Toby

What can we say about our dog, Toby? Simply put: He is a great dog.

Growing up, Derek always wanted a dog, so when he finally moved into a house with a large back yard, he decided it was time. We had only been dating a few months when Toby, a labrador retriever, entered our lives. We visited the litter of puppies a few times together before we brought Toby home, or as we called him at the time, "the one with the orange ribbon." (The owner had colored ribbons on each of the puppies so she would know which puppy was promised to which person). Although we literally picked Toby out of the litter, we're certain he picked us. When visiting the litter and playing with all of the puppies, with their perfect puppy breath and soft fur, Toby was the first to run over to us, nip at our hands, lick our faces and push the others out of the way. 

Toby is now 8 years old and our lives wouldn't be the same without him. He is a very sweet and gentle dog who often bathes our cats (seriously) and lets children tug at his ears, sleep on his tummy or test his knowledge of "sit, stay, roll over and lie down." We love taking Toby to the dog park or beach, where his true nature as a "water dog" shines. Sometimes we think he'd rather be swimming than walking on land. Like we said, he is a great dog.