Toby is a child. As a happy child, he feels, behaves like a happy child, and rejoices like a happy child. If you like happy, innocent, pure dogs that give the impression they will never grow old, even if they live for twenty years, he is the ideal one.
He will always be eager, he will always be excited about whatever you do together, he will make you smile and think, 'I wish I were a dog too, and that things were that simple in my mind.'
He enjoys company, enjoys people, enjoys walks, has the smile of a small child and a pure heart. When we interact with him at the shelter, he is incredibly happy.
Sometimes he gets a bit brushed, in the summer he enjoys a bath just to cool off, and then he gets dried with a towel (accompanied by a petting like 'sorry for the trouble'), and all of this he does not for any specific reason, just because we want to spend a little more time with him.
In the midst of all this, he does a couple of commands he knows, a bit of the 'sit' that he does perfectly, and a bit of 'come back' that he also does perfectly, at least inside the shelter (when he hears his name, he comes running all happy and gets a treat).
Toby is the little dog that makes you laugh, that makes you want to play with him, the little dog that makes you forget anything unpleasant that might be happening to you, and simply enjoy the joy of life.
He is a butter dog, who allows you to scrunch him up, to lift him into your arms, to cuddle him. He has an incredible trust in people, as if they are all his friends from school and as if life is an eternal weekend. He loves walks, loves human companionship, and loves life.
It's as if nothing unpleasant has passed over him, neither a dog shelter, nor hunger, nor pain. Nothing. As if there is nothing in this world that could take away the joy he has inside him.
Among the many puppies we got from the public pound of Sparta was him. So we thought at least initially, but the little one was not a puppy.
Toby was a young teenager, about a year old, and when he first arrived, he was so small and cute that he looked like a 3-month-old puppy. His back legs looked very crooked then, but that didn't stop him from running and playing as if nothing was wrong.
One of his legs had a broken bone that was no longer operable, resulting in the bone healing incorrectly and the leg being shorter. This causes both of his hind legs to appear crooked.
Toby needs to exercise moderately to avoid pain, and since he is a dog that is people-oriented, he can go for moderate walks and expend energy gently with his owner for a few minutes each day. He enjoys working with his mind very much, and this can keep him happy without needing to run and play.
He takes some supplements for his joints and if his legs get tired he sometimes takes an anti-inflammatory.
It hurts us that this dog, who is truly a joy of life, has lived with pain since he was a puppy, but the pain has never managed to steal his joy and his smile, and that is the most important thing. He is truly a very companionable dog, who will love you and whom you will love.
He will bring you smiles every day and will give you his soul if you provide him with the care and love he needs so much.
