(M)ann's Best Friend by Toby

Hi, I’m Toby, Ann’s dog. Today is my birthday.

I’m two years old. I was born on an Amish farm in Montgomery, Indiana on May 28, 2008. I almost didn’t get to be Ann’s dog.

Ann was a dog lover; you know, the kind of person who sees us dogs as people too. In January of 2007, Ann and Randy’s dog Mocha died. He was 16 years old. Ann cried and cried. Randy cried a little bit too, but he wanted to take a “dog break.” Ann reluctantly agreed, but when she got sick, her desire to have another dog grew very strong.

Ann always admired my breed, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, (and I’m not braggin’), but we are very expensive. When Ann found an ad in the paper where a breeder was liquidating his operation and selling the remaining dogs cheap, Randy agreed to take a look.

Randy and Ann drove up to my house in August of 2008. I was only 8 weeks old and when Ann saw the perfect crown on my head, she knew I was the one!

Randy tried to train me to sleep in my crate, but that didn’t last very long. I ended up sleeping with them — right where I belonged.

Ann took me for long, long walks, then shorter walks and finally she couldn’t take walks anymore. That’s when I snuggled in real close. They say I eased her pain, but I was just being me.

One day Randy took Ann to the hospital and she didn’t come home.

I miss Ann, but my tail just wags and wags when I think about this:

She now has a perfect crown too!