31 Days of Stories: Toby

Toby was our first dog. He is a large black lab mix of some sort: a lot of people have guessed he is part Great Dane due to his long legs, but his face almost seems setter like sometimes. Regardless of the breed, he's big and kind of dumb, let's be honest. Despite that, he is a very lovey dog... in a desperately needy way.

We adopted Toby from the local humane society when he was 7 months old. He had been picked up off the streets at 4 months old, and so had been at the shelter for almost half of his short life. I remember seeing him for the first time there: he just sat quietly and looked at us with those big brown eyes, and we knew we couldn't leave him there. 

Toby is one of those dogs that probably should have been an "only child." He gets along great with our other dogs and Ava, but his attention needs are ri.di.cu.lous. He has gone through many phases of panic attacks, severe separation anxiety, and weird OCD habits over the years. His obsessive licking and nail biting seem to be triggered by allergies, but figuring out a dog's allergy? Good luck! 

Despite (or maybe because of?) all his strange quirks, he still is our sweet first puppy. I often have to remind myself of this when he is having yet another panic attack or is desperately begging for all my attention all the time!