Tober

Just a little over two weeks ago, I was extraordinarily excited. I was going to meet Tober. He was a dog I found on adopt-a-pet.com that was being fostered by ST Furever Freedom. And boy, was he cute.

Look at that awesome face.

Kyle and I fell in love with him immediately. He was a little goofy and ridiculously sweet. We adopted him on the spot, but under the circumstances that we wouldn't be able to take him back until just after Thanksgiving when we moved into our new apartment.

That weekend, I went to pick him up so we could hang out for the day. I immediately learned that he was a little stubborn, refusing to get out of the drivers seat. And he was strong. We got in and out of the car a few times before I was able to make him stay in the passengers seat. Even then, he placed his head on my lap, determined to be right next to me. He was so good and so sweet the rest of the day, nudging my hand to pet him and waddling across the slick pet store floors since he couldn't catch his balance. 

We went on a long walk with my former roommate and her dog and I began to notice towards the end that he was having trouble walking. He began to limp a little which obviously worried me, but I was mainly concerned that he may have hurt something. I had also noticed earlier during the day when we were going over "sit" that he refused to sit on anything hard, but would sit awkwardly on the carpet or on the grass, so I figured it was related. At the end of the day, I picked him up and placed him back in my car and took him back to his foster mom.

Tober waiting patiently as I ate my lunch. "We're going on that walk you promised soon right? That chicken you have there looks good too."

The foster mom and I talked about his limp some, and even though we both decided it was likely a small injury, she went ahead and took him to the vet to be sure.

As it turned out, he had an Ehrlichia infection, a tick born disease that could cause neurological issues when it reached the chronic stage. He was given a 50/50 chance, but as he had shown no other symptoms whatsoever besides the neurological issues that were otherwise causing him no pain, the outlook was mostly positive. He would always be a special needs boy, but I was prepared to have to carry him up and down stairs and lifting him into my car. They offered me the adoption money back as I was willing to still take him on, but I refused knowing how much vet care they had put into him.

He was given antibiotics and responded very well to them almost immediately. He was happy, walking around normally, and overall continued to be the sweet boy he was.

Kyle and I picked him up a few days after the diagnosis to take him out with Kyle's brother and his wife, son and dogs. Tober was great with all of the dogs and even with the little baby, occasionally sniffing the baby's feet and cocking his head to ask "what's that?" but otherwise disinterested. We went to Umstead park to do a short hike, and at first, Tober was fantastic. He was interested in other dogs and people, going up to everyone that would even possibly pet him.

Then, we reached some stairs to go on a bridge and it was hard not to giggle a little as he awkwardly made his way down. We reached a creek bank, and while attempting to balance himself on the ledge in order to step down in the water, he lost his balance and went in head first. He recovered well and looked at me as though saying "I did it!" I began to worry some at this point, but as he was still being just as happy and goofy as before, I ultimately didn't think much of it.

Again, we loaded him back into my car and took him back to his foster mom. All seemed well, until the next night when I received a phone call from ST Furever Freedom. The foster mom had called in, and distraught, asked them to call me and let me know that Tober wasn't doing well. His condition had drastically taken a turn for the worse, and he could no longer balance himself or hold his head straight. As Tober was too far away for me to make a trip to go and see him in order to take him to the vet, I told them that I trusted them to make the right decision for him. 

Today was Tober's last day.

There's no blame here, there is no lesson to be learned. A wonderful dog became sick with an unusual disease that ultimately led to the decision that he would have an unfulfilled and painful life. I can only be happy that he got to spend his last couple of months in luxury in comparison to the shelter where he was due to be gassed the day he was rescued.

The boxes containing his dog bed and his unassembled crate remain untouched in the corner of my apartment. The dog food samples I got for him lay unopened on the kitchen counter. There's a message on my phone from the foster mother describing the experience at the vet that cuts off abruptly after her voice cracked. I lost my dog before he was even able to be my dog and it hurts. 

Please, go hug your pets for me and for Tober.