• Balcony Surveillance Duty

    At some point, Toby decided he had a job. We lived in a condo facing the Mont Saint Hilaire train station. It was a busy street. Trains passing. Cars stopping. People walking. Dogs being walked. Bikes rushing by. For a smart poodle with an eye for detail, it was endlessly fascinating. Being on the first…

  • Chief Squirrel Compliance Officer

    Every dog has an enemy. For some, it is the mail carrier.For others, it is vacuum cleaners.For Toby, it was squirrels. Specifically, urban squirrels. The confident ones. The ones who knew exactly what they were doing. The ones who dared to exist within his line of sight. Living near the Mont Saint Hilaire train station…

  • The Christmas He Belonged To

    Christmas has a way of bringing certain presences back with it. The lights go up. The air turns colder. The evenings grow quieter. And even years later, this season still carries Toby with it, gently and insistently, like a memory that knows exactly when to return. In 2020 and 2021, Christmas was different. The world…

  • The Butt Scratch Ritual

    There are some things all dogs agree on.One of them is butt scratches. Toby was no exception. I do not think there is a single dog owner on earth who does not recognize the reaction. That immediate lean. That slow stretch. That look on their face that says you have discovered the exact correct button.…

  • Santa, a Poodle, and a Very Big Announcement

    Announcing a pregnancy is a big moment.Naturally, we decided to do it with a poodle. Right before Christmas 2019, the mall near our place was hosting a “take a picture with Santa” event. Not for kids. For pets. Which already told us this was going to be an interesting evening. Stephanie was already more than…

  • The Squeaky Dinosaur Phase

    Every dog has a toy phase.Toby had an obsession. For reasons no one will ever fully understand, Toby developed an intense, lifelong passion for squeaky toys shaped like salamanders or dinosaurs. Not balls. Not ropes. Not plush animals.Only long, weird, prehistoric creatures that screamed when bitten. Once he chose one, that was it.The toy became…

  • The Toddler Massage Therapist

    After Toby lost all his extra weight, something unexpected happened.He kept a little extra skin.Just enough to create tiny flaps that gently slid down when he sat.Nothing dramatic, just a subtle, adorable sag that gave him a slightly baggy look. Amira, at two years old, found this absolutely fascinating. Toddlers do not need logic.They need…

  • Poodle Poses

    Any dog owner will tell you that dogs sleep in strange positions.But Toby did not just sleep strangely.Toby turned sleeping into an Olympic performance. He had a repertoire.A full catalog of poses.A menu of shapes no living creature should be able to achieve. There was the Couch Potato, where he sprawled across every cushion like…

  • The Poodle Who Refused to Swim

    Poodles are supposed to be water dogs.They are literally bred for it.They have webbed paws, strong legs, proud posture and the confidence of Olympic divers.That is the legend. And then there was Toby. Toby and water had a relationship best described as two extremely cynical friends who barely tolerate each other. He was curious enough…

  • Rockette and the Awkward Romance

    Every legendary hero has a love interest.Toby had Rockette. Rockette belongs to my good friend Nick. She is a beautiful brown and white dog with short hair, calm eyes and a grounded personality. The kind of dog who observes everything quietly and decides only afterward whether anything is worth reacting to. Toby, on the other…