Guest post from Mark Dondero of Orleans, the land of abandoned dogs:
This is an open letter to whoever abandoned a German shorthair pointer named Toby in Orleans, Calif., on St. Patrick’s Day, 2005.
Your dog is dead. Actually, once you kicked him out of your car and he found his way to our house, he became our dog. He had a red collar with a piece of foil tucked under it. Inside the foil was this note on a piece of yellow steno notepad
paper:
HI MY
NAME
I TOBY
I cAn’t live in the
city Anymore. Im A
good dog, I don’t cHAse cAts
I get Along good with
kids & oTher dogs unless
They sTArT something.
I Like to chAse sticks
& dirt clods.
That was all true. He was a good dog. He had a great time swimming after sticks I’d throw into the Klamath River for him. He loved to go on walks, run, dig after rodents in the field, ride in the back of the truck with his ears flapping in the wind, camp, eat biscuits, be petted. Our neighbor kid loved him. He didn’t like the meter reader or the propane delivery guy, but he loved Bob from Renner Petroleum whenever he delivered kerosene for our heater. He was a great watchdog and barked at everything and everyone.
He was lively and playful right until Mother’s Day this year when he was very lethargic and wouldn’t eat. I took him to the vet the following day and an X-ray showed his lungs were full of tumors. We tried a course of antibiotics and diuretics, but by last Wednesday (May 16) it was obvious he wasn’t getting any better, so I called the vet and told him come prepared to give Toby the spike when he was in Orleans the following day.
Toby, always considerate, saved us all the trouble by having a seizure Wednesday night. He fell over on the living room floor, kicked his legs a few times and died. We buried him the following day on our property under the shade of a big leaf maple tree, close to his friends, the Airedale and the border collie mix.
He will be missed.
This article appears in Summer of Fun! 2012.
Thank you for that great obituary for man’s best friend. I would have taken him in too.
What a beautiful story of love, loyalty and companionship.
RIP, Toby.
Toby, Precious Fellow, I am glad and deeply grateful that the last years of your life were spent with truly fine people who loved and honored you.
I wish you well on your journey across the Rainbow Bridge. Along with your friends, the Airdale and Border Collie Mix, many other well-loved pets, including my big black dog, Coby will greet you, as well as my other best friend Leisel. Even the tubby beagle from my college days, Cheers, and the errasible MAX, our noisy beagle, will be there to welcome you. (He vanished during one of our mountain lion scares…we’ll never know…) He liked sniffing butts and stealing other dogs’ food. He was a brave (some said stupid) soul who messed with Leisel (a food aggressive rottweiler) on more than one occasion. That damn mutt had 9 lives too. Linda’s beloved Mrs Dooley (another beagle) and dearly missed Corndog (a lab) and Taiphoon, Donnie’s Tsunami, Marshall Dillon, and Festus will come a runnin’ to join in welcoming you, as will Twister and Jan Rowen’s other doggies who have gone before.
My and others’ numerous long gone kitties will also greet you.
Rest in Paradise, Faithful Friend. You shall continue to be in GOOD COMPANY
He was lucky you found him. I’m sorry for your loss.
From one dog lover to another, I feel your sorrow. Toby was given a second chance with you and he appreciated it. I hope everyone reading this will get a shelter dog next time.
That was a beautiful tribute!!!
Toby was a very lucky dog to have found you!!!
Sorry for your loss.
Sorry to hear of his passing but so happy he found his way to you and Jill.
The idiot/s that abandoned him were the losers and one can only hope that when they are old and in need their “caregivers” don’t treat them as horribly as they treated Toby. Then again…
Love to you all and much, much sympathy.
Im sorry about the loss you feel, dogs aren’t dogs their a 4 legged human that will stick by your side for life. RIP
SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, BUT GLAD YOU HAD SUCH A GREAT DOG…ALL THREE OF MY DOGS CAME TO ME IN DIFFERENT WAYS & LIKE TOBY THEY ARE WHERE THEY BELONG…THEY ADD SO MUCH TO THE QUALITY OF OUR LIVES
Thank you for your kindness. It sounds like Toby was better off with you anyway. We can never repay the gifts that animals give to us. You gave him a second chance. Take care.
Beautiful story!!!! Glad he found happiness at last!!!! RIP baby!!!!
i had a simlar expericience. my roommate heard whinning out side our front door and knew it couldn’t be one of our dogs. he open the door and there was this german sheherd skin and bones, poor thing we couldn’t turn her away. we took to vet, said she was 10-12 yrs old.had a mirco chip but wasn’t up to date. she only was with us for 8 months and she past away but at least she died happy. the last months of her life she had food,love and a roof over her head and gan weight.
my other dog a neighbor found and i have had him for8 yrs. my cat a girl didn’t want her 13 yrs ago. last fall i found a puppy in senior citezens parking lot, he is a pistol but i love him.
god bless everyone who has help an animal in need. think about it dog spelled backwards is god.
Mark, please accept my condolences. I know how difficult it is to lose a beloved pet. Thank you for your kindness and compassion and for giving Toby a loving, forever home for seven years.
He’s lucky he found you and tho i’m sure they meant well, they did not go about it the right way…
I’m sure he’ll be missed as we miss our pets who have gone on before us as well…
Mark, you’re a kind wonderful person and I’m sure Toby had a wonderful 7 years with you. Thanks for rescuing him, we recently got arescue dog who has been starved and hit often, but she is the sweetest loving dog and has found her forever home.
People abandon and beat and abuse usually because they were treated this way.
Your expression of acceptance and love healed this situation. We can all do only what we can do to create peace.
Love one another.
Consider —
The person who put the note under Toby’s collar, and the person who made the decision to abandon him, may not have been the same individual.
Or the decision may have been made under terrible duress.
Whatever you think of the latter decision, someone loved Toby before you did, and helped make him the dog who you later enjoyed.
It’s possible that Toby’s early life is only a story of misplaced canine trust and subsequent betrayal. But I suspect it was more complicated than that, and had more sadness to spread around than the part you know.
There is no love greater than the love given to you by a beloved pet !!
Thank you for sharing!
Our culture cannot get enough feel-good stories that divert our eyes from what our daily lifestyle is doing to this planet’s creatures, its climate, and its adolescent HUMAN inhabitants toiling to making it all possible.
wow what a story, dogs make such a difference in our lives.. he was loved.. i have a dog named betty.. i found her at a shelter.. she makes life better.. toby was meant for you…
What a wonderful love story. Thank you for giving Toby a great life and for sharing the story.
What a gorgeous dog.
Animals are people too, what an awesome story…. Thanks for writing a memorial – this afternoon I said my last goodbye to a friend’s loyal family dog who is sick, knowing she would take her final breaths tomorrow and wouldn’t be in her spot on the porch the next time I came by.
Toby was lucky to have found someone like you. You were both lucky. On the other side of the coin, anyone who abandons an animal (there are many options available other than abandonment) should be removed from the planet.
i am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet.my heart goes out to you and your family and im s sorry for your loss… i too have a recue dog and he is everything to me ..my story is a lil similar to yours also..in 2006 i had a former friend drop a dog off to me all beaten and badly cut open and covered in glass and was so emaciated i couldnt tell what this dog was i just knew it needed help … i took this sweet baby to the vets and he was determined to be 8months old .. i was told by the vets he wouldnt make it and i should put him down .. i couldnt do that and i took him home doctored him up myself and brought him back to life basically .. and now he is 7yrs old and is such a sweet baby .. he is a full blooded american pitbull.. the people i got him from basically told me to kill him and i couldnt do that they abandoned him and i saved him.. looking back on it now god put him in my home and for that i will forever be greatful…and thats what god did for you and your sweet baby too…again my heart goes out to you and your family .. rip sweet baby toby .. your story has touched so many and you will forever be loved by your family and all of us that get to read your story..
What a lucky dog and thank you for being a human with feelings