For her college graduation present last May, Emily L. pleaded with her parents to adopt a new dog.

“We hadn't had a dog in years, and I had wanted one for a while,” says Emily, who recently completed her bachelor’s degree. “I finally convinced my folks that I’d be able to take care of one since I was moving back home for graduate school.”

So, the day Emily graduated, her father Jacques picked her up and they proceeded immediately to the ASPCA Adoption Center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, in the hopes of meeting their new family member. That’s where they met Toby. 

“When I met Toby, I saw a bundle of energy who wanted to be with people all the time,” Emily says. “I watched a staff member walk into his kennel, and Toby jumped all over him, wanting to be pet. I wanted a cuddly dog who would always want to be around me, and I could tell that, with some training, Toby would be a perfect fit for our family.”

Learning A New Life

Toby has come a long way from his former life, literally and figuratively. Involved in an animal cruelty case in early May 2019, he was brought to the ASPCA Animal Recovery Center (ARC) for care.

During this time, ASPCA behavioral experts taught Toby how to sit and helped him contain his excitement. This included learning not to jump on people he meets. “We practiced more favorable ways for Toby to share his love for people,” says Corinne Fritzell, Behavior Specialist at the ASPCA Adoption Center. “He’s very affectionate, often exuberantly so.”

Once in his new home, Toby didn't take long to warm up to humans and animals alike, including Emily’s eight-year-old cat named Boo.

“During the day when I’m home, Toby is my shadow and follows me around the house; he even sits outside the shower and waits for me to get out,” says Emily. “When I come home from work or school, I usually find him on my bed waiting for me to get home and play. At night he sleeps in my bed and has to be touching me at all times.”

“I am so thankful for him and the love and joy he brings into my life,” says Emily. “I would definitely say Toby was the best gift ever.”