Meet Toby. This young man is a Carin terrier and four-years-young (nearing 30 in dog years). He’s been back and forth across the pond to the UK twice and eagerly awaiting his next trip according to his pet parents Bill and Patricia. We love Toby’s travelogues (sent by Bill) and Jessica, Toby’s expert pet mover, loves the flowers Toby sends.
So for grins and giggles, join us for a bit of Toby’s Travels: Brit About Town.
The summer of the millennium rolls on, and on. Toby is delighted at the long days of horizon to horizon blue skies with balmy temperatures: ideal for long rambles across the meadows and lanes of our part of really rural England. He had an encounter with a rather large horse last week and was in awe for the rest of the day. The horse was a bay with a young girl riding, cantering to a halt just a few yards ahead of us. She and her horse were very friendly, I'm not sure the horse had ever seen a Cairn Terrier of Toby's size or color, but he was certainly interested and, fortunately, friendly too. Where else but England?
He's a bit of a village celebrity here, dubbed the "friendliest dog in the village." Everybody knows Toby, well the village is only about a thousand souls, many of them elderly and sort of shut-ins. Toby gets his reputation by going up to the very young and the very old with bold directness and a wagging tail. I follow along on the other end of his leash giving his name and age and reassuring strangers (those who don't speak to him first, usually addressing him by name) that he's quite harmless.
For his breed, he is amazingly good with children, especially the pre-toddlers in push chairs. The other day a Mum was distracted from her pushchair with a very young citizen with no shoes or socks on. We're having a wonderful summer so this is not uncommon. Toby introduced himself by having a lick of the baby's toes, tickling him I suppose, for what attracted everyone's attention was that the kid began to giggle hilariously. Its Mum said this was the first time she had heard her baby really giggle and thanked Toby for his attention. I offered a damp cloth to wipe him down and assured Mum that all Toby's shots were up to date. She brushed me aside and made an affectionate fuss over Toby. Over here we carry wipe packets as well as poop bags in case of accidents: very tidy the British.
That's the way Toby makes his friends here; I'm quite superfluous, the only people who know my name are our close neighbors and fellow pub habitués. That's another frequent haunt of Toby's: our local pub welcomes dogs, some wander in on their own, others bring their humans. Both are treated with the same deference, tolerance, and respect. Some (not Toby) even sip the occasional saucer of beer! It's a different world.
We would like to bring Toby (he too has friends in Tampa) with us. Could you please arrange the same pick up for him as before (late morning or early afternoon of the day before) by the company you are using (we still have his travel kennel and it is quite serviceable still). We plan to depart shortly after Toby is picked up for London, overnighting there for our flight next day. We can pick him up at your office on our way from the airport to our condo or you might arrange for him to be delivered to the condo, given the late afternoon arrival time there on the day. I’ll leave that to you.
