This is a love story. I was the reluctant participant, though.
14 years ago, I was not quite over our last dog, but Lucia knew better. We first tried to adopt Tosh’s brother, Buddy, but he found a home before we could even try. Early the following day, we went to a small grooming facility in Portsmouth, where the NHSPCA was hosting an adoption meet and greet. We arrived before anyone else so Lucia could grab Tosh ahead of the others getting there. I sat in the far corner of the room, waiting. I assumed we might say hello, but not make any significant decisions. I listened as many couples spoke quietly about their plans to also adopt her. She was the first through the door; she looked directly at me, ran over, and curled up into my lap. I started to tear up and muttered, “I guess we’re getting a dog today.” She let out a loud sigh and fell asleep. Something that would become a regular routine of ours. Lucia told me not to move or let go of the leash while she went and called our landlord and made all of the adoption arrangements. As I patted this magic black fur that was the softest I’d ever felt, I looked down at this gentle little one-year-old pup and told her, “one day, you will break my heart, but I have a feeling it will be worth it.”
She had three names; Natalia, Natasha, and just simply Tasha. We learned her backstory. She was from a shelter in Shelby, Alabama. She lived on the street with her brother for most of the previous year. The area is notorious for not liking black dogs. When the NH team arrived, they rescued her from being euthanized that day. They drove her to NH with all the other dogs (her brother Buddy included) in a big white utility van. We know this because the one time we had to drive one as a rental, while we had her with us, and it triggered a lifelong anxiety attack for her. One of our vet techs on the rescue team later explained the story to us.
We named her Tosh after a character, Toshiko, who was also known as Tosh. That character was from a SciFi show we loved at the time. Tosh went on to live a life of luxury. The first half of her life with us was in Wells, Maine. Every day no matter rain or shine (or even snow), we went to the beach.
Her first time at the beach, she caught an endangered piping plover, a notoriously dumb bird. She spat it out over my excitement to “drop it!” The bird flew away uninjured. Also among her beach adventures, once getting stuck out on the rocks while (once again) chasing plovers. She swam in with the tides (much to her dismay).
While in Maine, she would often participate in TV segments on the show I was producing, 207. Her most famous story was Take Your Dog to Work Day, which we filmed at Lucia’s library. Later she became a viral image as I captured her sweet little face in a post reminding Mainers not to leave their dogs in cars on hot days. I like to think of this as her public service. She was an angel to everyone except our mail carrier or delivery people. She adored singing along to sirens, something the others dogs of daycare taught her.
When we moved to Portsmouth, we were sad not to have our local beaches anymore. We still tried, but it was getting harder as she entered the second phase of her life. Instead, she became a local celebrity in our new neighborhood. Our next-door neighbor, Bob, gave her two cookies every day. A tradition every other neighbor picked up just for her when Bob moved out. Every neighbor, I kid you not. She was known as the dog who walked more often than anyone else on our street. She helped us make great friends with everyone around us here. Even the most reluctant dog people loved Tosh.
As she started slowing down, our vet suggested regular acupuncture, it helped a lot. In these last two weeks, she struggled to walk to the end of our road. That nagging feeling from 14 years ago was getting stronger. At the emergency vet this morning, we learned it was aggressive cancer, and from there, the day took a dramatic turn. We brought her home and called our regular vet. As each hour passed, she struggled a little more, we knew it was time. You’re never ready, but I got one more day with her. She loved that I had worked from home for the last two years. It meant a little extra of everything.
Every day, every single day, I told her she was the love of my life. She made sure we stayed on the move. She kept us going. She grounded me; she made me social, even when I didn’t want to be (and an excuse when I needed one). While she lived to 15, we gave each other the most fantastic 14 years together.
As promised, she broke my heart, but it was worth it, as with any great love story, and I’d do it all over again if I could.