To be like Toad

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My parents have three dogs, Rowdy, Maci, and Kodi.

Kodi is the cutest.  That’s not favoritism – it’s just fact.  I mean, look at her happy dog perma-grin:

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Her name is Kodi, but mostly we call her Toad.  She’s this ridiculous, squatty little Chow mix, with short legs and a barrel chest.  She has so much fur, she looks like a tank – but in the summers, my parents have her shaved to keep her cool.  And then, she looks like a little pig.

The best thing about Toad is that her tail is always wagging, no matter what.  She wags when she sees you, she wags when she’s looking out the window, she wags when she’s all alone in the backyard, she wags when she gets fed, she wags when she’s lying on the living room floor, she wags when she hears voices – even if they’re not talking to her.  The only time that she didn’t wag was when she was entered in a tail-wagging contest at the Puppy Parade – then she stood stone still.

The remarkable thing is that Toad has bone spurs on her spine that keep her in a constant state of discomfort.  She has trouble sitting from a standing position, or standing from a sitting position.  She is stiff and awkward.  She is in pain.

But she wags anyway.

I want to be like Toad.

I want to wag anyway – even when nobody’s looking and I’m all alone.

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11 Comments

  1. Laura on March 2, 2010 at 1:34 PM

    Well said. :-)

  2. becca on March 2, 2010 at 2:32 PM

    TOAD!!!! best tee ever.

  3. Laurissa on March 2, 2010 at 3:09 PM

    she is a beautiful dog!

  4. Eric on March 2, 2010 at 3:16 PM

    My dog is a wagger too. He just has a numb instead of a real tail though. He seems to be fine with that. Was Rowdy named after a stuffed dog? If so, he is extra cool.

  5. Peg on March 2, 2010 at 3:49 PM

    I just love that most dogs love life and being loved. I smile everyday when I arrive home to Skye-the-wonder-dog is bouncing straight up in the air at the door to greet me – she wags most of the time too. Just makes me laugh to see her head in the window – boing, boing, boing. I too want to be that excited by life everyday.

  6. Christy on March 2, 2010 at 4:03 PM

    Oh, how I love dogs! This makes me want to write a blog dedicated to my dog Jackson. Always smiling, always excited, always adoring you… Sigh…I am pretty sure that no one could ever love me as much as my dog does. :)

  7. Emily from Seattle on March 2, 2010 at 6:43 PM

    God knew what He was doing when He made dogs. :)

  8. Sarah Kate on March 3, 2010 at 12:08 AM

    Sometimes, I’m not a very good Toad.

  9. Deb Barnett on March 3, 2010 at 7:14 PM

    May be my favorite post this year.

  10. […] Remember Toad? […]

  11. […] yes.  I guess have not mentioned it here yet, but a week ago today, our sweet dog Kodi (remember her?) was diagnosed with bone cancer.  Amputation was the best form of pain management.  So on Friday, […]

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