10 Year Old Toby

Toby after rescue...


Toby needs a loving home...a forever home, where he will never be abandoned again.

Poor Toby. 10 years old, and taken to a Kill shelter, by his family. Are you ready for THIS???? They said they felt bad leaving him alone all day. He was within hours of being killed. One of our volunteers went to get this baby, and found him almost dead....here is what his foster mom says..

Hi Robin...
Just wanted to give you a quick update on Toby. He is doing so well, it is remarkable. He is still a bit unsteady on his feet, but he makes enormous strides everyday. Last Thursday evening when we picked him up, he appeared to be at death's door. Now he is walking relatively well...not falling over or stumbling nearly as much, although still now & then. With the exception of the first night he improves each night with sleeping without accidents. The 2nd and 3rd nights he peed in his crate. But it appears that for the last 2 nights we've had none of that either. If he did, it wasn't enough to be noticeable.

I bathed him again last night (Monday) and he looks absolutely WONDERFUL. He is white & fluffy...and oh-so-soft. No matts at all. He does have that nasty growth on the top of his head that seems to always be getting aggravated. I'm not sure whether he bumps it at night when he sleeps or what, but it always looks yucky. His eyes need to be cleaned up a bit too. I hate to fuss with his face too much, since he hates it, and I don't want to put him through anymore than he's already been through.

His ears look better & better everyday. I have some ear cleaner here that I use on my own two when needed. Between the cleaner & the drops, they look pink unless you get up-close & look inside...they're still brown in there. But...getting better & better everyday.

Since he doesn't get around that well, we've determined that the house training problems are probably due to his inability to get to a DOOR & tell someone he has to go out! So....rather than waiting for him to tell us, we just take him out first thing in the morning & last thing before we go to bed, and perhaps two other times throughout the course of the day. We have no NO ACCIDENTS in the house since the first day or two.

I am really astounded at his progress! My mom & I keep wondering if we're just getting used to him, or if he's really improving. It's hard to tell, but I really think it's the latter. He's so cute & sweet, once he has recovered from his awful neglect, I think he'll make someone very happy.

One disturbing thing that bothers me a lot is that he is TERRIFIED of people. No matter how much love & attention we lavish on this poor little guy, he still mistrusts us terribly. Now that he is more mobile, we sometimes have to chase him around (very slowly & gently mind you) to get him. And if he's not expecting to be picked up and we happen to startle him, he SCREAMS. The other day my mom was lying on the couch, and he walked past her. She reached down to pet him, and he let out a screech that scared us all half to death. I know sometimes bichons act weird, but it seems likely to me that he's been abused, either by his first owners, or by someone subsequently.

I'm going to check in with the vet today & let her know about all his progress & I'll check in w/you again if she wants to change anything! Just wanted you to know we are very optimistic about this little guy right now.

Susan Dare