Thursday, December 14, 2006

Toby

Told by Aili Kos

In December 2002, Toby's owner passed away at age 96. She had asked to have him put to sleep after she died. But he was only 5 years old and although he was quite overweight and deaf, he was a really good dog. The family wanted to find a home for him, since they couldn't have him. But it was hard, no one wanted an unhealthy, 37 pound pug.

A month later, in January 2003, the granddaughter of the family asked her boyfriend see if anyone at his workplace could take Toby. If no one could, they would try to give him to a shelter, but they really wanted to find a home for him.

I had pugs growing up and knew all about them, so I was one of the first people he asked. I said yes without even seeing Toby and he told me that I should see him first.

So that weekend, my sister and I went to see Toby. He was the biggest, smelliest, saddest pug we had ever seen. We had to take him home and take care of him! He was so scared and he would just run away and hide under something. But he gave in after we sat on the floor and played with him for an hour.

We packed up his stuff and drove him to see our parents since they lived a few towns away. My mom loved him too, but my dad said, "What is that thing, he stinks!"

It's true, Toby did stink, his skin was horrible, it flaked off in black patches, he had so many rolls of skin, and his infected ears were the worst. Poor puggy, we all said. Poor boy, his owner was too old to take care of him.

So we bathed him and took him to the vet the next day and got everything he needed. It took a few months, but he began to smell better and was getting lots of attention and exercise!

I've had him for nearly 4 years and he is happy and healthy, aside from the occasional ear infection. He only weighs 27 pounds now and people say they can't believe he's the same dog! He's the best dog!