Toby

He showed up at my house one February night nine years ago. My daughter brought him home with some story about being in a box outside the grocery store. I said he could stay the night but she had to find the lab-pit mix a home, we already had three dogs. He never left.

He was a lab on steroids, built like a horse. He had the gentle disposition of a lab but the killer instincts of a pit bull. Ground hogs and racoons that invaded our property were dispatched to God by mighty Toby. He was a good judge of human character as well, treating sociopaths and dopers with contempt and a growl.

This past year all of his health problems started catching up with him. Hip, teeth and paw problems ravaged him and made him miserable. It was time to send him to God.

I've had a dozen dog companions that have shared my life. My life has been richer because of them. I will miss mighty Toby, just as I missed all those who went before him. I like to think that their life was better because they were a member of my pack. I know my life was better because they were members of my pack. Maybe we'll meet again in Gwynvyd.