Toby was a Staffy Cross Lab. As a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Labrador cross, he was born to be ‘playful, clever, loving and great with children’.

We had no expectations when we adopted Toby from the local SPCA. He was tiny and cute. We just wanted a puppy to share our lives. Toby was the size of my palm when we first brought him home. He was timid and was shivering when I first held him.

I considered my Toby as human as anyone else. He was so much a part of me. When he passed away nine days ago, a part of me died. I am still grieving terribly. To comfort myself, I continued to talk to him as though he was alive. My Toby slept on my bed and with his passing, I kept his old toys, old collar, cushion and car seat into a ham bag and that became a ‘pillow’ that took his place for now (as a comfort and healing process) on my bed.

This post is to record the commands Toby knew. Amazingly, Toby understood every word I said. However, he had his own mind whether to obey or not. Any commands with regards to food, treats, walk or car ride were immediately responded to with joy.

Toby knew …..

1. Go on the grass – To pee.
2. Shake hands – A must before meal.
3. Sit – Whenever out for walks, we sensed he was a little scared of other dogs or cyclists. Used ‘sit’ to show him that nothing will happen if he sat still.
4. Stay
5. Down – To lay down.
6. Cross – Sit and cross used during walks and before crossing the road.
7. Breakfast
8. Dinner
9. Drink water
10. Treats
11. On the mat – He would go to the mat in the lounge whenever I was about to go out. He used that as an indication he wanted a treat. The mat was placed in the lounge originally for him to stay when people came to the house (Toby was not very friendly with strangers). However, he took that as a place to ask for treats.
12. No more – He loved food and treats and forever asking for more.
13. Go away – We used to say this when he sat expecting crumbs during our meal time. This made him sad so we ended up allowing him to sit around while we had meals and fed him his dog treats every now and then so he was a regular diner with us.
14. Wait followed by Go – He would be given treats but usually told to wait till I give the ‘Go’ command before gulping it up.
15. Walk
16. Car ride
17. Come (here) – He even understood when I waved to him as a call to come.
18. Good boy
19. Mummy go to work – Meaning Mummy is going out.
20. Mummy’s room
21. Kevin, Bryce, Mummy and other names of people close to him.
22. Mummy’s friend – Anyone he came in contact with (so he would not bark crazy).
23. Massage – He loved it.
24. Toys
25. Drop – To drop anything in his mouth (mostly toy).
26. Hedgehog
27. Cat
28. Tob – His name and also to mean (other) dog.
29. Get under the duvet – He loved to sleep all covered up.
30. Move up – At night when I wanted him to move closer to me.
31. Wait (Mummy go toilet) – Usually use this when I left him alone in my room.
32. Mummy love you – I said that to him all the time.
33. Brush teeth
34. See your teeth – I would open his mouth to check his teeth.
35. Shower
36. Put perfume – after shave/cologne to make him smell nice after shower.
37. Get down – He knew he was not allowed on the Futon Sofa Bed in the lounge.
38. Hug
39. Kiss Kiss – He kissed by licking.
40. Raining – The reason why we could not take him out for a walk.
41. Good morning – Day time/Wake up.
42. Good night – Sleep.
43. Ummm Ummm – A sound I made when he refused to obey my command. He knew that was an order.

RIP my beloved Toby.

Mummy love you so much. Always loved, forever missed and remembered.