It's a tough reality to face... That dogs age so quickly. When I adopted Toby back in 2010, he was 2-3 ish years old, and man, does time with the pups go by so quickly. Here's our story: A bro and his pooch...

Toby was put up on Craigslist in Vegas in early 2009. Someone had seen him wandering in a dog park a few days in a row and scooped him up, tried to find an owner and didn't have any luck. The chip he had indicated he was originally from Arkansas but their was no information on the little guy. My best friend Rich adopted Toby and brought him home. Rich and his wife had two other dogs, one of which had anxiety issues. Then they had a baby, and Toby, especially as a youngster, was a lot to handle. So they decided they'd try and re-home him, which was a tough decision to make.

I had always liked him when I went over to visit so I said, "what if I took him?" The rest was history..Toby moved in with me in July of 2010 and my girlfriend at the time was not a fan. Which was great news for me, cause she eventually took off. He wasn't the entire issue but he certainly helped expedite the process.

Toby went on my radio adventure with me. We moved to Tampa, Florida, Denver, Colorado, back to Vegas and then to San Diego. In that time I've added a fiance and some other pups. About a year ago, we moved into a townhouse in San Diego which was a HUGE mistake. Toby is a barker and the neighbors immediately hated us and tried to have us evicted. So I sent him to live with my sister for a bit while we figured things out, which ended up taking a lot longer than we initially thought. My sister moved and couldn't take him so we sent him to live with my mom in Texas in December since we still weren't quite settled.

Well, now we're settled in here in Idaho and it's time for him to come home. I never intended for him to be gone for nearly a year, especially in his golden years, but that's how it's worked out and I guess I have a bit of guilt over it.

In the time he's been gone, he seems to have aged a bit. My mom was saying his walking is a bit stiff in the morning and at night, and the vet that cleared him for his flight said he struggled lifting his legs a bit. She even called him a sweet old man, which is endearing but further proof that the little guy is aging.

I really have a tough time with animal death, it hits me a LOT harder than human death in most cases and I think it's because of the innocence that dogs have. The good news is that even though he seems to have some arthritic symptoms, he can still run and make a ton of noise so even though he's (my rough estimate of his age anyway) about 12, I think I have a bit of time left.

I have heard that here in the Treasure Valley there are services that, when it's time, will come to the house for the final goodbye, versus taking him into the vet and laying him on a cold piece of metal.

Toby, specifically, will always hold a special place in my heart. He's the pup that was there with me through my 20's. He was there with me in Florida and Colorado, he was there when I was hired and fired, there through relationships good and bad. He's been there while I (yes, a grown man) was sobbing crying, laughing, all of it. There was eveb once a time I woke up in the morning and he was covered in vomit because I drank too much the night before and he forgave me. But I guess that's what we sign up for with dogs; unconditional love for a limited  amount of time.

So welcome home, pooch! Let's enjoy your golden years with lots of treats (safe for dogs who've lost some teeth, of course), some fun walks, pets and hopefully little to no pee in the house. Check out his little checkup paperwork...

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