ADOPTED

Toby has already moved around quite a bit in his short life. He first lived with a college student who had to give him up when she transferred to another school. His next owner had only had him for 6 months when she was mobilized for National Reserve duty in Afghanistan -- with about 5 days to find a place for her dog. She warned us that young Toby could be a little bit overenthusiastic, and she was right! so we sent him off to charm school at the Canine Hilton for a week to learn some basic etiquette—like, a polite handshake is better than a high-jump followed by a full-body hug!

He was a star pupil and is now doing great in his foster home. His foster dad says:

“Toby is a great dog. Housebroken, friendly, plays nicely with my Prince both in and out of the house. He is very loving and enjoys petting. No trouble applying medicine, let you roll him over and remains still. He sleeps in the bedroom with me, stays on the floor and is no trouble. He likes riding in the car and has no problem with Prince being there to compete for the front seat, although sometimes they prefer to share the back seat. When you get to a new destination, he does get very excited and will leap right out the door if you’re not careful to keep a firm grip on the leash… he just needs more practice and experience going to new places and he’ll settle down. At home he is so sweet and gentle… in fact, he just wandered into the room for some loving.”

More news from Toby’s foster dad, 4/6/05:

Toby’s personality is coming out more and more all the time. I have learned that he loves to swim—he jumps in my pool at least 5-6 times a day. He usually swims one brisk lap, then gets out and resumes playing or exploring the yard. He loves wrestling with my 3-year-old Golden, Prince—they play hard but never get angry. He likes to grab the dog towel I keep by the door and run around the house trying to get Prince or me to chase him. On occasion he will add a tennis ball along with the towel, thinking the combination will be irresistible to Prince!

When a neighbor lady comes over to pet him, he gets excited and wants to jump up and give kisses. She is short, and her face is so close he just can't resist the chance to give kisses. We are working to stop the jumping, and he is improving. In the house, he is always exploring and likes to surf the coffee table for a coaster or small duck decoy. He never tries to get up on the furniture, though—with one exception. When he sees me stretching in bed in the morning, he will put his front feet on the bed so he can put his head on my chest and get his ears scratched.

Toby is such a good-looking dog! He is a nice weight, just 66 pounds, and has a wavy honey-blond coat with darker highlights on his back, and a nearly white belly and pantaloons. He has long feathers on his front legs, too, and a full tail.

What kind of family does Toby need? He has a high energy level and needs to be kept busy. A family with another younger, playful dog would be ideal, as an old couch potato might not tolerate his wanting to play hard! If the family doesn’t have a dog, they’ll need to be sure to play with Toby and exercise him plenty. Of course, it would be great if somebody could be home with him a lot. He is crate trained, and I leave him in the crate about 2 to 4 hours each day while I run errands with no problem (of course, he also loves to come along on errands with me if he can). The first time I left him crated for a few hours, he was very excited and bounced and jumped on me when I came home. But now he knows that when I leave, I’ll be coming back, so he doesn’t get so excited when I come home—in fact, today I was gone for 4 hours, and when I came in, I sat in a chair and read the paper for 10 minutes before I let him out. He didn't get wild while I was reading, because he knew he was not going to be ignored forever.

Toby is a super dog—smart, sweet, active, and handsome, too! We are hoping to get some new pictures of him soon so everyone can admire him.


 

View Pictures Here