After eight months in a Virginia shelter and time running out, Toby was brought to an animal rescue league in Massachusetts. We first saw him on their website in October of 2005, but we weren’t actively looking. We accidentally found the same site in December and Toby was still there, so we went to take a look. He was sad, shy, and at 50lbs, obese, with greasy fur and a heavy brown discharge in both ears. Despite his poor appearance, we knew we had to adopt Toby after spending just a few moments with him.
He had a very hard time adjusting at first. He wouldn’t eat and was fearful of loud noises and whenever we reached out to him. Vet appointments revealed cuts on his paws, tapeworms, and impacted anal glands that made him smell like a skunk! He also needed steroid injections for sore skin and antibiotics for Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotty fever. He was hypothyroid and needed meds for the rest of his life. Throughout repeated trips to the vet, Toby’s sweet personality started to emerge. After he lost the extra weight and got healthier, we saw he was a beautiful, very smart, pure-bred Beagle who never resorted to aggression, even if scared. He learned his name and quickly adjusted to our daily routine. He didn’t chew things or mess in the house, and never jumped on the couch unless invited. He was, however, still fearful of strangers, only ate late at night when everyone was asleep, and preferred to stay inside on his bed where he felt the most safe. After visiting a behavioral specialist, Toby spent more time with us rather than wanting to be alone. He also started to enjoy our walks around town and to the park.
Then, during an evening walk on May 12, 2006, Toby wiggled out of his collar with one quick twist of his head! At first, we thought he’d come right back to us, but he moved further away, and then crossed a busy intersection. Now, we realized things were really bad. We were left standing there with his leash and collar with tags, watching him disappear into a neighborhood he’s never been to before, far from home. We stayed up all night searching. We took off work the next day to print flyers and post them all over town. We called the dog officer, shelters, and animal hospitals. The next night, we got our first call when Toby was seen crossing a street far from where he disappeared. The people who almost hit him with their car had our flyer and was sure it was him, so they pulled over to try to catch him. He stopped briefly but then ran into the woods. We scoured the wooded area with flashlights but to no avail.
We held a search party that weekend in that neighborhood. We found many people saw him at night after their dogs started barking, but he was scared to go up to them and ran away. We finally saw him ourselves, and he started coming to us but got spooked by a noise and ran back into the woods. At that point, we knew the situation was getting worse. People trying to catch him were just making him more scared and trapping became our only option. We tried to go through official channels, but they were not equipped to help our situation. Then, through word of mouth, we found Debbie Hall. She came right away, even though we live an hour away. She set up her cage trap in the area where Toby was last seen, and we drove home to get some sleep. About 11:30 PM a neighbor knocked on our door to say he just saw Toby outside our house! We couldn’t believe it! We were 10-15 minutes by car and two interstate highways away from where he’d been hiding the past four days. We went out looking and confirmed the sighting….it was true. Toby managed to find his way home and was hanging out in a wooded path near our house. He’d come out about 10 PM and leave by 4:30 AM to hide for the day. Debbie set up a humane trap before dark and stayed until dawn in her Jeep. Toby visited her trap multiple times every night, which gave us hope. He’d eat tidbits left in an outside bait bowl, then stick his head in the trap to sniff the food bowl, but never went in far enough to trip the plate. After about two weeks, Debbie caught Toby at 10:30 PM with pieces of pizza strewn on top of bits of meatballs, chicken, cheese, hotdogs, and peanut butter.
It was a short haul in the Jeep to Toby’s home and a joyful outcome. His paw pads worn, he lost 5 lbs, and had 52 ticks, but otherwise he survived unharmed. Somehow, the experience of being out on his own helped him resolve trust issues. Now, a happy, loving dog at 35 lbs, he follows us everywhere, jumps in bed to sleep with us, plays with his toys, and eats the minute we put his food down. He has become the little love bug that we always wanted.