’s come a long way. I was so worried the first three weeks when he was so sick. Now he’s full of energy and loves to run and play; he’s perfectly healthy. He loves to race down the hall to catch the tennis ball or his rope; it’s really funny to watch him try to bring both back at once – the rope in his mouth while he bats the tennis ball around like a hockey puck. Interestingly, he will only chase the ball inside; I can’t get him to do it when we’re outside.

Toby loves the dog park; he’s so excited that he starts whining from the back seat even before we pull into the dog park driveway. He enjoys running with the other dogs and just sniffing around off-leash. He also loves going for walks as well as just sitting on “his” couch and looking outside.

He does well when I’m gone now that we have a pet gate for his room. He goes right to his room and sits on his chair when it’s time for me to leave each morning. I give him a milkbone treat when I leave, but he never eats it until I get home. He’s even learned to go in his crate when we’re at Grandma’s house. (That took quite a while as he was terrified of it at first.)

We’ve been spending the weekends at my parents’ since October to help care for my dad, and Toby has done very well with these transitions every week. He loves Grandpa and Grandma and has appropriated one of their couches as “his” spot. He also knows who will give him treats and the best place to sit at mealtimes.

When I think back to the beginning of the summer – how much I missed Tosca and wondering if I could even “do” another dog – I’m amazed at how this dog has captured my heart. I still miss Tosca, but I don’t miss her in the same way that I did all through last year. When I think of my dog, now the first thought is of Toby. And I hardly ever call him Tosca (or “her”) anymore. I love playing with him and watching him run and play. Although we still have things to work on (jumping, chewing, etc.), he’s making good progress. Hopefully we’ll get to some kind of obedience training this spring. And it's incredibly difficult to get a good photo of him. Although he's a beautiful dog, he hates having his picture taken and I can never get him to sit (or stand) still and look at the camera. In fact, I tried for quite a while to get a good photo of the two of us this morning, but all he wanted to do was play...just a little frustrating!!

I’m so thankful that God led me to Toby – he is the perfect dog for me.

Happy Six Month Anniversary!

You'd never know it from this photo, but Toby wanted nothing to do with Santa. He wouldn't stay by him at all until I came up and the photographer happened to catch the split second he turned around instead of looking at me. Every dog needs to visit Santa at least once!