It was just Another Monday. Toby the little brown terrier cross woke up from his dream still in a sleepy state and took a minute to wonder where he was. Then he remembered, oh yes, he was in the dog shelter, which had been his home for the last six months. The people who worked here had tried to make his kennel comfortable for him, it had some of his toys from his old home, a comfortable bed and blankets to sleep on but it didn’t have his family.
The morning started as Mondays (and every other day) usually did. His handler Molly came and took him out for a walk so he could have a sniff and do his business. Toby particularly liked to visit a little bush with flowers on at the other end of the field each morning, and then have a good sniff around the hedge, picking up on the scent of any wildlife that might have visited in the night.
After his walk Molly took him back to his kennel for breakfast. Toby really liked Molly, she played with him when she took him out and liked to give him cuddles. Toby was a bit of a cuddle bug. On their way back to the kennel Toby saw his friend Jack, a little Dachshund, just going out with his handler, Martin. Toby and Jack had become good friends when Toby first arrived at the shelter. He had felt a bit lost and lonely, and Jack had played with him. They both loved chasing balls and were often allowed to hang out together in the field during afternoon playtime.
Toby looked more closely and realised Jack was dressed in one of the ‘good’ harnesses and was heading in the direction of the reception, not the playfield. In fact, Jack was off to see a prospective new owner who wanted to take him home. Toby had seen a few of his friends leave recently and he felt a bit sad that he was still here. He wondered if it would ever be his turn.
After a rest, Molly appeared at the kennel. Toby knew it was a bit early for lunch and play but when he looked more closely, he saw that Molly was carrying a ‘good’ harness! Toby was excited, did this mean he was going to the reception, was there someone there who wanted to meet him. He hoped so, he missed having someone to call mummy and daddy, who would take him for walks and snuggle up on the sofa at night. He missed his family.
Molly entered the kennel and came over to where Toby was laying on his blankets. She had a brush with her and proceeded to brush his ears and tail, telling him he had to be a good boy as some nice people wanted to meet him. Toby got very excited – maybe this was his turn.
While Molly was combing Toby’s fur, he thought back over the last six months and how much he missed his family. He had been living with his family since he was a puppy (he was 3 now). They had 2 little girls called Jane and Sarah who were like his sisters. He played with them, and they all went for long walks together. In the evening, he would happily curl up on the sofa with them, thinking what a lucky doggy he was.
But one day, daddy said that the family were moving to another country. Toby didn’t really know what he meant, but hoped it was near Nanny’s house because he loved her, she gave great belly rubs and had yummy biscuits. It turned out it didn’t involve Nanny. Mummy and daddy packed up his bed and favourite toys and told him he was going to live in a different place with some other doggies. This worried Toby because he didn’t really understand, and he hadn’t lived with other doggies before. Would he have to share all his toys? Would there be room for him on the sofa? Mummy and daddy loaded Toby and his things into the car and drove to what daddy told him was a shelter where dogs lived. Toby got more confused and upset, would he not be living with mummy, daddy, Jane and Sarah anymore? Had he been a bad dog?
When they arrived Toby was met by a nice man called Craig who gave him a fuss and took them into a small room that Craig called ‘the office’. Daddy was telling Craig about going to a place called Italy to live and they couldn’t take him. Toby was getting more upset, was he really going to be left here by himself?
Daddy handed over the lead to Craig and Toby could see his mummy was crying as she hugged him, which made him more upset. Then mummy and daddy went out of the door, and he was left with Craig who was trying to say nice things about understanding how he felt and that he would hopefully soon find another home. But Toby didn’t want another home, he wanted to go back to the one he knew with mummy and daddy and Jane and Sarah.
Craig took Toby and his belongings to a kennel that he said would be his new home while he was here, and he met Molly for the first time who would be his ‘handler’ and take him for walks and bring him his dinner. After Molly and Craig had settled him in, Toby was left by himself for what felt like forever.
It had been an hour later when Molly returned and took him out for a walk and that was when Toby had met Jack for the first time. From then on, he and Jack had become firm friends.
Molly finished brushing Toby and put the ‘good’ harness on, saying he was going to meet some people who were going to love him. Toby hoped she was right.
Molly took Toby to the Reception where Craig was waiting with a man and woman he had not seen before. Craig introduced Toby to them and told them he was a good boy who liked walks, balls, belly rubs and cuddling on the sofa. The man smiled and the lady got down to Toby’s level and started scratching him behind the ears. Toby decided he liked the lady, so he licked her hand and rolled over for a belly rub. Craig said he would leave them to get to know each other, told Toby to be good, and left.
Although he was nervous, something told Toby that these people were nice. Then the man got out a ball and threw it, so Toby chased it across the room, picked it up and sat for a moment while he decided what to do. He then went back to the man, taking the ball with him. The man seemed very pleased. The lady was also smiling and said something to the man about wanting to take him home and be his new mummy. Toby hoped he had heard properly.
Craig came back into the Office and asked the man how it had gone. The man said they were both very happy with Toby and would like to take him home for a trial visit, to meet their children.
After the man had completed the paperwork, which Toby thought was taking far too long, Craig and Molly appeared with a bag of all of Toby’s toys and bed. They both said goodbye to an excited Toby and wished him lots of luck for his little ‘holiday’. Toby was very excited, where was he going?!
The man and lady loaded Toby and his belongings into the car and drove for what felt like hours to Toby, although was only about 45 minutes, to another house. The lady said she hoped he would like it there and that she really wanted to be his new mummy. As they went in, they were met by two little children who were introduced as John and Sally. They were very excited to see Toby and immediately started to play with him. After a game of fetch in the garden Toby was starting to feel a bit tired from the excitement of the day. The children took him inside and he found that his new mummy had laid out his bed and toys. He climbed in and immediately fell asleep. When he woke up his mummy and daddy said they would all go to the park. Toby loved the park and got excited all over again.
After an hour or so playing in the park with John and Sally, the family returned home for dinner. They gave Toby some of his favourite chicken and after dinner, all settled down on the sofa. Toby of course was very keen to join them and snuggled up in the blanket, sitting between John and Sally. He was feeling very happy.
The next day he heard the man and lady in the kitchen talking. He heard them mention his name and smiling and saying something about how cute he was, and how the children loved him. Toby was really hoping they would let him stay.
For the rest of the day Toby played with the children, went for another long walk in the park and ate and slept. He didn’t think he had slept so well since arriving at the shelter.
After 3 days with the family, Toby heard the man, who he now knew was called Steve, talking to the lady, who was called Gina, about him. It sounded like they were discussing if Toby should stay. Toby hoped with all his might that they would say yes. Not sure what he should do, Toby went over to where Steve and Gina were sitting and licked Gina’s hand. She smiled and reached down and tickled his ears. She then asked Toby if he would like to stay with them permanently. He wasn’t sure what permanently meant but knew he didn’t want to leave the family so, not sure what to do, he jumped up on Gina’s lap and gave her a snuggle.
Gina grinned at Steve and said she thought that answered the question. Steve smiled, nodded and reached for his phone. “Hi Craig, its Steve, we have decided to make Toby a permanent member of our family”.
The End