Category: Heart

  • Soft Hands and a Poodle

    Some children are drawn to noise.Some are drawn to movement.Amira was drawn to warmth. From the very beginning, before she had words, before she had steady steps, she had hands. Curious hands. Searching hands. Hands that wanted to feel the world before they understood it. And in that world, there was Toby. He was already…

  • Lullabies for a Poodle

    The keyboard had been there long before Toby. Music has always been part of my life. The instrument was already sitting in the living room when we adopted him. But for the first few weeks, I did not touch it. I was not sure how he would react. New home. New people. New smells. I…

  • Teeth

    There is a concept every animal owner understands. It is called “teeth.” Not aggression.Not snarling.Not drama. Just… teeth. That tiny little moment when your pet stretches, yawns, relaxes, or simply exists in a way that allows one small canine to peek out from under the lip. Completely accidental. Completely harmless. Completely adorable. Toby was no…

  • 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 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…

  • 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…

  • The Chief’s Dog

    In January 2021, my professional life changed completely.I became Chief of Côte Saint Luc EMS.It was a job filled with responsibility, long hours, high pressure and constant unpredictability. And with that promotion came a second, unspoken appointment.If I was the new EMS Chief, then Toby was the real EMS Chief. From the moment he walked…

  • The Day We Adopted a Sheep

    When Stephanie and I decided to adopt a dog in December 2018, we imagined welcoming home a graceful, energetic, perfectly proportioned standard poodle. What we got instead was a sheep. Toby’s previous owner was a kind older gentleman who loved him deeply. Unfortunately, his work hours had become long and unpredictable. To make sure Toby…