Read Our Story

This website reads like a book, illustrated with pictures, videos and little anecdotes. You can read the story from start to finish by clicking the chapters in order, or click anywhere you want to go
directly to a page.
Introduction
 
 
 
 

Chapter 10 – Gabby and Her Toys

gabtoys

Picture taken on Gabby’s 10th birthday 

Gabby loved to play, and she loved her toys!
She would always get so happy when I came home with a grocery bag and said, “Guess what? I got you a NEW TOY!” I would buy her one almost every time I went to the supermarket.  Making her happy and seeing her reaction was worth the $3.00! 
Some toys she loved (anything from the Kong line, rubber frogs, latex toys, latex balls, big inflated play balls, plastic toys that made noise when you rolled them, and her bowling pin) others she rejected (most everything else) and anything vinyl or stuffed, she chewed into little pieces.  That was as destructive as she got, destroying vinyl and stuffed toys. 
The rejected toys she played with once or twice, then ignored.  Eventually they ended up in boxes and after the boxes were full, they were given to animal shelters.  

boxoftoys

This short but silly video shows her getting a new toy. Sorry for the quality, but I made it for streaming when bandwidth was at a premium, and older camcorders were bad in low light. And yes, as it said at the end of the video above, I taught her to pee on command.  Of course, I never used this ability for evil. When we had deep snow, given her short legs I would clear out a spot outside, put her down and give her the command so she could pee without having to trudge through snow higher than she was. This also came in handy later the two times she hurt her back and wasn’t supposed to move around much when recovering.
Gabby keep away

She would often put a toy at my feet or next to me when I was sitting down, then step back and encourage me to pick it up. As soon as I would reach for it, she would rush forward, snag the toy and pull it away out of reach.  She did this with visitors too. She loved messing with people that way!