This week I hadda fun yap with a charming poocheroo, Toby Salvaterra, a Shih Tzu mixture rescue with quite a (harrowing) tail to tell. His wavy coat was longish, with light brown patches (including 2 pairs of light brown sox), am soulful brown eyes. He’s preddy young still (probly 3-goin’-on-4), super frenly an ruh-laxed, an came right up for the Wag-an-Sniff soon as we arrived.
“Good afternoon, Toby! It’s a great pleasure to meet you,” I said, introducing my assistant.
“Likewise!” he said. “This is my Mom, Carol. Come’on, let’s go sit!!” He led the way to the living room.
As I opened my notebook, my assistant opened The Satchel an, with the go-ahead from Toby’s Mom, produced a duh-lishus bacon snack which Toby happily enjoyed, then hopefully stuck his nose into The Satchel, scoring one final snack.
“That was YUM,” Toby said, curling up on his Mom’s lap. “So I’ll start now, right?”
“Right!” I replied, pen poised.
“It was back in 2022,” he began. “I was wandrin’ the streets, lost an kinda DAZED. I sorta remembered I had had a famly but didn’t know where, or what ackshully happened. Mom told me later it was summertime in twenny-twenny-two. Anyway I was all buh-DRAGGLED, my fur was matted, an I was really skinny.”
“O, Woof, Toby! It musta been SO scary.”
“It WAS. But then, a human saw me an scooped me up an took me to a SHELL-ter, Thank Lassie! The shell-ter tidied me all up an gave me some foodstuffs an wadder, an hadda docter check me. She gave me pills with Annie-buddies cuzza my ukky sores an stuff. I also got shots an what’s called a CHIP, so I wouldn’t get lost EVER again. (It was a liddle stik-ee, but only a liddle.)
“Anyway, there I was. Meanwhile, Mom’s buh-loved pooch, Winston, hadda go to Dog Heaven, an Mom was Very, Very SAD an LONELY, an finally decided to look for another pooch.
“She looked an looked in all the shelters here but couldn’t find The Dog, so she went on The Line an saw my pickshur from the shelter where I was, in Fort Pierce, which is a liddle farther down from here.
“She called to reserve me, but the shelter said I’d already been spoken for. Mom was Totally Bummed Out, but THEN, the Nex Morning, the shelter called an said the other person was s’pose to come meet me, but didn’t show up, so Mom had Dibs an should come see me.
“When we met in the Meet-an-Greet room, Mom was sittin’ on this funny foldin’ chair. She kept pickin’ me up, an it’d wobble, an I’d jump down. So the shelter person told Mom, ‘Sit in this bigger chair!’ She did, an I jumped right up, cuz l already KNEW she was gonna be my Furever Mom, but that foldin’ chair was Just Too Wobbly.
“To make SURE she knew I was The Dog, I looked up at her with my Best Adorable Puppy Eyes. An that was pretty much that. Soon as she did all the stuff she hadda do to show she’d be a good Pooch Mom, she brought me home! It was Aug. 11, twenny-twenny-two!”
“Woof, Toby. What a GRRReat Story!” I exclaimed.
“I KNOW! Right?” he said. “An guess what? My shelter name was, for some reason, Chucho!”
“Huh?”
“Yeah. Mom knew THAT wasn’t spose’ to be my name, an that TOBY was. Woof, was I releeved!”
“So what’s life like these days?” I inquired.
“Pawsome! It’s just me an Mom — Totally Cool Kibbles! We go for a walk almost every morning. She says it’s not a Walk so much as a Sniff, cuz there’s just So Many intrestin’ smells, like, everywhere, ya know?”
I nodded.
“We usually walk atta Cool Kibbles place with trees an nice humans anna buncha other pooches. It’s called Dogs for Life. I’ve got tons of pooch pals there: there’s Muffy an Molly an Kiya an lotsa others. WAY fun! (My Ant Wendy has a pooch, Brody, a border terrier. I’d like to play with him but he doesn’t care that much for fellow dogs, so …)
“One time there was this dog COSS-toom contest: I was dressed up like a horse with a cowboy on my back, an I even hadda HAT! Me an Mom walked across this big stage, an, guess what? I got a RIBBON for third prize! I was SO Proud!”
“That’s pawsome!” I told him.
“Here in the nayberhood, all the humans fuss over me (I guess cuzza my cuteness). All us pooches’ Nayberhood Bestie is Mr. Everett cuz he always has the Very Best Treats! He’s just across the street, which is Very Handy.
“What’s your fave foodstuff? Any cool toys?” I asked.
“I get kibbles two times a day. I ackshully like kibbles. An I get a treat buh-for an after my meal. Carrots are totally YUM. I’m also Very Fond of my daily dish of yoghurt.
“I sleep with Mom: I haff to say, I’d always pruh-fur to be with her than not, but I’m Very Good when she’s out, cuz I know she’ll be back. See, she works at this place called McKee. I hear it’s Crispy Biscuits, but dogs aren’t allowed, so I stay here.
“Mom got me lotsa toys which I enjoy rippin’ to shreds. My Faves are tennis balls an my stuffy buffalo, Which Mom has to keep sewin’ back together.
“I’m also a great traveler. I’ve been all the way to somewhere Mom calls SARA-Cues. It was a 22-hour drive an Mom says I was an angel. Which I Totally WAS.”
Toby’d spent the entire innerview happily curled in his Mom’s lap, but jumped down to puh-litely see us to the door.
Headin’ home, I was smilin’, rememberin’ the phodo Toby showed me of him in his cowboy hat, with his pawsome third-place ribbon. I was also thinkin’ how Cool Kibbles it is that we both love our evening dish of yoghurt.
Till next time,
