Bye Bye Toffee

I seriously didn't know that two dogs would be so much like two toddlers. It was reliving my children's childhood all over again. I remember how miserable The Daughter was, and how she much resented Little Boy.

Milo bit Toffee FOUR times (that we know about). He probably bit her more times than that (which we weren't around to see). Her left ear tip bled. The base of her right ear bled too. And then Milo chomped on her snout and put a hole just behind her nose. Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment when her tongue was hanging out, and that chomp on the snout impaled Toffee's tongue on her own teeth. She screamed so piteously that we all took turns to yell at Milo, and then we brought Toffee into the safety of the house.

To be sure, Milo looked sorry. I don't think he meant to bite so hard but he did, and he tried to do it quite a few times more... except that I barked a short warning to warn him off just in time. Toffee began to fear him. And Milo began to look depressed for being scolded so often. You could tell from his eyes that he thought we didn't love him anymore. Milo has been quiet and withdrawn, eyes looking pleadingly at me, begging to know if we loved Toffee more or him still. He was so jealous that once, when I was dangling Toffee's chew toy by my side about to hand it to Toffee, Milo came and gently but deftly took it away. I looked in his eyes and saw an uncertainty that made my heart ache.

Milo's jealousy threw a pall over our entire home. Every time I stepped into the yard. I had to kiss his nose and say something nice to him... and then Toffee would come running to be petted too. And when I examined Milo's neck, there were uncountable scratches from Toffee's baby teeth. Toffee wasn't an angel herself.

So, we decided to rehome Toffee. After all, we're everything to Milo, and he is too old to bond with anyone else. Milo loves us and only us. Toffee at 3 months will forget us soon enough. The Daughter put up an advert on the SPCA website and in one day, a Police Officer from the K-9 unit called up and asked for her. I drove to his flat to check him out. I know he will be a good owner because he explained to me how to cook for dogs. Dogs need to eat vegetables and fruits too, you know. Kibbles alone is not a balanced diet, said he.

When Milo realised that Toffee was gone, he turned frisky again. He came with his ball to invite us to play and he ran circles all around the yard. And he smiled again. You know how a dog smiles? With mouth slightly open and tongue hanging out a bit? He smiled again. It's good to have Milo happy again. Whatever might be said of Toffee and how charming she is, we still love our big wimpy dog more.