Fairwell our Beloved Toby!

Toby on Easter Day, April 2010

It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of our beloved Toby.   He was our faithful companion and family pet for 15 happy years.

Toby came to us at 8 weeks of age.  A skinny scrawny Salt and Pepper Schnauzer . My second daughter (in photo below) was only 3 months old when we got Toby.   It was as if I had twins.  My baby girl and my baby Schnauzer seemed to always be falling asleep on either side of me in my living room chair.

During his early life Toby welcomed 2 more little babies that I brought home from the hospital.   I will never forget when he met a baby for the first time how he would walk around him breathe in all the baby fragrance with deep audible sniffs and then his whole body would wiggle from head to toe as he tried to wag a tail that was hardly there!   He loved everyone, but babies most especially.

July 2015 - My daughter pours out her affection for Toby. 

Toby is clearly smiling in this photo.  He is proud of the children that he helped raise.

I suppose I haven't written much about Toby on this blog since he was never part of our breeding program.   But when I think about it, I realize that it was only because of Toby that we ever decided to breed Schnauzers.  He taught us what a great breed the Schnauzer is for a family pet.
 
In these last several years Toby has been declining.   He spent most of his day sleeping.   He was very hard of hearing, had trouble seeing, was arthritic and slow to move.    It was hard to see him decline.

It is just like nature to mimic our sadness at times.   And so it was a grey drizzly day that Toby passed away.   It kept raining, but we buried him nonetheless.  We thought it would be important for the children to be able to visit his grave and remember that he was a beloved member of our family.

My little boy says his good by, placing 3 doggy bones lovingly on Toby's grave,  

And so on Thanksgiving Day when all the family was together we visited Toby's grave to have our little funeral.   My brother, a priest, was visiting, and presided over the 'ceremony'.  He gave a little good by talk, thanking God for the gift of Toby and recalling our happy times together.  Then my 7 year old put three little biscuits on the grave.  We ended with the hymn, "All Creatures of Our God and King".

Graveside...My eldest son on the left, with Fr O, myself and the youngest.

My eldest daughter with my DH.

 It was a beautiful funeral.  A worthy good by for Man's Best Friend.  I wanted to get a photo of all of us, but several of the kids were too sombre to be part of a photo.  Since I never get photos of my hubby on this blog.... I added the photo above from a more cheerful moment of the day.

Many people have different ideas about what happens to our pets after death.  Some people talk about there dog going to Rainbow Bridge.  I am not sure what that place would be like.   One of my good friends talks about the Great Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky!   It makes me think of  doggies running through sunny fields chasing rabbits.  I do like that idea.  It makes me smile.

But in all seriousness, I don't think of doggies having their very own place.  When I was a little girl, my Dad told me that if we are very good we will go to heaven.   In heaven there will be no room for sadness.  We will have everything we need to be perfectly happy.   Since our pets make us so happy on earth, then surely they will be with us in heaven.  Even Adam and Eve had animals in the Garden of Eden!  So pets in heaven makes perfect sense to me.  Of course no one knows for sure what things God has planned for us.   I certainly do not claim to be an expert on this matter.  But it sure would be nice to see Toby again some day.

Update on Pukah and Penny

I just received an update from Pukah and Penny's "mom".   What fun it is to hear their news!  Thank you for sending this update!

Pukah (front) and Penny (back)

I can't believe that Penny is almost 11 months old now! She is all grown up and is 16 lbs right now - but we note that she is slightly barrel-shaped so we'll definitely be working on a more svelte figure for her by swimsuit season, ha! I'm pretty sure she could stand to lose a pound or two, so that weight will probably change. As you can see from the picture with me though, she is pretty sure we are trying to starve her to death. Every time I have any food, she crawls up, tries to pretend she's only there to cuddle and groans softly as though the life is slowly draining out of her. I'm not buying it!

Truly though, she is the sweetest little dog I've ever known. Super playful (she drives Pukah crazy!) and really funny - and stubborn! Teaching her to obey has been more challenging than with Pukah but she's really pretty well-behaved anyway (except for that begging!). She and Pukah are fast friends and spend the whole day in a nap/wrestle/nap/wrestle schedule. They are really fun to watch.

As you can see from the other photo, they both like to take their naps with mom - those are my legs under there. I need a bigger chair! 

Have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Update on Bear from Coco and Ricky's litter

I just received an email from Bear's 'mom'.  Bear is an adult Schnoodle from Coco and Ricky's litter.   How great it is to see Bear all grown up!!

Dear Mary,

I can't tell you how much we love Bear.  He will be 1 1/2 tomorrow.  Can't believe it has been that long.  We can never walk with him without kids and adults asking to pet our puppy.  They still think he is a puppy!   He is 14 lbs like his Dad and I think is shaped like him.  He has his Mom's soft fur.  We get so many compliments about how perfect his teeth are.  Seems strange to me...but they are beautiful just like the rest of him...just perfect!

Doggy Accessorizing!

White Schnauzers...they match my home decor!

Why buy pillows when Schnauzers work just as well?

Gigi goes home to Stafford, VA

Thanks again to these lovely people who have welcomed a puppy into their home!

Thank you to this awesome family for choosing Gigi!

Bagel goes home to Virginia

Thank you to this sweet family for choosing Bagel!

Charlotte goes home to Massachusettes

Thank you to this awesome family for choosing Buster!

Goldie Goes to her new home in Arlington, VA!

Thank you to this lovely family for choosing Goldie!

Tater Tot goes home to Virginia Beach!

Thank you to these wonderful people for choosing Tater Tot!

Tater Tot at 8 weeks old

Update Remy and Louie

Mary, 

    The dynamic duo are doing great. They continue to rack up the titles in agility and make people happy with their therapy visits. I hope you are well. Bob

Leo's New Sweater

Too cute not to share!!!  Leo's 'Grandmom' knit him a sweater!   So adorable!...

New Update on Leo

Mary,

I cannot believe we've only had Leo for four days!   He is an absolute delight --- quite well-adjusted, very comfortable with his new family, and loving his crate/bed with the snuggle puppy and blankie.

We set it up in a part of our kitchen - opening into a "pen" that also has the UGODOG (potty tray) in it.  We leave the crate door open most of the time because he is already really good about using the Ugodog.  The first night, he cried a lot.

The second night, I brought the crate upstairs and put it in the same type of "pen" in our bedroom with the other Ugodog.  That night, he whined a bit at intervals, but settled down readily when he heard me talk to him.  He hears all kinds of noises and commotion and is totally relaxed about it.

He’s having a total blast running and running and running outside in the yard with the kids, and he’s met a ton of new people who have come to see him — he is so brave and outgoing — all 27 oz of him!  He found his “voice” but is not a true “barker” (at least not yet).  Interestingly, he mostly barks at my youngest and at other kids about his age —primarily when playing.  I think he thinks they are “puppies” like him :-).

The most amazing news (maybe you won’t be at all surprised) — Leo has ALREADY LEARNED the “sit” and “down” commands!!!  And he does them for different people!  And he does the “sit” part even if there’s no kibble/treat involved!   I can hardly believe it — he is such a smart little guy!

His favorite toy is a small, crinkly, soft “Yoda” doll that we picked up from an Unleashed store.  And he is going to town on a Kong Ziggy and a piece of sterilized elk antler (goodness they have so many new things since I last had a dog).

At least three people have asked me for your information, so I don’t think your waiting list will really get any shorter even if you close it from time to time!!

Thank you so much for this precious little puppy!  We are all completely in love.  :-)

Leo's First Day at Home

Leo at 8 weeks old

Buster went home on Nov 9.  His new family named him Leo (the Lion!).    Here is how Leo did on his first day at home....


Hi Mary!  Leo is doing great.  He cried a good bit in the car before settling down, but then slept the rest of the way. 

 When we got home, he ate heartily (didn’t care that the food was still crunchy) and drank and used his UgoDog…. He’s such a sweetheart!


He’s not so happy about being left in the pen by himself just yet, but at present, he is fast asleep in his crate on his blankie.  He’s had a big day!

James was the first of our boys to meet him, and he is just over the moon.  Andrew got home second, and could not believe his eyes.  He is waiting patiently for Leo to wake up so he can meet him.  Evan will be the last boy home — about 6:30, and then at some point we’ll take the “family” photo.  In the meantime, here a few I think you’ll love.  :-)  

Thanks again!  I think he’ll fit in just fine around here :-)