Here is the final chapter in my book about Toby.
Chapter 16
After I graduated from college, Toby and I began what for us would be an event filled eighteen months. The summer after I graduated, Toby and I went out to Saint Louis for vacation. It wasn't a very long trip, but we had a lot of fun. We visited the Winston Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri on our way home. We got to walk around sections of the old Berlin Wall that are on display outside the museum. That summer was a time of just relaxing and enjoying the days. Dad and I did quite a bit of fishing, and sometimes Toby came along with us. Once when we were out together, we saw a huge flock of wild turkeys.
That fall, I decided to go to graduate school and get my master's degree is history. It was over an hours drive to get to the college, and I didn't like the professors at all. I was doing fine, and it was just about the end of the semester. I knew that I wasn't going to go back after Christmas. However, I had to quit before the end of the semester because I was injured in a car accident. An almost 90 year old woman hit my car and another car. She totaled the other driver's Mercedes Benz. She was not hurt in the accident.
I recovered pretty quickly. While I was still going to graduate school, I'd been spending my free time working on writing. I'd written a few poems and sent them in for publication. I was quite surprised when a few of these initial efforts were actually published in some small journals. I decided that I was going to give writing a try for at least a little while.
Being at home and working on my writing during the day was just like being back in home school again. It was great. Toby never left my side when I was working on my writing. When I was at my desk working on the computer, he would lay at the foot of the bed. We had fun setting up that computer together. As I was trying to get everything out of the box, Toby kept pushing boxes and bags around the room with his nose.
In order to improve as a writer, I enrolled in an off campus writing program with the University of Wisconsin. With writing, investing and studying I stayed very busy. But I was never too busy for my old friend. Toby was getting old. That year when I started writing, he turned twelve. Our walks became shorter. I really had to make sure that he stayed cool, because Toby never could stand much heat, and that became more pronounced as he got older. We still played hide and seek. Toby actually would chase the ball a little as he got older, but he never was much of a ball dog.
Our favorite activity was sitting out on the patio and having dinner together. I used to like to cook steaks out on the grill. It was always nice having a family meal together. We'd sit out on the patio just about every night until the mosquitoes started in.
About two days after Toby's twelfth birthday, our time of joy came to an abrupt end. Toby became extremely sick. For the past year, he had been in what for Toby was good health. But, one afternoon he just started vomiting uncontrollably. I called our regular veterinarian, but he was out of town, and he didn't have anyone handling emergencies. I called my back up vet, and he was out of town as well. I decided to call the vet in a town north of us, and they had an appointment available right away. She examined Toby, but she really didn't know what was wrong with him. She gave him some medicine to see if he would improve. Toby did improve a little, but he still wasn't right.
I got Toby an appointment with our regular vet as soon as he was back. He discovered Toby's problem right away. Toby had a large tumor in his abdomen.
My vet got Toby an appointment that same day with a cancer specialist. I feared the worst. The cancer specialist ran some scans, and he seemed optimistic. He felt that Toby's tumor was operable, and we scheduled the surgery for the next morning.
I really started to pray that night. I was so nervous. I was just about a basket case. I don't think I slept a wink which just kept Toby up, and he needed his rest. I took him into the surgeons that morning. The way that Toby looked at me when I handed his leash to the surgeon is a look I will never forget. His eyes looked at me like I was abandoning him and he couldn't understand why. It was horrible. I felt horrible. I prayed all morning and into the afternoon. Finally, I got a call from the surgeon. The tumor was malignant, but he thought that he got it all out.
Toby was supposed to stay at the hospital for three days after the surgery, but they called me the next afternoon and wanted me to take him home. They said that he was sad and depressed and they didn't think that he could stand being without me anymore. He was also trying to bite everyone who was trying to help him. He wanted his friend and was tired of everyone else.
When I came to pick him up Toby was so relieved. He let out a great big sigh of happiness.
The next day I received the bad news. Toby's cancer was so malignant that it had metastasized. They only gave Toby 6 weeks to live even with chemotherapy.
I decided to pray and ask Jesus to help Toby. I would not have any chemo for him. What would be would be.
Six weeks came, and Toby was acting like he was in the prime of life. He was jumping around and acting like a young pup again. I kept writing and getting things published. Every day Toby and I would play and just try to enjoy being together because each day that we could be together was a gift from Jesus.
Each month I took Toby into the vet's for a check, and he got a clean bill of health. His stomach improved and he wasn't really having many health problems. He just kept on going.
We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. The two of us ate so much at Thanksgiving we had to lay down the rest of the day for fear that we might explode. Christmas at the house was always a fun time. Toby liked to push the branches over to me while I put the tree up. His favorite part of Christmas was playing in the wrapping paper.
We celebrated Toby's 13th birthday. He was still going strong. I was still giving the glory to God. But nothing lasts forever. Toward the beginning of June, Toby went down hill fast. His lungs started filling up with fluid and all of his blood tests were terrible. This time I knew it was the end.
Toby died on June 5. He lived 13 and a half months after his surgery.
Toby was the best friend that I have ever had. He came to me at one of the lowest points in my life, and he made me fell like someone loved me for who I was and not for what they wanted me to be. Toby has been gone for several years and I still miss him every single day. I know that he is in Heaven with my Mom and Dad. I look forward to a family reunion some day. I am thankful to Jesus that I found Toby on that cold day in January all those years ago. I love you Toby.
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