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In loving memory of Toby, a special Cairn terrier who was a source of constant joy for his Seattle family from December 24, 1998 - January 19, 2010. This movie was made in fall 2005 to thank one of Toby's people-friends who mailed him some *extremely delicious* doggie treats all the way from Sweden! These moist, chewy nuggets were probably Toby's favorite “dognip“ snack of all time. He'd dance in circles if he heard his brother rustling the distinctive plastic bag in the pantry! Toby loved to sleep with up to three (!) of his favorite toys at a time -- usually one in his mouth and two nearby. He loved to play games his momma and brother invented, like “Helicopter Rescue,“ where he would dangle mid-air with his strong jaws clenching a suspended tug-toy. He loved rough-housing horseplay, but was gentle with small children and visiting pets. One time when he accidentally scared a visiting baby and made her cry, he felt so badly that he spent the whole night sleeping at the foot of the baby's bed. Toby even growled when his momma tried to take him to bed, as if to say, “Please let me sleep upstairs tonight with our company, Momma, can't you see I'm watching over the baby because I feel bad about scaring it earlier?“ Foxy little Toby sadly passed on before his time was up. At age 11, he suddenly contracted incurable Cushing's disease (caused by pancreas failure after he was viciously mauled by a neighbor's large outdoor dog in May 2009 - an attack so vicious it took him two months to heal and cost $5,000 in vet bills). Although it seemed Toby recovered for several months, his blood was slowly filling with painful crystals, and he went from being delightfully playful to deathly ill in a span of two days. Toby didn't know why his little body was failing; his face showed he was very confused and embarassed about his uncontrollable accidents in those last hours. On the advice of two vets, one of whom was Toby's own uncle, he was gently put to sleep in his daddy's arms on January 19, 2010. Toby was very weak, but he managed to lick his dad's face a few times, as if he knew it was time to say goodbye. We're sure Toby's sweet-natured, intelligent, and boundlessly energetic spirit will go on to have fun new adventures somewhere in the continuum of things. He will always be remembered lovingly for the time we were lucky to share with him here. The soundtrack is called, “More, More, More“ by Andrea True.
