TobyMonster

Meet the Toby Monster!

Toby isn't really a monster, but I'm sure our other four dogs, all senior citizens, think so. He is full of puppy energy and attitude!

Toby was originally turned in to a shelter. Because of a disability, he was considered unadoptable and Oldies But Goodies cocker spaniel rescue was called. OBG took him in, and I offered to foster him.

Toby came to live with us when he was about eight weeks old and weighed only four pounds. We initially thought he had one bad leg, but his problem was far more serious. It turned out both front legs suffered from birth defects. We decided to adopt him and do all we could to help him overcome his disability.

Toby has no idea he is handicapped. He scoots around on his elbows, and he's as fast as lightning! He has a happy and exhuberant nature. His joy for living is infectious; you can't help but smile when Toby's in the room.

Toby likes his four doggie brothers--all adopted--but most of them aren't crazy about him. They are all much older, and Toby has too much energy for all of them except Keeper. He and Keeper love to wrestle. Keeper is very good about being gentle with the much-smaller Toby.

His left leg cannot be fixed, but Toby had surgery on the right leg. Our vet at Four County Animal Hospital called in an orthopedic specialist to evaluate Toby and to perform the surgery.

Toby spent five weeks in a cast. The first three weeks were in a hard cast and the last two in a soft cast. That was the easy part. Now he has to learn to use his right leg and ignore the left one.

So far, so good. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation to learn to walk as a three-legged dog. Since he has never walked normally, it is a challenge to find ways to teach him and to hold his interest. A puppy has a very short attention span!

The rehab therapists at Paradise Animal Hospital have come up with a program of swim therapy to help Toby. One of the biggest challenges was to find a comfortable way to secure his left leg so he wouldn't try to use it while learning to walk on the three "good" legs. They had the ingenious idea of using a sweatshirt sleeve. The ribbed cuff of the sleeve serves as a sort of turtleneck for him. A slit cut in one side exposes right leg while the rest of the sleeve comfortably holds the left leg in place. We use this same sleeve method at home plus a harness and leash to help Toby practice his walking.

Toby also has a homemade cart for rehab. It's made of plumbing supplies and he is suspended by a harness to practice walking on three legs.

Along the way, Toby has had other problems. First, he had lice (when he first came to rescue) and more recently a cherry eye (swelling of the third eyelid). Both conditions were quickly resolved with proper veterinary care.

Toby has a loving forever home where he never has to worry about getting assitance for medical problems. However, there are lots of needy cockers out there still waiting for assistance. If you would like to help Oldies But Goodies care for these dogs, please visit their website. Fostering and/or adopting a special needs dog is a most rewarding experience. If you can't take a dog into your home, you can still help through your monetary donations and support of OBG's fundraising activities.

People say Toby is lucky to have us. Every time I look into those big brown eyes, I realize we are the ones who are lucky.

On to The Terrible Twos!

Toby's Adventures

E-mail Toby

Toby's Story in Pictures
Toby upon arrival. A deformed elbow joint, due to birth defects, makes the left front leg useless and causes the paw to turn outward.
	Right away it was obvious Toby had birth defects in both front legs, not just the left one. Didn't slow him down. He raced through the house and around the yard on his elbows. With his paws turned outward, he looked like a seal bouncing along on its flippers.
Toby enjoying an appropriate toy. We encourage him to play with dog toys instead of shoes, hands, feet, or the ears and tails of his much older brothers. It's this wild puppy play that has earned him the nickname of TobyMonster!

	Toby when he's being sweet and innocent. He really is a wonderful boy with a sweet and happy temperament. He loves everybody--people, dogs, maybe even cats (despite being whacked in the snout by one of the resident cats at the vet's office).
Our favorite picture.
	Toby playing with (terrorizing?) his brother Keeper, a cocker-lab mix. Keeper is the only one of our senior dogs who truly seems to enjoy Toby's company. We fostered Keeper five years ago. When his owner decided to give him up last year, we didn't hesitate to take him back. He's a good dog and visits Alzheimer patients in a local nursing home.
Toby with his favorite stuffed toy, Mr. Lynx.
	Toby just after surgery. He was in a hard cast for three weeks and then a soft cast for two weeks. That didn't slow him down either.

Toby at swim therapy. He gets a very serious look on his face during his workouts on the underwater treadmill. Therapy is building strength in his right front leg and he's learning to be a three-legged dog.
	Toby using the prototype of his homemade cart to help rehabilitate his leg. We now put his "turtleneck" shirt sleeve on him before going in the cart to keep his left leg immobilized while he tries to walk using the right front leg for support.
If Toby were a human, these would be the kind of embarrassing baby pictures parents would show to his girlfriend. Toby signals what he's about to do: Tail straight up for Number One!
	And a hook in the tail for Number Two!
Toby at the end of a busy day. He's recently taken to sleeping under his bed instead of on it. We don't pretend to understand how a puppy's mind works.