About Us
Welcome to The Adventures of Toby the Poodle. This small corner of the internet exists for one reason. I needed a place to keep my dog’s memory alive. I needed somewhere to put the emotions that still sit too heavily on my chest. I needed a place where Toby could keep living for just a little longer.
My name is Eddy. For most of my life I was never sure I wanted a dog. I was busy, always running, always working, always doubting whether I could give an animal the time and love they deserved. Then life surprised me in the most beautiful way.
On December 19, 2018, my ex-wife, Stephanie, and I adopted Toby. He was a five year old black standard poodle with wise eyes and a gentle soul. His previous owner, an older gentleman with a huge heart, had gone back to a demanding management job. He loved Toby enough to let him go, hoping he would find a family who could give him what he could no longer offer. I still think about that act of love. It gave us the greatest gift of our lives.
Toby walked into our home as if he had always belonged there. Within days he became the center of everything. He brought warmth into a house that did not know it needed warming. He filled empty spaces I never realized were empty. He felt like a missing piece that quietly snapped into place.
When the world shut down during COVID, Toby kept us grounded. The uncertainty, the fear, the isolation. It all softened when he rested his head on our lap or stretched out on the floor next to us. In October 2019, we learned we were expecting our daughter, Amira. Even before she arrived, Toby sensed that something new and fragile was coming. His protectiveness began long before her first breath.
When Amira was born in June 2020, Toby welcomed her as if she were his own. He watched her sleep. He stood guard by her crib. He lay beside her during tummy time. He checked on her every time she cried. She was his tiny human and he adored her with a tenderness that still breaks me when I think about it.
In January 2021, when I became EMS Chief in Côte Saint Luc, Toby became my work partner. He followed me everywhere. The station became his second home. The employees and volunteers fell completely in love with him. On the hardest days he brought comfort without trying. On the quiet days he made everyone smile simply by trotting down the hallway. He never knew how much good he did. He was just Toby.
Then came the part of the story I wish I could erase. The part that still hurts to write.
In September 2022, Toby became sick. A cancer-like spread in one of his paws took hold and there was nothing anyone could do. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by the two people who loved him more than anything. His head in our hands. His eyes soft. His breathing quiet. And then silence. A silence that has never fully lifted.
The day he died, something inside me broke. It has never gone back to the way it was. I still reach for him without thinking. I still expect to hear his paws on the floor. I still look for him when I come home. There is an emptiness that nothing seems to fill. If you have ever loved a dog so deeply that losing them felt like losing a part of yourself, then you know exactly what I mean.
This blog is my way of surviving that grief. Every story I write here is a way of holding Toby close for a moment. Every memory I share is a way to remind myself that he was real, that he lived, that he loved us with everything he had. The adventures are funny, chaotic, ridiculous, and sweet. But underneath all of them is the truth that he was the purest soul I have ever known.
I had never known unconditional love and trust the way I knew it with him. Toby gave that to me freely, every single day.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for keeping his memory alive with me. It means more than I can ever explain.
— Eddy
Dad of a beautiful little girl, and the heartbroken human of an unforgettable poodle