A little dog named Toby

I have been fortunate enough to spend some time with a little dog named Toby. My own dog died just short of her 16th birthday. I always maintained I didn't want another dog as she was irreplaceable.

I was happy to befriend Toby, I have kind of adopted him as my pseudo dog as I really like his yest for life. Toby was a sick little dog when I first came across him, he had distemper, was bleeding from the nose and we didn't think he was going to make it.

Even when he recovered, he had no energy, was very withdrawn and timid. It didn't help that at nearly six feet I towered over him so I was imposing. My attitude to dogs is to ignore them and when they feel comfortable around you, they come to you.

I was in his territory one night and walked downstairs to use the toilet. He had wandered over to see me when I walked out of the door and kicked him in the dark, he raced off for cover and safety yelping and wouldn't trust me again for ages.

Time has passed and we are best friends now, he has forgiven my size 12 feet and my obvious lack of coordination. He now has energy and races around. He is not the ugliest dog in the world but could be a candidate, his legs are too short, his tail is too long and rubs along the ground.

He has an underbite, has two teeth sticking upwards, his left eye is milky and his tail is too long when you take into account his short legs. His tail actually drags on the ground, you could say Toby is a genuinely ugly dog yet he is my favourite. He is lucky to still be alive and every day he lives it is a better day when he is around.