Even though Toby has gone to Rainbow Bridge, I couldn't take down his page, just yet. He was such a big part of this site, it just wouldn't be the same. I would still like for everyone to know a little about Toby and his way of thinking. He is greatly missed.

I'm the big brother Toby. I hope you enjoyed your visit with my brothers Smokie and Jockser. My story won't be too long. I won't talk about my life before I was rescued, it wasn't always very nice. I came from the city of Oak Lawn, Illinois.

I was rescued and went to stay with a nice lady named Terry in January 2000. I also got to stay with a nice lady named Darlene sometimes. Terry let me have toys and she had some friends there for me to play with. She told me she was going to find me a "forever" home. She told me she had been talking to a lady in Indiana who was looking for a little boy, just like me. The lady in Indiana even sent Terry a picture of my new brothers so I could see them! That lady is now my new mom.

Terry got me all ready on Friday morning, 3 March and we left for a trip to meet my new mom. We traveled half way to where my new home was and met my new mom Kandi and my human sister Keeley. Then we came the rest of the way. Mom said it was almost 300 miles! Boy was I tired, even though I slept most of the way on Keeley's lap.

Mom introduced me to Jockser first. I thought he was great. A little brother just like me to play with. But he didn't want to play. He didn't like balls, chew sticks, or the other chew toys. Well, he liked one little red rubber bone. But I liked it too so I took it away from him. Then mom introduced me to Smokie. I thought boy, a kitty I can chase! WRONG! Smokie wasn't a bit afraid of me. I couldn't get him to run. I tried barking at him, but he would just set there. He even smacked me a couple times when I was barking at him. Guess he didn't like my voice! Mom even made me go into my crate when I barked. And I just hate being in that crate. So I decided I would just play quietly.

The first couple days, mom left the leash on me all the time. This was my new home and I wanted to mark my territory. Mom didn't like that and she told me I was a bad boy. I was sorry and I stopped doing that. Smokie liked the leash though, he kept chasing the leash and chasing me! Then he would take the leash and pull it, and I would follow him around. It was such fun. One morning Jockser was chewing on his red bone. I decided I wanted it, so I took it away from him and went and laid on the couch. Mom came over and told me I was a bad boy and that I should learn to share like Jockser does. Then I felt someone tugging on my leash and thought it was Smokie, so I went to go see. But there was no one there! I wondered who pulled on my leash. Then I saw Jockser in the chair. And he had the little red bone! That was awful sneaky of him to pull on my leash and then run around and get the bone off the couch while I was looking for Smokie! Oh well, I guess he is a pretty smart little guy.

But sometimes when I am on my trolley and Jockser is playing with me, he will take the rope and run away. He will stay just far enough away that I can't catch him! That's not nice and mom tells him so. It makes me mad and I bark and tell him to come back and play. After awhile he feels sorry for me and brings the toy back.

I really love it here. It's sure alot nicer than in the city. Here I have to protect my home from the squirrels, deer and birds. And there are lots of trees. And everyone knows what trees are good for, right? I like to lay out in the yard in the grass. One day while I was checking things out in the yard, I wasn't paying attention. There was this big clump of grass that I had somehow missed in my previous marking campaigns. Well, I had to take care of that! And when I was done, I turned around and started to walk away. All of a sudden I was all WET! Then I remembered. I should have turned right, not left. I found myself having to swim out of mom's fish pond! And what was worse, mom saw me and she was standing on the porch, laughing!! I don't bother that clump of grass anymore.

Speaking of water...I love it! I really love it when my human brother Brad plays with me. He gets the hose out and washes his funny little car and we play in the water. He squirts the water to me and I try to catch it. And he plays tug of war with me too, and chase the ball. He even lets me sleep with him sometimes when he is home. He goes to bed earlier than mom does, and I need my beauty sleep!

Well, before I go, I'd like to be serious for a minute, if I may. I am ever so thankful to all the people who have helped in my rescue. I have a great home, with kind people and great brothers and friends. But there are so many other deserving pups out there who are not so lucky. Every year thousands of dogs are killed in Shelters because they can't find "forever" homes. And yet, the "Puppy Mills" are still generating new puppies at an alarming rate. I know little puppies are cute. I was one once. But older dogs have good qualities too. And my mom says I'm a good boy. So if you are thinking about adding a new four legged member to your family, won't you please consider "Adoption"? You can find all kinds of deserving pooches at your local shelter or you can contact a "Breed Rescue Group". There are rescue groups for just about any kind of dog you might be looking for. Mom read me a Rescue Poem one day, and it sounded just like me. She also read me one about a little Rescue Puppy. Mom's listed some of my Favorite Links for you to check out.