As I walk around the house today, it is, it seems, like I am walking through a museum or staring at a still life image. There is no movement, no energy, no life. I am waiting for Toby to come upstairs and start yelling at me or suggesting in his own way, to start cooking but there are no sounds of his paws on the hardwood floors and the silence is deafening. Toby had his own schedule and ‘pity the fool’ who messed with it. He would come into our room early in the morning, lay his head on the bed and just stare at me and breathe deep sighs until I would get up. Then the dancing would start with his own way of telling me, “It is about time, dad and I have been up for hours. Let the cooking begin!” After breakfast, it was W-A-L-K time. We wouldn’t dare say the word ‘walk’ or we would have a stampede on our hands. Sometimes after breakfast, I would make the critical error of going into my office to check email before commencing Toby's double starred agenda item. He would then, taking cues from Bette Davis, lie on the couch outside my office and tell me all about the injustices of his world including the tragedy of a walk delayed. In the video below, my boy was asking me why I could even think of working when he had so much love to give me especially 'I am on my walk with my mom' love. And at one point, he tells me, “I have my coat on and nowhere to go!” Oh, Toby. What I would give to hear him sing his version of "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen..." again because nobody sang it better with such drama and soul. I laugh and smile everytime I watch this. Now here's Toby...
“The dog’s agenda is simple, fathomable, overt: I want. “I want to go out, come in, eat something, lie here, play with that, kiss you. There are no ulterior motives with a dog, no mind games, no second-guessing, no complicated negotiations or bargains, and no guilt trips or grudges if a request is denied.”
― Caroline Knapp
