In a recent post (“Dad, Can I Have a Dog?”), I traced Robby’s campaign that led to Ricky’s becoming a member of our household. Now I realize I left out an important part.
Yes, from the time his middle brother went away to college (leaving Robby an “only child”) till he finally wore me down more than a year later, Robby asked for a dog approximately twice every day. But it was a stopover at my buddy Jeff’s house (best friend since junior high school) on the way to Williamsburg, VA that kicked Robby’s onslaught into overdrive. And it was Jeff’s dog, Toby, who was the co-conspirator.
Robby was a little kid back then, and Toby was a little dog. They were made for each other. Robby got a kick out of how Toby played fetch: Robby would throw the Frisbee . . . and Toby would do absolutely nothing. Robby got a kick out of picking Toby up — all 10 pounds of him. He got a kick out of pronouncing the words “Bichon Frise.” He got a kick out of watching Toby use his doggy door to go outside to pee or poop. He got a kick out of the one-year-old dog’s wind-up-toy-like energy.
Recently, Jeff has had some health setbacks, so I went down to Virginia to see him last week, figuring he could use a visit from his BFF. It seems that good old Toby, who’s nine now, has been a huge comfort during Jeff’s recovery. Whenever Jeff goes horizontal for a rest, Toby’s right there on his chest, making sure everything’s okay. I also noticed that Jeff and his wife Joan both call Toby “Baby” pretty much all the time now. They’re empty nesters these days, so I guess that kind of figures.
At one point in the evening we were watching the Knicks vs. the Mavs on TV, and I told Jeff I wanted to play on the floor with Toby. He warned me that Toby would generally only play with his “parents,” and that he’d probably be afraid of me. That didn’t stop me, though. I got down on all fours, butt in the air, in the “wanna play?” position that always works for dogs and babies — and Toby was all over me. He jitterbugged from side to side, pounced forward, jumped back — showing the same nonstop energy Robby and I got a kick out of eight years earlier.
When I was back in CT, Jeff e-mailed me this photo. He said it shows how Toby gets charged up.
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