Toby Meets Shelby

It happened at the park.

Toby and Brandon were winding around the curvy trails, speaking to other dogs and owners as they passed by, when WHAM!

Toby stood stock still.

There she was, with a little red whatchamacallit in her hair and her little flat nose up in the air, as if she couldn’t be bothered to take notice of him.

Toby just stared at her, entranced, and wouldn’t budge when Brandon tried to move on.

“Come on, Toby. Let’s go.”

The shih Tzu’s owner, a grandmotherly sort, smiled and said, “I think your Beagle is smitten with my Shelby.”

Brandon smiled, and said, “Ma’am, she’s cute, all right, but Toby, we’ve got to get going! Come on, boy.” Practically dragging the silly dog away, Brandon thought, no way is my dog fathering little foo foo dogs!

As they left, Toby kept trying to look back, and got all tangled up in his leash. Brandon knelt by him and looked him in the eye. “Look, Tobe, She’s cute, but not for you. You’re going to father pure bred beagle pups.”

Toby shook his head free and stood, looking very much his own man.

The next afternoon, when Brandon got home, Toby was standing under the hook where his leash was.  Brandon couldn’t help smiling. “Think you’re going to see “foo foo,” huh? Not today, Tobe. I’ve got to take Grandpa to the doctor, and you’ve got to stay here. Maybe tomorrow.”

Toby was sad. In the house, he moped and whined. Outside, he howled. The Neighbors complained.

One afternoon, while Brandon was in class, his girlfriend, Carolina, decided to take Toby for a walk. By some coincidence, they ended up in the park. Suddenly he started jumping around, all excited, and sure enough who should come bounding around a corner, pulling grandma much too fast, but Shelby. Toby’s tail was wagging so fast, it looked like a metronome, gone berserk.

“Sooo, this is foo foo,” Carolina said, smiling.

“I beg your pardon, young lady; her name is Shelby and she’s a pure bred … well, actually, she’s a shih tzu-beagle mix.”

“Yes, I see her coloring is just like Toby’s,” Carolina said, “but she looks pure shih tzu to me.”

“I think so, too,” Grandma said. “By the way, I’m Ethel,” and she stuck out her hand.

“Glad to meet you. I’m Carolina.”

Toby and Shelby were telling dog secrets, etc. and Ethel said, “I couldn’t help but notice that your male friend wasn’t keen on these two getting to know each other, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, my friend has said he wants Beagle puppies someday.”
Ethel turned defensive.  “And I want Shih tzu pups. You be sure you tell him that for me.”

“I certainly will,” Carolina said pulling on Toby.

“Well, that takes care of that,” Ethel said.  “Come on, Shelby.” And off they went, noses in the air.

Carolina pulled Toby over to a bench.  Toby put his paws up on her knees. Carolina hugged the dog. “Tobe, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to. I’m sorry.” She scratched behind his ears.

They continued walking. “But I’ll tell you something,” she said, looking down at him, “she would have been a terrible mother-in- law. I think we should go get some ice cream.”

Toby knew “ice cream.” He perked up immediately. Even had a little spring in his step.

Tobe has a silent “e.”