Tobias. My first dog who came to me when I was 14 years old. I had saved up for a dog for a while and I finally convinced my mum to get one. Tobias was a lucky chance and I couldn’t have wished for a better dog. He was so easy to care for from the first day I had him, he was house clean in a day, never barked and was hardy and patient with me as I tried several training methods and learned dog training. Tobias was with me everywhere. We went with bus, train and even flight and often had to run through crowds at the station. When I got the whippets he came to the shows and races with us and we all slept in the caravan. As Tobias got older he added some quirky habits like barking at bypassers in the garden or just didn’t listen when I called, but he never ran away, he just strolled in his own thoughts.

We trained a lot when he was young, mostly agility but also obedience, rally obedience, blood tracking and some tricks. We competed in agility several times and never got a clean run but we had fun. At six years old Tobias was diagnosed with arthritis in his shoulder joints so we stopped with the agility at that point and did some casual rally obedience after that but also a lot of swimming which he was really good at. I took him to swim training until he was twelve years old and he was a very healthy pensioner, even though he got a slipped disc in the neck as well. After that I started feeding raw and using laser and he became like a puppy again.

I actually thought Tobias would pass sooner than he did but he woke up happy each day and came with me on long walks and followed me around in the house even if I just went to another room, which is what he’d done his whole life. He never missed a meal and sat next to you begging for food with those beautiful eyes of his. He didn’t hear very well the last year or two but he managed very well, walked off leash in the forsest, ran after balls in the garden and came to me to cuddle, always. He stopped using the stairs but said good morning with a happy face each day until one morning his back legs would not support him properly anymore.

It was just after his 14th birthday and we’d barely gotten home with our youngest son Isac from the hospital but Tobias got to meet him and he watched over him all the time, laying by Isac’s feet. It’s been over a year now since Tobias been gone and I still cry as I write this. It still hurts just as much. He taught me everything about dogs and he got me to love dogs in the way that I do today. Tobias was my best friend and my most faithful friend. I loved him so much and I still do. I know he is free now and I sometimes see him in the sky, jumping over clouds. Why can’t these lovable little animals live forever? They certainly capture our hearts forever.