Terrific Terrier Toby

A lot has been going on lately. The biggest thing is that near the end of June we found the right little dog to become part of our family. Since then things have been interesting!

Abby and Toby

Abby is loving the now renamed Toby (it was Toto), a different little terrier mix, for her new companion. He's a bit bigger, is shaggy like a mop with thicker 3-4 inch fur that Hubster discovered was rather water-repellent when he gave him a bath.

I found him on Craigslist, advertised by a kid-filled military family that was moving to a place that allowed for 2 dogs, not 3. They'd acquired our little Toby on a February home visit to Alabama when he wandered up to them in a church parking lot. They found the owner who decided the 1½ year old was living too close to a busy road and rather than see him get hit by a car, they let him go.
Their loss is definitely our gain. Toby is more puppy-ish and playful, usually with one ear up and one ear down. So far, no 'accidents.' He's crate-trained and vet approved from one end to the other. Toby was lacking in a few manners such as jumping up on visitors, but I found Toby to be a very smart little fellow and eager to learn. In less than a week he was already 99% over his zealous greetings. He's learning hand signs for sit, stay and back-up. I'm not sure if I can get him to leave off chasing rabbits, but we're definitely working hard on not chasing our old-man cat.

He's very affectionate, and more importantly he seems to love playing with Abby. Since we had tried everything possible to help Abby's assumed skin condition finding a friend for her was our last resort. Thinking perhaps stress was a cause we think we may be on the right path. If nothing else she's getting more exercise and doesn't have as much time to bite or itch herself. We love seeing them in play mode, enjoying tug-of-war with a knotted rope or just running circles around each other at break-neck speeds... little dogs can move pretty darn fast! Those rabbits better be on point when they hear the door open from now on!

So far, so good.  life has now been rearranged, but it's definitely a good change for all of us!