Toby

 

This is Toby, my Yorkie. The sign says "I ate my mum`s cheese"! It was my fault as I left a shopping bag on the floor. He scoffed 200 grams of mozzarella cheese in a matter of seconds, which did not agree with him at all...

I´ve had Toby since he was a two-month old pup, and he will be fourteen this year so he is getting on a bit. Sadly he has had 'dry eye' for years and slowly lost his sight. I think he can only see vague moving shadows now. I have to put ointment in his eyes every day and keep cleaning them every few hours. There is no cure and I was not willing to inflict either of two procedures on him. One was to stitch his eyelids partially closed to stop him blinking, and the other was to connect his salivary glands to his tear ducts to lubricate his eyes. There was no guarantee either procedure would work and I found the idea of them pretty barbaric anyway, so we have just managed as best we can. He is perfectly happy, goes for walks on a lead, and plays with his toys. There is nothing wrong with his sense of smell, hence him finding the cheese!

I originally got him thinking he would be company for my father who lived with me. I was still working then and my father, who was blind, spent a lot of time alone. Unfortunately my father did not take to him, but I never regretted my decision. Toby is great company, especially now I am on my own, and even more so now I am mostly shielding because of the pandemic. He is not a lapdog though, never wears clothes and does not spend his time yapping, thank goodness...he is a proper little dog.