Adopted Spring 1984 —– July 3 1993
We had just moved to Boston and lost my parent’s “first child” Barney,
a 12 year old Irish Setter / Standard Poodle mix
(who deserves his own story) to liver disease.
It took several months of a quiet petless house for us to decide to begin
the search for a new dog. Many weeks we traveled to Buddy Dog in search
of a new best friend. My parents and I couldn’t seem to find just the right friendly,
fuzzy face and the trips to the shelter made us very sad….
just when we had given up hope a wheaten colored bedraggled tail wagging
fellow yipping and yipping happily but desperately caught my attention.
I remember being so terrified that my mom and dad would refuse to adopt him
because his voice was so high pitched and echoey in the cement-walled shelter!
Ironically this dear dog almost never barked again once he was brought home!
It was if he was just yelling to be adopted and loved.
His old family had named him “Tippy” and left him at Buddy Dog
because they were moving.
We gave him a new name: Toby and a happy 9 years together began.
The once bedraggled yippy wheaten terrier mix became a fluffy white
smiley buddy with 3 wheaten “clown” spots down his back
a huge feather plume tail that always wagged and the worst breath in history!
Toby loved everybody (especially cousin Stuart) my parents and me.
He wasn’t very coordinated but he loved to attempt in jumps of
astonishing height to catch his beloved pink ball in the backyard.
He became seriously addicted to doggie cookies and would roll grapes
around on the kitchen floor until they mooched before he would eat them.
I was a young child then and a budding artist.
Every art project I did in elementary school featured Toby as the subject…
my friends and teachers thought that I was obsessed but it was all out of a
cherished love for my best and most understanding friend.
Toby watched me grow up – he helped me through my most troubled
years as an angry and rejected teenager my silent friend who would stay
by my side no matter how cruel the world seemed.
Later as a tribute to my most loyal artistic subject I submitted a painting
of Toby as part of my slide portfolio when I applied and was accepted to
art school in spring of 1993. Around this time through my deep bond with
this fluffy boy I noticed that something was wrong.
Nobody could tell at this point that Toby was sick and failing
but I could see it in his eyes although he remained cheerful and energetic…
by the time of my high school graduation party we discovered that
Toby had lung cancer. He still enjoyed greeting all of my friends with
smelly kisses on that sunny day and eating many party treats dropped on
the lawn especially for him.
It was one of his last days on this earth.
On July 2nd 1993 my parents brought Toby to the vet for a shot that would
help bring blood to his ailing lungs. It was awful – I came home late at night
from a wild pre-July 4th party to find Toby gasping for breath in
the dark living room. We discovered later that the medication administered
to save is life caused his lungs to hemorrhage.
Scared and confused I went to bed leaving him at the bottom of the stairs
looking up at me with a pleading loving look in his eyes…
I will never forgive myself for going to bed – even now 8 years later
I’m crying as I type this. In the grey hours of early morning by parents
were woken up by the sounds of his final struggle.
Toby died loved in my father’s arms and we buried him in the rain in the
backyard under a big maple tree.
Never again will I have a canine friend as wonderful and uttlery
sweet-natured as Toby.
I think of him every day and thank him for being such a
great friend to our whole family.
I love you Toby dog…
your best friend
Meredith
| Toby |