PETS - Part 4

TOBY

After Shaggy, I said, "No more dogs - period." Guess what. Less than a month later I was looking for another dog. It was so lonely around the house without a dog. Both the girls were gone and I was suffering from "Empty Nest Syndrome." So, what's a mother to do? Go out and find something else to mother. I knew I wanted a small dog, but not a mean, temperamental one. I did some research and came up with what I thought would be perfect, a yorkie. It would be small, energetic and very loving. I finally found one listed in the paper and Randy & I took off for Scottsville, KY to meet Toby. He was soooooo little, and fuzzy, and cute. I just had to have him. We brought him home and he was so quiet. Holly came to see him and he just laid on her lap, nice and quiet and cute. The next time she came over she wanted to know what I had done to him. He was so full of energy and was in a constant state of motion. He loved to play fetch. I bought him a squeaky toy - it was Lucy from Charlie Brown. We would play fetch for hours at a time. He loved the game. Lucy was his constant companion. But little by little, as he chewed on her, parts of her disappeared. In the end all we had to throw were Lucy's feet. But he would go and fetch her feet and bring them back to me. After Lucy's demise, I found another squeaky toy at the dollar store - it was a cow wearing overalls and carrying a milk bottle. Toby finally took up with "Mr. Cow." They got along so well, I went back and bought 2 more just like him. We put one in the camper and put one up so we'd have an extra in case it turned out like Lucy. We still have a Mr. Cow, but Toby doesn't play with him much any more. Mostly it's when Katie is around that he plays. Toby turned 9 last Halloween and is great company for me to have around. Toby learned our habits well and he knows, just like Shaggy did, when it's time to go to bed and he lets us know (sometimes before we're ready). He's very spoiled. He gets a bite of cheese whenever he goes outside to potty, so sometimes, he tells us he needs to go out, but just runs outside and then immediately back in. We really have to watch him or he takes advantage of us. He's been great with the grandkids. He even gets excited when I talk to Katie on the phone.