Chapter 3
Toby always was a really playful dog. He was always looking for and ready to have a good time. That quality made us quite compatible.
As I mentioned in a previous chapter, I first bonded with Toby through a game of fetch with some old kite string. Fetch became an important part of our play time, but we did graduate to better items than kite string.
The first toy I bought Toby was a small, green alligator. When I unwrapped the package and gave the gator a sharp squeak, I captured Toby's undivided attention. His ears stood up more than usual, and he starred intently at this small noisemaker.
I took the gator and flung it as far as possible across the living room. Toby dashed after it, pounced on it, and set down to have a good long chew. He never would return a thrown object back to me. I would come over to get the gator, and a tug of war ensued. As always, Toby acquiesced. With that, our modified game of fetch resumed. We could play like this for hours. Finally, both of us would end up breathless from too much gator chasing.
Toby liked to play with his gator at all times. He'd squeak it, chew it and fetch it. Whenever I said, "It's gator time" he knew instantly what that meant.
I bought Toby several other chew toys over the years. He had a rubber tennis shoe, a squeaky carrot and some other toys. Toby never liked these toys as much as his well worn gator. We played with that old swamp dweller until it finally fell apart. Sadly, I could never find another gator exactly like it again.
After gator died, Toby got into the habit of tearing his toys apart, so I didn't leave them out for him all of the time. One time, I bought him a little rubber beef steak to play with. The minute I gave it to him he ripped it apart and tried to eat it. I guess he thought that it was the real thing.
Besides playing gator, Toby and I engaged in other fun activities like racing. It was one of our favorite things to do in Toby's younger days. Out in the backyard, my uncle had an old bathtub that we used as the starting point of our races. My Mom acted as the referee and official race starter. Toby and I would stand in anticipation waiting for the signal to cruise to the finish line marked by the rose trellises at the end of the yard. I always had to hold Toby back as he always tried to gain the advantage.
When Mom said, "go", we were off and running as fast as possible. Neither of us wanted to let the other win. Unfortunately for me, Toby won the majority of these races. For a little dog, he was lightning fast. I never would have thought such stubby legs could move so fast.
Toby had a unique running style. He didn't move his front and back legs in synchrony as most dogs. Instead, Toby threw both of this front legs out, and then pushed himself along with both back legs. It was sort of a bouncing and pouncing motion that looked awkward, but it produced a great deal of speed.
Toby didn't just race me though. He liked to race through the house as motorcycles sped down the street in front of the house.
At one time, before they were outlawed, three-wheeled motorcycles were popular where I live. The kids would ride fast and loud down the streets and alleys of my community. These motorcycles drove Toby crazy. He tried to chase these roaring vehicles down even though he was safe inside the house.
My house was a long, ranch house that allowed a dog to make a straight shot from end to end without hindrance. When Toby heard the motorcycles coming, he would start barking, jump to his feet and dash from one end of the house to the other. In one great leap, he would jump on the chair by the big picture window and bark and growl at this hated nemesis.
Thankfully, this all ended when the motorcycles were banned. Toby was relieved that this was all over, and so was I.
While Toby grew to feeble to play fetch much or race, one game we played right until the end was the most fun of all. Toby possessed a great sense of smell, and his tracking ability could put a bloodhound to shame.
The way we tested Toby's tracking was by playing hide and seek indoors and outdoors. My Mom would distract Toby while I went and hid somewhere. After I was thoroughly hidden, Mom would say to Toby," Go find Garry", and Toby would be off in search of me.
Toby always found me. After a brief glance to see if I was in view, Toby put his nose to the ground and started sniffing out my scent. From my secure vantage point, I would watch him following my exact track right up to my carefully chosen hiding place. When he found me, he would jump up and down with excitement. I really believe that with a little training, Toby could have won some prizes in the AKC tracking competitions.
Toby loved to play, and I loved to play with him. We were always trying to think up new ways to have fun. Toby grew too old to play some of our games, but even when he reached his teens, he was very active and ready to go.
Don't let anyone tell you that older dogs have no energy or can't learn. Toby proved that even when they have grown old, dogs still want to play and have a good time. Give an older dog a chance, and he will become your best friend.
