Toby Book

This is the next chapter in my book about Toby.  This material is copyright protected.


Chapter 4

     Like me, Toby always had a lot of health problems.  They began a short time after he came to live with me, and they continued throughout his life.  Sickness and its various cures and palliatives were a major part of my relationship with my friend.  I'm glad that I was able to take care of him.  Actually, we took care of each other.
     Like I said, Toby's health problems began shortly after his arrival.  One night, I awoke to a horrible sight.  Toby had defecated blood everywhere, and he was extremely weak.  It was a Sunday morning, so I called our veterinarian at home.  He told me to get Toby to his office right away, and I did.  The vet ran several tests on Toby and determined that Toby had ulcerative colitis.  We placed him on a course of medicine and hoped for the best.
     That afternoon, Toby seemed like his normal self as he ran through the house barking at motorcycles.  I thought that he would be fine, and I wasn't worried since he seemed to be making such good progress.
     I was mistaken.  About four days later, Toby had another episode.  Of course, I rushed him to the veterinarian's office, and we began a new course of medication.
     Once again, Toby had a good improvement and returned to his rambunctious and happy self.  But, about four days later, he was ill again and back on his way to the vet's office.  This time, more tests were run.  They confirmed the initial diagnosis.  However, this time, the vet placed Toby on a different type of medication. 
     I fully expected the symptoms to return,  but this time the treatment worked.  Toby was in good shape.  After a fairly long course of this medication, we decided to gradually reduce the dosage.  When we withdrew too much, Toby got sick again.  We did eventually get Toby down to a lower dosage, but he had to remain on this daily medication for the next 10 years.
     Unfortunately, colitis was just the beginning of Toby's troubles.  When he was a little pup, no one looked after his teeth properly.  He developed a lot of teeth issues because the teeth never had a good foundation for growth.  When I bought Toby, he had so much caked in tartar on his teeth that I had the vet clean them right away.  Even at a young age, some of Toby's teeth were so bad that they had to be removed.
     Sometimes, Toby's roots became inflamed and infected.  He'd develop large swollen places in his jaw.  He eventually lost about half of his teeth.  In order for him to eat properly, I had to soak up his kibble.  In later life, I always bought him canned food. 
     One of the worst episodes with Toby's health came about when his kidneys became infected.  He seemed fine one minute, and then the next minute he was violently ill.  I knew that something was drastically wrong. 
     I was really worried as we traveled to the vet's office.  The vet gave Toby a penicillin injection and some liquid sulfa medication.  I was told to take Toby home and then bring him back in the afternoon for a re-check.
     I waited anxiously through the day keeping a close eye on my friend.  That afternoon, I took Toby back to the clinic.  He received a second penicillin injection.  Our vet also did a complete blood and urine work up.
    The next afternoon, Toby's results showed some kidney damage, but it was not extensive.  We kept Toby on the liquid sulfa, and he improved slowly. It was really hard on both of us, but once again the old boy pulled through.
     Toby had many, many other health problems which I'm not going to go into detail about.  One problem that was so bad and I prayed and prayed about I do want to mention.  Because of the colitis medicine that he took, Toby was susceptible to opportunistic infections because of reduced immunity.  When he was about 7 years old, Toby developed an opportunistic skin problem.  We threw the book at this trying to treat it with little or no success.  All the while I was praying that Toby would be healed of this problem.
     I kept praying and praying for years about this.  Thanks be to God.  Toby was healed of this problem.  He lived the last years of his life totally free from this skin condition.  This incident taught me a lesson in being persistent in prayer. 
     I didn't mention all of Toby's problems in this chapter to make readers feel depressed.  I included them because Toby's health was an important factor in our relationship.  Caring for Toby and seeing him through this time of trial made us a pair of strong friends.  It was my responsibility to care for Toby, and I made sure I did it to the best of my ability.  He was a joy to take care of never causing any fuss or trouble.  At least not for me.
    One thing I have to mention.  As Toby got to about 3 years of age, he came to the place where he only liked me and didn't really care for anybody else.  He tolerated my parents, but he wouldn't play with them.  He wouldn't let anybody come into my room when I was sleeping.  He was extremely protective.  He also absolutely hated everyone at the vet's office.  If they needed to do a procedure, I had to help.  They were scared to death of him.  However, Toby never so much as showed the slightest flash of anger at me.  I could do anything with him.  To me, he was the best.
     It has always been my belief that God brought the two of us together because we needed each other.  I needed him to be a friend when I was friendless.  Toby needed someone to help him through his many problems.  Our veterinarian said that the majority of his clients wouldn't have gone to the expense and hassle of treating Toby's many problems.  I found it to be a privilege.  I miss him every day.