Toby or not Toby

A dark gloomy day...

2010-08-16T21:00:00.001+01:00

This was a very, very sad day... My dear sweet friend Claudia has left to the rainbow bridge... She was the first to make me feel welcome to this home and she helped me to grow and taught me so many things... She was the sweetest dog I ever met! I guess part of my sweet temperament is due to her example... And she was my playmate... I miss her so, so much... Till we meet again, my sweet blonde lady...

[Claudia: 17/10/2001 - 16/08/2010]

Father and Child Reunion…

2009-11-02T14:19:00.002Z

…is only a motion away, says the song (yes, I know it’s mother and not father, stop nagging). Well, in this case it wasn’t even that, it was reality!
Let me explain. This last weekend, I went with my owners in another of those long trips, where in the end we meet a lot a dogs and people all assuming those weird positions and doing little runs around tiny yards. It seems to be all a bit stupid… With all the free space outside why do they insist in using such small areas to play?! I’ve given up trying to understand humans…
Anyway, to cut a long story short (actually, it isn’t that long, but I happen to like this expression), amongst all those hundreds of dogs, there was one very special to me (even though I must confess I had no recollection of him). My father!
It was funny to meet the old guy! Well, he isn’t that old, but he certainly is older than me. He is a very friendly chap and we had a nice little time and we even took some photos together! Hope you enjoy them.

Toby and Dad (Ch. ElAmigo aus dem Elbe-Urstromtal)

See you next time!

Another year!

2009-10-18T10:02:00.001+01:00

Life goes on and I completed 2 years old on the 15th October. And my good friend Claudia turned 8 years old on the 17th.

Of course Ralph was also thereabout.

Sad news...

2009-07-30T17:55:00.009+01:00

After such a joyful occasion, we received the sad news that a friend of ours had passed away.

Her name was SeaLords Back to the Future, but we all knew her as Nana.
Nana was a sweet and beautiful old lady that I met several times whenever I visited her place with my owners.

She was already over 13 years old, which I understand is a lovely age for our breed, although, for our owners, we always leave too soon... Unfortunately, seems that’s just how we were created by nature and there’s no way around it. But I know she lived a happy life, always surrounded by the love of her owners, right until the end.

These photos were taken one month after she turned 13

[photos: Isabel Alves - SeaLords OES]
Wasn't she beautiful?...

I will surely keep Nana’s remembrance with great fondness.
Rest in peace, sweet lady…

CHAMPION OF PORTUGAL!

2009-07-29T13:40:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've been here last, but I just wanted to share with you that, this last weekend, I obtained my Champion of Portugal title!
Seems like it was a big thrill for my owners. For me, it was just like any other day... Actually, I don't understand very well all that champion stuff, nor what have I got to gain from it! So far, the food is the same... Anyway, everyone around me seemed very happy and you know I'm a sucker for happy people. There was even this couple, speaking this strange language, that somehow looked slightly familiar, although I have no idea who they are. I think I overheard from my owners something like them being my breeders. Well, whoever they were, they looked happy too!

Here is a photo of me in one of those strange positions I told you about before... This can be very tiresome, mind! It's not easy to be a show dog...

But, this time, I didn't even mind much because there was this nice girl, called Greta Garbo of Bushy Bear, by my side! Ain't she the cutest thing?...

OK, gotta go now! Take care and see you soon!

A little fun in the garden...

2009-04-22T13:48:00.009+01:00

Hi all! Just to show you a couple of small movies made by my owner, where I appear playing with my ball and with Claudia, in our garden. Ralph didn't want to come out so it was just the two of us... and our young owner too, of course, who always likes to defy me for a little race... Hope you enjoy!

This thing called Christmas…

2009-01-19T16:29:00.000Z

It’s funny, the house got full of people, all looking happy, smiles all over, bringing coloured boxes… I don’t really understand what this is all about, but I can’t complain! I’ve been having plenty of extra patting and kids to play with.

Kids are funny too! They are smaller than normal people and they are much more active.

They can be a bit tiresome though, always trying to grab me and Claudia and Ralph, but strangely, when I run towards them, they start yelling with little screams and trying to hide from me… Go figure! Still, in the end, it’s all great fun!

My owners got a tree inside the house too! First, I thought it was for me to use when in urgent “need”, but then they started to put a lot a coloured things on it and I understood the purpose was not the one I was thinking of.

I also got a new ball! Don’t really know why, but a new ball is always welcome!

Well, whatever it means, I quite like this Christmas thing…

I'M 1 YEAR OLD ALREADY!

2008-10-15T11:47:00.000+01:00

Show Time!...

2008-05-12T16:12:00.000+01:00

Boy, what a day, this was! And it started early… Actually, I was a bit puzzled with my owners inviting me to get in the car at that time in the morning… But, what the heck, I just love going to the park! Only, we didn’t go to the park… The car kept going and going and it seemed we would never get wherever we were going!
It was the 10th of May of 2008 and I was almost 7 months old.
Finally, the car stopped and I got out … Well, that surely was a different kind of park! There were dogs alright, but loads of them! Some pretty noisy, too…
That was when I saw my cousin Zoe (SeaLords Sleepless in Seattle) and her owner, and we went to join them. I thought that playtime was about to begin, but no, our owners just kept brushing and brushing us!
Then my younger owner changed my lead and took me to meet a tall gentleman I had never seen before… He looked nice though, even if he was a bit nosy… You don’t just meet someone and start snooping in his mouth and getting your hands all over! But, as I said before, he looked like a nice guy and I let him do whatever he wanted… Well, it was a short relation anyway… After having a couple of little runs and having been put in that weird position by my younger owner, we went away.
My owners looked pleased, I have no idea why, but if they’re happy, I’m happy too!
Afterwards, I finally had the chance to play with my cousin! Our owners had been eating, and before going back to that strange park, we went to a large ground where Zoe and I could have some runs and play a bit with each other.
Then, it was time to return to where all those other dogs were. We stayed there for a little while longer. I was taken to meet another gentleman and after that we went to the car and headed back home! I was knackered! I slept most of the way but I still overheard my owners commenting I had been the best puppy of the breed and second best in the group, whatever that means… They looked very pleased about it though.
Anyway, it seems that was my first Dog Show…

Growing...

2008-04-27T10:23:00.000+01:00

WOW! I’m growing fast! Just look at me! I’m bigger than Claudia! I’m almost 6 months, now. Life is easy around here… I just don’t understand why, sometimes, my younger owner insists on putting me in some strange positions… It seems it has something to do with training, or whatever… It’s a bit uncomfortable, but I play along, anyway… It’s a dog’s life!

The arrival

2008-01-30T15:26:00.000Z

When I got to my new home I had some sort of reception committee waiting for me. There were Claudia, the Golden Retriever, a nice and quiet blonde lady, and Ralph, the Whippet, a nervous skinny guy. They both received me in a friendly manner, although Ralph looked a bit suspicious at first. But soon we got used to each other and started a good playful relationship, even if my personal preference always went towards Claudia. Maybe because I detected something motherly about her… Anyway, she immediately became my favorite “target” when I was in a playing mood, which is most of the time, I must confess!... Initially, she looked a tad bored with my advances, can’t imagine why, but it didn’t take her long to join the game and we became the best playmates.

The beginning

2008-01-30T13:04:00.000Z

How did I get to Portugal?... Well, my owner had been looking for a Bobtail, or, shall I say, an Old English Sheepdog, because, now, we have our tails in their full glory. But, going back to the story, as I said, my owner had been looking for one of “us”.
There aren’t many breeders of OES in Portugal. As a matter of fact there are only two permanent breeders dedicated to my kind, and only one of them dedicates herself (herself because she is a lady) exclusively to this breed.
Anyway, he searched the internet for some time, looking for a good litter from a reputable breeder. Finally, with the helping hand of that Portuguese lady breeder, he decided on the litter which I was part of. It looked to be a good combination of bloodlines. My father descends from a long line of American champions and was bred by one of the most successful kennels in Europe, and my mother has some of the greatest champions of the old continent in her bloodline. So, I should become a nice doggy, or at least that’s what my owner thought…
I arrived to my new home on the 19th January 2008, when I was about three months old. My owner went to pick me up at Oporto, where my breeder, who was entering a Dog Show, brought me to, along with my brother Lancelot. It’s funny that my owner, at first, was more inclined to my brother. He had only seen us in photos until that day. But then, I ended up being the chosen one! Something to do with having “more bone”, whatever that means…

Welcome!

2008-01-29T16:33:00.000Z

This is the cyberspace of Toby (Liberty Gold de Bayroeth de Eden).

Toby is an Old English Sheepdog. He was born in Spain on the 15th October of 2007 and came to live in Portugal in January of 2008.