I loved playing with Mona.
But Mona wasn’t there all the time. Patsy was usually around in the day, but often, she sat in a chair at a desk and tapped away on a plastic keyboard that did not even smell interesting. When she did that, she shooed me away. “Not now, Toby. I’m working,” she’d say.
I soon came to understand that working meant “no fun.”
Luckily, there were other people to see. I visited Grandad a lot, and sometimes Tyler was there, too. As I trotted up and down the halls, I got to know others.
There was one big room with several windows where there were soft couches and comfy chairs that got a lot of sunlight. That was a good room to visit. People were usually sitting on the couches, watching a black plastic box that blared out sound and showed moving pictures. I sniffed at it a time or two, but the pictures did not smell, so I knew that they were not real.
Frankly, I did not understand why people liked to look at that thing so much when they could have been chasing a ball or chewing a stick or petting a dog. But people are funny like that.
When I trotted into that room, there was always someone who would pet me or invite me to sit on the couch beside him or her. Some of my friends started keeping treats in their pockets for me, which of course made me even more interested in saying hello to them.
One woman was almost always there. She sat in a particular corner of the couch and didn’t say much to anyone.
“Dorothy, wouldn’t you like to come down the hall to the craft session?” people would say, stopping to talk to her. “Dorothy, isn’t it time for your physical therapy?” “Dorothy, what if I take you outside in your wheelchair?”
That’s how I figured out that her name was Dorothy. People used her name with her just like Mona used my name with me when we were doing Training.
I wondered if those people were trying to train Dorothy. She didn’t look as if she enjoyed it much more than I did. They probably needed to feed her better treats.
Dorothy didn’t usually answer the people. She didn’t seem to talk very much. But she would say my name when I came by and reach down to rub behind my ears.
Her fingers were not very strong, but they were gentle and knew just the right spots. I’d sit down beside her and lean my head into her hand.
One day, when I came for my usual visit, Dorothy showed me something in her hand.
A ball! A small rubber ball. My tail began to swing back and forth. Balls were for chasing.
“You like that, don’t you, little Toby?” Dorothy said very quietly. “All right, then.”
She threw the ball for me.
It did not go very far. It hit a wall and rolled a little distance, and then bounced weakly off a chair with wheels. “Oh my!” said the person in the chair.
I chased the ball down, but it was so close by that I actually ran too far and had to skid to a stop, turn around, and grab it in my mouth.
Triumphantly, I brought the ball back to Dorothy.
Dorothy threw it for me a few more times. It wasn’t like chasing a ball outside with Mona. Mona could throw a ball so that it went nearly all the way across the lawn. When Dorothy did the throwing, the ball only went a short distance. Once, I had to chase it under the legs of a table. More than once I dodged around a few people pushing those odd half cages that Grandad liked to use. All of that slowed me down.
But I got the ball each time and brought it back to Dorothy. Then I licked her shoes to say good-bye and hurried off to see some more of my friends.
Patsy was standing in the door of the room when I went back out into the hallway. “Well, look at that!” she murmured to herself. She was smiling.
After that, Dorothy usually had the little ball with her when I came by to visit. She got better and better at throwing it, too. It was more fun to chase it when she could put more power behind the throw.
It still bounced off chairs and walls and zigzagged under tables, though. More than once, I had to burrow under the couch to get it and return it to Dorothy’s hand. I always found it, though. That ball could not escape me!
A few weeks after I’d first gotten to know Dorothy, she surprised me a little. When I came to visit her, she was not sitting in her usual corner of the couch. Instead, she was in one of the chairs with wheels.
Patsy happened to come into the room. “Hi, Dorothy,” she said cheerfully. “Do you want to throw the ball for Toby today? I know he looks forward to it!”
“Outside,” Dorothy said briefly. “I want to throw the ball for Toby outside. In the grass. Where he can really run.”
I could see surprise in Patsy’s face and the way her body stiffened just for a moment. Then she smiled.
“What a superb idea,” she said. “Toby will love that. Come, Toby!”
Mona had taught me Come. I knew that it meant I was supposed to stick close to the person who said it, and there would be a reward. So I stayed right at Patsy’s heels as she pushed Dorothy in the rolling chair. Together we headed out onto the lawn.
The lawn! I loved the lawn. I raced in a quick circle. I figured that was not against the rules of Come, since I went right back to Patsy. I waited for my treat.
Instead, Dorothy threw the ball.
Excellent! This was nearly as good as a treat! There was so much more room for the ball to go, bouncing and rolling over the grass. Dorothy had gotten better and better at throwing it, too. I tore after it joyfully. It was more fun when I didn’t have to dodge around feet and beneath tables, when I could just run and run with all the speed my paws were capable of.
“What a throw!” Patsy said when I snatched the ball in midair and swerved to bring it back to Dorothy in her chair. “Good boy, Toby!”
I knew I was a good boy. Chasing was good. Running was good. Catching the ball and bringing it back was extremely good.
I dropped the ball at Dorothy’s feet, wagging so hard that my whole rump wiggled. Dorothy leaned down to pick up the ball and threw it again.
8
Dorothy and I played outside most days after that. My favorite game, though, was running down the hallways. Sometimes Mona played with me. Sometimes Patsy did. Every now and then, Eddie joined in. It was always sensational.
Fran never played. But sometimes she watched. I wished she’d take part. She never smelled very happy, and a good game of Chase would probably make things better.
But one day Fran came to find me where I was having a quick snooze on the couch next to Dorothy. She clipped a leash on my collar and told me to come with her.
I heard “Come,” so I hopped off the couch and followed Fran. But she didn’t know how to do Training right. She did not give me a treat or even any petting or praise for walking by her side.
She took me to a room with a desk in it. On the desk was one of those plastic boxes that Patsy sometimes stared at. Fran sat down in a chair and waited.
I waited, too. It was dull. I sniffed along the carpet, but nothing smelled like food. I checked a wastebasket under the desk, but Fran made a disapproving grunt and pushed me away with her foot.
It only smelled like paper, anyway. Paper is not much fun to chew. So I was very happy when Patsy and Mona walked into the office a short time later. They understood playing much better than Fran did.
Except that they seemed to have forgotten, because the three of them just stood there and looked at each other and said words. Lots of words.
Humans like to do this almost as much as they like to stare at boxes with pictures on them.
“The dog is not working out,” Fran said firmly.
Mona gasped. “Toby?”
I looked up hopefully and wagged harder. She’d said my name. Playing? Soon? Treats, maybe?
But she didn’t even look at me.
“He tears up and down the halls like this is a racetrack,” Fran said. “Yesterday, I saw him running around the hospice ward! The people there need peace and quiet and comfort. Not a steeplechase!”
“Eddie and I grabbed him right away,” Mo
na said.
Fran was frowning. “That’s not the point.”
Whatever they were talking about, it didn’t seem to involve me. Or a ball to throw. But when there’s nothing to play with, a dog can always improvise. Fran had let my leash drop, and I wandered away from her and jumped up on a small couch in a corner of the room.
“I think he’s calming down a lot,” Mona said nervously.
“And all the residents love him,” Patsy added. “I see them brighten up when he walks into a room. Did you know that Dorothy goes outside to throw the ball for him nearly every day? I couldn’t get her engaged in anything before this. All she wanted was to watch television. She hardly talked to anyone. Now she’s going outside daily! Because of Toby.”
“That hardly makes up for all the disruption,” Fran said. “And can you get him off my couch, please?”
There were two soft cushions on the couch. I grabbed at one and sank my teeth into it deeply. It was just the right size to shake hard. I shook. Stitches ripped.
“Toby! No!” Mona wailed. She tried to grab the cushion from my hand.
Excellent! Tug! I loved Tug! I jumped down, braced my feet in the carpet, and did my best to resist as Mona tried to drag the cushion from my mouth. I wouldn’t let her! I was going to win!
But then Mona very unfairly worked her fingers into my mouth to force my jaws open and snatched the pillow away from me.
Mona threw the cushion back on the couch, sat down on the floor, and picked me up, holding me on her lap. I could feel that she was worried, but I couldn’t see why. We’d play another game soon.
“The point is, he’s not trainable,” Fran said. “I gave this every chance, but he’s a young beagle, and he’s got way too much energy. He’s not safe. He’s going to knock someone over or make them trip, the way he tears through the hallways. No. It’s not working out, and there’s nothing left to try. Take an ad out in the paper, online, whatever. We have to get rid of this dog.”
Mona gasped as if something hurt her. She held me tightly to her chest. It was not very comfortable, but I could tell she needed me, so I didn’t struggle. I did squirm around so I could lick her chin.
“Get rid of Toby?” she asked. “You can’t! You just can’t!”
She’d said my name! I loved Mona. I licked harder.
“Mona,” Patsy said. “Bring Toby and come with me.”
Mona and Patsy went back into the little room that smelled like Patsy. Mona sat down on the floor and cuddled me close. “We can’t just get rid of him!” she wailed, and a few tears slipped down her face. They tasted salty. “He hasn’t done anything wrong!”
“I know he hasn’t,” Patsy said. She sounded sad, too. I would go over and lick her face soon. That would help. “Fran does have a point, though, Mona. We thought he was a calm, easygoing puppy when we got him. But the truth is he wasn’t well. Thank goodness we figured that out and helped him. But now—well, he’s a beagle. And beagles love to run.”
“If we could just take him home…,” Mona said.
“You know we can’t. No pets. It’s the apartment rule.”
“I know.” Mona wiped her face. “But Fran’s not right about the training. Toby’s really smart. He picks things up so quickly.”
“Except Stay. Or Lie Still,” Patsy said gently.
My ears drooped at the sound of those words. We weren’t doing Training now, were we?
“If I just had a little more time, I could teach him!” Mona said. “Please, Mom. He’s such a good dog.”
I wagged. I liked being a good dog.
Patsy sighed. “I’ll do what I can, Mona. But don’t get your hopes up. I can drag my feet a little about putting out an ad, but Fran’s the boss here. If she says Toby has to go, there’s nothing either you or I can do.”
The next morning, when I went to see Dorothy, Patsy and Mona were already there. “Of course I’ll try,” I heard Dorothy say. “Anything for Toby.”
I raced up to Dorothy, who was sitting in her wheelchair. But we didn’t go outside! I watched, puzzled, as Patsy helped Dorothy move out of the wheelchair and sit on the couch.
I looked all over for the little ball. I did not see it anywhere.
Mona patted the couch next to Dorothy. “Up here, Toby.”
I jumped up and sniffed at Dorothy’s lap. Was the ball there?
“Toby, sit!” Mona told me. I sighed and sat. Oh well. If I must.
“Down,” Mona said. I reluctantly slid on my belly right next to Dorothy. Training was not anywhere near as fun as chasing the ball.
“Now, lie still, Toby. Lie still!” Mona said. She backed up a few steps. It seemed as if she were holding her breath.
Dorothy’s soft, gentle hand touched my head and stroked all the way down my back.
I wagged once. Then I hopped up and stuck my whole head under one of the cushions. Maybe the ball was here? Since Dorothy seemed to have forgotten it, I figured it was my job to remind her.
“Toby, no!” Mona said. I pulled my head out from under the cushion and looked at her in surprise. No? Why was she saying no?
She told me to sit and lie down again. I did it. Why did Training mean having to do things so many times?
“Lie still, Toby,” Mona told me. I looked up at her hopefully. When were we going to play?
“Okay,” Mona whispered. “We won’t make him do it for too long. Just a few seconds more…”
Suddenly, I had an idea. My ears twitched with the excitement of it. Maybe the little ball was lost! Maybe that was why we weren’t playing with it. All I had to bring Dorothy was another toy!
I leaped off the couch and raced out of the room. Next to my bed was the basket full of toys. I dug through it and found one that I liked a lot, a braided rope with a ring at one end. With that in my teeth, I trotted back to the TV room.
Dorothy was still on the couch. Mona was sitting on it, too, looking discouraged.
I jumped up and laid the braided rope in Dorothy’s lap. I’d solved the problem! Now we could play! That would definitely cheer Dorothy up. Mona, too.
“Oh, Toby,” Mona groaned.
I played Lie Still with quite a few of my friends that day. Mona seemed to have forgotten the rules of the game, though, because I never got any treats.
I forgave her. I loved her very much. When she put me in my bed before she left that night, she kissed the top of my head, and I felt so much love from her that my tail beat against my soft blankets.
“Toby, you have to do better,” she whispered to me. “You’ve got to learn this!”
I loved hearing Mona say my name. I licked her nose. I couldn’t wait to play more tomorrow.
9
That night, I explored the halls and slept at the foot of Dorothy’s bed. The next day turned out to be one of those days when Mona did not come in the morning. Patsy found me with Dorothy and took me out to the lawn so that I could pee.
Someone came to the door while I was busy doing that. “Patsy? Fran needs to ask you something,” the woman called.
“Okay. Toby, I’ll be right back,” Patsy said. “Be good.”
I wagged. It was nice to hear the word “good.” I was good.
I yawned and stretched, working out the kinks in my back legs and then in my front ones. I thought about the food that would be waiting for me in my bowl. I thought about Eddie and about bacon.
Soon, I’d be eating. That was such a lovely thought, I wagged my tail. Meanwhile, I sniffed along the grass. Then I froze.
Something had moved, a nervous little twitch that had caught my attention. An animal, crouched in the grass. Now it was sitting perfectly still, but it was too late for that. I knew it was there.
Its smell drifted across the lawn to me. Not a squirrel. Something different. Something interesting.
I had to find out more.
I started across the lawn toward the new animal, and instantly, it turned and ran. It did not run like a squirrel, though, or like a dog, racing across the ground. I
nstead, it leaped! A giant jump took it ahead, and then it gathered its back legs under it and leaped again!
I was so surprised that I barked. Then I tore after it, my claws digging into the soft dirt and ripping up clumps of grass. I needed to catch this animal before it ran up a tree like the squirrels always did!
To my surprise, it did not head for the trees. Instead, it bounded straight into a bush that grew against the back fence. I followed close behind. Leaves whapped at my face, but I could still see the jumping animal dive into a hole in the fence, wiggle for a moment, and disappear.
I squirmed forward and put my nose into the hole. I could not fit through it like my quarry had. Not fair! I pulled my nose back and barked in frustration.
This was a problem to solve. When Dorothy had lost the little ball, I’d solved that problem by bringing her the rope. Now I had to figure out a new puzzle.
It wasn’t hard. The hole was too small for me—so I would make the hole bigger!
I scrabbled at the dirt under the fence with both paws. It was damp and soft, and the hole was bigger in no time. I flung myself into it. It was a tight squeeze, but I wiggled and twisted and shoved with my back legs, and with one last effort, I was through!
Now where had that jumping animal gone? I shook dirt off my fur and looked around.
No animals. Disappointing. But I did see a sidewalk, and a road, and new trees that might have squirrels in them. And coming along the road, I saw something else.
A group of boys, all of them wearing shorts and T-shirts, all of them running.
Running! Excellent!
The boys came closer and closer, and a warm wind blew their scent to me. My head and ears lifted. They all smelled sweaty, and most of them smelled happy, but one smell in particular was familiar. Tyler was running in that group of boys!
I dashed forward to meet them. A friend! This was outstanding!
I ran in circles around the boys, barking happily. They laughed and slowed down, and Tyler got down on one knee to pet me. He was breathing in big gasps.
“Good boy, Toby,” he panted. “What are you doing out, huh?”
Toby's Story Page 5