A Dalmatian with Moxie

Recently we lost our sweet dally boy Tobey.

When I first 'spotted' him almost 7 years ago (pun intended!) at the shelter I was taken aback by his demure disposition and his very handsome looks. 

A few days later I went to pick him up. Later, I made up a song about the day "mommy came to pick him up". (Dog/cat lovers will appreciate, others will think I'm plain nuts!) 

Anyway, we were told that Tobey was found chained up to the fence outside an animal shelter in Paterson, NJ. Of course this news made us even more grateful to be rescuing this sweetheart who'd probably had a rough start in life. When he got in the car, he was so happy and excited!! He was jumping around everywhere, and was giving kisses galore. 

Tobey got lots of love at our house -with furniture priveleges I might add. Everything was great, until my radar went up one evening, when out in the car with the Tobemeister. I was making a phone call and had pulled over to the side of the road. A cop pulled up behind me and came to my window to ask if everything was okay. Well, I had never had a dog of mine react so strongly! (okay maybe not a good comparison as my previous dog was a Bichon Frise named Jingles... but still!)

His first victim was Chris H. We were having a party, and he went in to the bedroom to get his coat off the bed. Tobey apparently lunged at him, nicking his forehead. I went into my bedroom, and there was Chris standing outside the door afraid to come back in. I insisted that Tobey must have just been trying to give him a 'nose nibble' -his affectionate gesture of love.

Well, a few unfortunate incidents later, including the boiler repairman, my brother, and another party guest (who actually provoked our dog by lunging at him with food in his hand) and we knew we had a problem on our hands. We had a lawsuit to deal with, and we knew we had to take some measures of precaution. 

We deducted that Tobey had an issue with men. Our assumption was that he'd been abused by a man. Whenever guys would come around, we'd put a muzzle on him. How he hated that thing! He would instantly lie down and cover his snout with his paws...

Well, my husband and I are happy to report that Tobey (or 'the Tobinator' as he was referred to by neighbors) overcame his fear of men over time. With all of the love we gave him, he really began mellowing out. My brother used to joke that it seemed like someone must have snuck into the house and performed a lobotomy on him.

I believe that he came to understand that nobody was trying to hurt him. Now this may sound corny.... but the power of love is SO strong that it cured my boy of his fears. We could not have loved him any more. 

I especially miss my big spotty galoot in bed. He was so warm and snuggly. His coat was so silky. When I was pregnant with my girls and going through a moody moment, Chris would say "go snuggle with your Tobey". And it was always soothing. There's something about snuggling with a dog that I find incredibly comforting. It feels like peaceful perfection.

When I became pregnant with my twins, I said uh-oh. How is Tobey going to take this?

So out we went to buy a tape with babies crying. I put it next to him on the bed. He just looked at me, like "whatever" and put his head down and went to sleep. He turned out to be an angel when the girls came home. He had absolutely no issues with them. (Although in the early infant days when he'd look at me questionably like what the heck? -amidst the crying drama. I'd say "I know Tobes, remember the good old days when it was always quiet?" We'd both let out a long sigh....

He was great with the girls -a wonderful family dog. He put up with lots of tugs and seemed to genuinely enjoy his hugs and kisses. Once in a while he'd sleep with Leslie and Alyssa in their bed. Was it a coincidence that those nights they'd sleep the whole night through? I think not...

He was a good boy.  A really, REALLY good boy with a heart as big as they come. So I remember this when I miss him (like right now) and find solace in knowing that we did our job as Tobey's mommy and daddy really, really well. 

Love truly does conquer all.