Saying goodbye to our beloved Pomeranian Toby: Our first dog together…
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| Our Pomeranian Toby |
Mark Twain: “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”
On a cold and rainy day in March (2022), my wife and I said our final goodbyes to our beloved Toby. Toby had been suffering from failing liver and kidney functions for some time, and we realized we had to let him go when he just stopped eating for 5 days.
Toby had been losing considerable weight, and when we measured him in early December (2021) at a veterinarian’s office, he weighed just under 9 pounds. He had weighed around 13 pounds about a year prior to that, at his last checkup…
Immediately after that vet visit in December, Toby had shown improvements with help of medications, suddenly eating much better. He showed marked improvements for the next two months, looking happier, gaining bit of weight, and being more alert.
In retrospect, we think the medications he was taking, gave us two additional, precious months to spend time with him. He fought valiantly, never showing his pain, and genuinely trying to make us happy.
Unfortunately, things turned for the worse around mid-February, when he would start to eat less and less food. When we went to our parent’s place in New York City on March 1st, his condition deteriorated further. What food he did eat wasn’t much, and by March 7th, he was refusing to eat his favorite treats, or his favorite foods.
After monitoring his unwillingness to eat for several days, we made one of our most difficult and gut wrenching decisions we ever had to make, to let Toby go. We wanted to free him from his pain and suffering.
Toby had just turned 15 the prior month…
In this post, I’d like to share my remembrances of Toby, our wonderful companion, loyal to a fault, at times rambunctious, and always spoiled rotten Pomeranian. We’d like to honor him by celebrating his life…
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| One of his ‘good’ days in February, 2022 |
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| Toby in February, 2022, Wilmington, NC |
Toby was our first dog together. We brought him home early July (2007), after doing exhaustive research on different dog breeds, and on how to properly care for a dog. We had researched each breed’s particular characteristics and their quirkiness. We had contacted multiple animal shelters in search of the right dog.
In our heart of hearts, we were hoping to get a Pomeranian, a Maltese, or a Yorkshire Terrier, something small, so we can handle him as a first time pet parents. We had particular fondness for Pomeranians, as we had seen plenty of them while living in Hawaii.
Many times, Pomeranian parents would carry them in baby strollers, looking fabulous and totally spoiled! We used to love seeing them all smiling, happy, and often with their mischievous grins. They grew on us since then…
We weren’t able to find anything at animal shelters, so we looked at pet stores as well. At a pet store near where we lived near Philadelphia, we finally found him!
We first met Toby sleeping inside a puppy den, along with 5 or 6 other puppies. What really got me interested in Toby was his nonchalant attitude towards his den mates. He was sleeping at a corner, while every other pup was busy moving around, and barking at each other! It reminded me of myself, totally calm in the midst of a storm.
We decided to interact with Toby and one other white-furred, smaller sized Pomeranian. We got to spend few minutes with each of them to see how they behaved and how they interacted with us.
My favorite test for dog’s demeanor, is to lift them by their front legs and to make eye contact. Usually, a calm dog will put up with this and remain still. Those that fidget, or wanting to get away, are usually the problematic ones. Since we were first time pet parents, we wanted to make sure we got a calm dog. We certainly got that with Toby.
I lifted Toby up and made eye contact. I purposely dangled his hind legs just to see how he would react. He passed all my tests with flying colors! We must’ve played with Toby for about 10 minutes. I still remember him pulling the seam off a carpet using his tiny baby teeth. I was pulling for Toby, while my wife was pulling for the smaller white-furred Pomeranian. In the end, I won out!
After completing our transaction, we bought his food, crate, treats, toys, etc., then took him home. I still remember my wife holding him in her arms, with Toby watching me and watching her, wondering where he was going, and most importantly, who these humans were.
He was all 7 pounds of furry, still not quite developed, puppy. His muzzle looked completely black and he had tiny, still forming tail. The tail almost looked like a rat’s tail!
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| Toby at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, SC (February 2022) |
When we arrived at our home, we brought him to our kitchen where we had laminate floors. We felt the kitchen was our best place to acclimate him to us, and us to him. If he was to make a mistake, we could easily clean up after him.
We unpacked his stuff, not quite sure what to do next with our fur ball. We decided to give him some water and one of his puppy food. We were surprised he was drinking and eating immediately. We were so happy.
We spent next several hours petting him, and playing with him. He was knocked out after couple of hours, so we let him sleep right on the kitchen floor. I lied down next to him to see him sleep that first day.
That first night, we let him sleep on his own, inside our powder room. In hindsight, we realized that was a mistake. He didn’t sleep that night. He cried, banging on the door all night. We couldn’t sleep either.
Why did we do that, you ask? Well, for one thing, we wanted to toughen him up, and secondly, it was something we had read about on numerous dog parenting books. After that fiasco, we quickly realized we couldn’t stand to let him sleep on his own. Ever since that day, we let Toby sleep with us on our beds.
The next few weeks was spent potty training him. The first week rained for like 5 days, but we still took him out every two hours during the day, to let him go potty. He eventually caught a cold (poor thing!), but he was a quick learner, eager to please us.
We first opened up the kitchen/powder room only so we can easily clean up, but eventually we opened up the entire living room and the kitchen, so he can roam as he pleased. As he got better and better at being house trained, we opened up the entire townhome to him.
There were only a handful of times when he messed up, but we didn’t mind. No one is perfect after all…
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| Toby at Charleston, SC (January 2022) |
I remember trying to train him to walk while being leashed for the first time. We succeeded in putting on his collar, but he would not budge when we asked him to walk! He had this defiant and “leave me alone” look every pet parent is aware of, but he succumbed after few minutes, thanks to his training treats. He just could not resist the tasty morsels of his puppy treats!
Since that first walk together, we kept on walking, at times running. Toby, even though he was only a small dog, could outrun me at a full sprint! He was so fast when he ran. I could see him eyeing me, to try to keep pace with me as we ran. He held back his full speed, trying to please me…
Toby looked incredibly happy when he ran. He usually had a huge infectious smile that melted hearts everywhere. He would prance and smile when he was walking, but he would really smile when he was running at full speed. I can still remember him running around in circles on wide open fields near where we lived in Pennsylvania, full of life, vigor, joy, and happiness.
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| Toby at Congaree National Park, January 2022 |
Toby’s best friend growing up was Luna, a Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie). They would huddle together, facing each other at times, playing together, or looking towards the same direction when they would hang out. Toby had his dark muzzle, which we affectionately called the “bandit” look, as it was completely black near his mouth and nose!
Luna unfortunately died way too early due to a car accident when Toby was just one year old. Ever since then, Toby would still react by barking and looking around, when we would mention her name. Dogs are so loyal and affectionate, and they never forget their closest loved ones…
Toby was crate trained at night (and when we left him home alone) when we first brought him home. The first few weeks, we made a big mistake of constantly feeding him throughout the day, without realizing all those foods would eventually end up as poop!
One night, Toby woke me up three times in the night to go poop inside his crate. He rudely interrupted my sleep with his whimpering and his loud banging of the crate. We never made that mistake since that first few weeks.
Toby had a huge appetite for food (and which dog doesn’t?). Even that first day, he had no problem eating in a brand new environment. Ever since then, he ate, then ate some more. His foods and treats changed throughout the years. He started out on wet, puppy food the first few weeks, then moved on to harder/solid food once he started teething.
He must’ve went through hundreds of chewing toys and chewing treats during his teething period. He used to bring his favorite chewing toy, the plastic fish, then sit right in front of me before tearing the fish to pieces.
Toby had this well honed hypersensitivity for when we would open the refrigerator. As soon as we would open our fridge door, he would come running over asking for tasty treats! Other times, he would get up on his hind legs, scratching the table where his treats were, barking at us, asking for treats. As soon as he got a treat, he would grab it then run away, making sure we didn’t take it away from him.
His ‘go to spot’ to sit when he was young was my lap. He really defined the term “lapdog”. I would watch him spend many hours busily chewing different toys, feeling totally protected and safe, within the confines of my lap.
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| Toby at Snowshoe Mountain Resort, WV (October 2021) |
During the first 13 years of his life, Toby slept with me most of the time. He loved snuggling up right next to either my legs or my face, depending on his mood. When it was cold, he preferred to sleep next to my face for some much needed shared warmth. When it got hot, he slept right against my legs, always trying not to disturb me or wake me up.
One summer night, I caught him carefully jump up to bed, then slowly and very cautiously make his way along my comforter. The scene was so funny but so cute! I could tell he was trying his best not to wake me up, but let’s face it. Dogs are not like cats. Dogs don’t know how to be stealthy, quiet, or walk lightly! Nonetheless, that episode turned out to be one of my favorite episodes with Toby.
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| Toby at Myrtle Beach State Park, December, 2021 |
Toby’s arrival was instrumental in us exercising more, as he needed frequent walks. I used to run with him around our townhome community on weekends. He was eager to go outside, to explore, and to get his rage out!
I really enjoyed running with him next to me, with him giving me sideways glances just to check up on me. As he aged, we ran less and less, preferring to walk or hike instead. Those early years of us running together would forge a bond between us that would never be broken…
Throughout our 15 years together, we took many walks/hikes all over the east coast of the United States. We visited various state/national/local parks in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
On our trip to World’s End State Park in Pennsylvania, I still remember Toby getting worried that I had stepped out of the car, to check out the tires. He got up on his hind legs, then started to bang on the window to let me know not to leave him and his mommy there. It was both heartbreaking and cute. This showed Toby’s fierce loyalty to his pack…
On few occasions when we left young Toby with our parents, he would cry and whimper at our absence, constantly looking at the front door whenever he heard a noise outside. On those occasions, Toby would leap to joy at our sight when we would come home. He would jump up and down, going around in circles, in that happy dog kind of way. We were truly happy when he was happy.
Even as an older adult dog, those times when he would stay with our parents, Toby would go after any car that resembled our’s, and/or run after someone that looked like us, when he was outside. We would miss those anecdotes about our baby…
As he aged and became sicker, he didn’t display any signs of pain or discomfort. He was a hardy little dog, valiantly keeping up with us on our adventures, regardless of his condition that day. Looking back, we think his will to stay with his pack overcame his pain. He always wanted to be with us, 24/7, always brave, never showing any signs of pain, and just enjoying our company…
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| Toby at Headache Hill Scenic View, PA (August 2021) |
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| Toby at Hawn’s Overlook, PA (July 2021) |
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| Hawn’s Overlook (July 2021) |
In conclusion:
I could probably write a book about our experiences with Toby. I guess I still may at some point, or decide to share different episodes on later posts. Either way, it’s become evident that our decision to retire early really made us enjoy more of Toby’s company since August 2020.
We really got to spend practically 24/7 with our baby since that day. We shared so many wonderful experiences visiting new places in different states. Had we not retired, we wouldn’t have had the time or the energy to spend that much time with our baby.
Some may say 15 years together is either too short or too long, but in the end, the fact that we all loved each other and we had a great life together, is what matters. Thanks to Toby, our life was richer, and thanks to Toby, we were able to retire early (by spending less money since we got him).
Even after few weeks since he left us, the emotions are still very raw. We still miss him every single day. Little tidbits of memories of him would come back to remind us how much he has meant to us. He was our first dog, and he has set an incredibly high bar for any dog that joins our pack, possibly in the distant future.
It was an honor and a privilege to have raised Toby as our baby, and to have spent our last 15 years with Toby. We are still heartbroken and sad, but we know Toby would want us to move on, and to live our lives fully…
It will never be the same without Toby walking next to us, or cuddling next to us on the bed or the sofa. We will think about Toby every single day, but for his sake, and for ours, we will move on with our lives.
We thank our family and friends for their wonderful kind words of Toby’s passing. We thank our readers for following Toby’s many adventures since our early retirement on YouTube. Even if Toby will no longer be featured on videos, I will still write about him from time to time, sharing his life and the impact he has had on our lives…
Thank you all for reading.
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
P.S. Two things:
- We love you Toby! You’ll never be forgotten. Thank you for all the great memories. We would raise you again (and do the same thing all over again) if we ever could…
- Toby will still be featured for several months as we did complete our trip to South Carolina in February 2022. We still have video footage of his trips while there, so expect to see him in new places, at least for few more months. Same goes for our blog posts. He will still be mentioned in the South Carolina related posts about our travels…
Please check out our YouTube channel ‘Wandering Money Pig’ showcasing our travels and our Pomeranian dog! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kl9f4W9sfNG5h1l-x6nHw
