because family transcends species

To  be honest, I barely mentioned about Toby, so I thought I'd write something about him today. 

Breed/Genotype: Jack Russell Terrier

Birthday of Date: 10/04/2003

Gender: Male

Phenotype: small; white with black spots, and brown eyebrows and chin; a very short tail; 4 legs; ~7KG

There's a reason why I brought this up. You see, Toby recently had a surgery to take out a tumor that was growing on his skin. He received 15 stitches, a couple of nights in pain and a lost of appetite from it. He didn't even smell like a dog anymore. He smelt more like those medicinal chemicals from the vet. You know why I know? Because after having him sleep on my bed for the last couple of years, I've been habituated to his smell and hence, I actually don't smell his doggy smell anymore. But for me to actually smell something from him, that itself proved that chemical structure's have slightly deviated. After a fortnight, his stitches were taken out, and he's back to normal now, including his smell. Well, besides the fact that there's a huge scar across his left shoulder. Luckily, the tumor was benign, and the vet said that they most likely removed all the dead cells already, although there's no harm in keeping watch of that area for a while. Mum paid for the surgery, which was just over $50.

 To be honest, my mum and aunt didn't want the surgery because knowing cancer, or any other diseases, it'll require a lot of treatments to cure it and that'll cost a lot of money. I offered to pay for the surgery with the money I've earned from previous employments, though it never happened. Not because I didn't want to, it's because I'm inept with any banking operations. I know, I'm hopeless. All this time, it was mum whose done all these things for me, so I just assumed that she'd take the initiative to take the money out of my bank herself to pay for the surgery. I guess, what I want to say is that from the moment of Toby's sudden health dilemma, I never realised how important family could be. 

In dramas or movies, I see people willing to give up their pride, their money, themselves for their family, but never have I ever experience that determination - the determination to do whatever it takes to save one's life. I'm not saying I'm a money whore, but I've never used any of the money that I've earned before. I didn't even use the money to buy my mum a present. Hms... that sound heartless. I've always thought I should save it up for some kind of emergency, or to repay debts, etc. that's why I've never really used it. Since Toby was in trouble, I was willing to use that money for his surgery. He may be a dog, but we don't see him as a pet; we see him as family. Mum thought of him as a son, and I thought of him as a brother. Well, not exactly a brother, but still someone that's a part of the family. 

You've got to admit, animals like dogs and cats know how to bring a smile on your face effortlessly. I personally like dogs better because unlike independent cats, they're giving and loyal and between the owner and the dog, their happiness works both ways - dogs naturally provide happiness to the owner with their enthusiastic behaviours and loyal personalities, while humans provide them the attention and care that they want. I just want to say I LOVE YOU TOBY =).