Tag Archives: pet parenthood

Puppy Tales, Part 41

Toby the Puppy is going to have to share this blog post tribute with another member of our family … but he’s still a champ.

Toby is comfortable around virtually all human beings. The only group of people that makes him slightly uncomfortable is young ones, mainly those of toddler age.

Well, you can scratch little Emma Nicole — our precious granddaughter — from the list of young ones who give Toby the Puppy the heebie-jeebies.

Emma and her Daddy — the younger of our two sons — arrived this weekend for a visit. We were waiting outside for them and the moment Toby saw little Emma jump out of the car … well, let’s just say he went nuts.

He greeted Emma the way he greets his Mommy and me when we’ve been away for any length of time. Indeed, he gets hyper-excited when we’re gone for 20 minutes, let alone for two hours! Emma got the treatment he reserves for those he recognizes, which is a very good thing, given that we still live some distance from Emma — for the time being.

How did our little 4-year-old react to the enthusiastic greeting? She loved it! Indeed, she loves Toby very much and showers him with plenty of tender, loving care.

As an aside, I should add that Toby and Madden — our granddaughter’s large and loving black Lab — also are big-time pals. Toby weighs about 10 pounds; Madden, aka “Mad Dog,” tips the beam at around 80 pounds, give or take. They play and tussle with great enthusiasm whenever they’re together.

The weekend figures to be a fun event for little Emma, who gets to play with her “other” puppy. As for Toby, he too will be in his element, enjoying the endless supply of TLC that Emma will deliver.