This thought was what brought me to the decision. Farrah essentially is an only child. She has two older brothers but their age seperation is so extreme it makes it hard for a 22 year old to relate to a four year old. Well...mostly. ; )- I started doing some research on what kind of dog would be good for our home. Farrah is allergic to some dogs, but it varies. It's not always long haired dogs or short haired dogs. Small or big. It's very random. So, I had to look up the hypoallergnic dogs and try and find one that would do. Well, I didn't like my options. Pretty much all of the dogs were some sort of "foo-foo" poodle-esque dog or something that was as big as a rat. I just can't do those breeds.
My interest was fading. I've had German Sheppards, Bull Mastiffs and Rottweilers. Tough dogs. Big dogs. I couldn't go from that to something I'd have to end up being super delicate with or name it "Tootsie" because it's so petite. No thank you. I happened to stumble upon a dog called a Bull Terrier. They're a little goofy looking, but stocky. Not bad. Then when I googled photos, it pulled up another breed; the Staffy Terrier. That one looked kinda bad ass. Then I googled photos for that dog, and then a big/little boy jumped out at me. It's called the American Bully. Another word for it is the Razor's Edge. It looked like a canine version of Mike. Loved this dog. So, I started to do some reading and some research about the breed and fell in love. It is a mix of several breeds in the "Bully" family and it pulled the best of each breed to make a short, stocky, muscular, loving, loyal, guardian. It seemed like a miniature Rotty. Love.
I did some searching and there was only one breeder I could find in Washington State and it was all the way in Ephrata. I was not impressed with it's dogs. So, I looked online and found the best site that didn't look as "gangsta" as some others and it was all the way in Memphis. I talked to a guy named Christopher who spent a good hour of his time educating me about the breed. He didn't have any pups, so he referred me to his friend who also spent another hour to discuss his dogs with me. Ultimately, I saw some pics I loved and picked my favorite. He's a tri (black, white, and cinnamon).
We had our pup shipped to us from Tennessee!! His first experience away from his litter was on a plane for 8 hours. We surprised Farrah by telling her we needed to drive a ways to go look at some big airplanes. Alex and Joanie took us and we ended up at the Delta Cargo building. We told her we needed to take care of some business and she was welcome to come with us. I signed some papers and a crate was handed over to me. Farrah noticed there was a dog inside, but it didn't quite click right away that this dog was coming home with us until we got to the car. Jumping up and down she squealed, "We have a puppy!!!" It was super exciting to watch her. She got to pick the name. We had the names Jerry, Carl, and Kevin picked out. But Farrah had a different idea. She liked the name Toby. (Isn't that Gramma Rita's dog's name?) Simple and cute. It's her pup, so she got to pick the name. My favorite, however was Carl and Kevin. I had to tag on Juan K'nobe. Not because I'm a Star Wars fan, but because it's funny. She and I call him Toby, Tobe, Tobes, Tobers, Toberone, and when he's in trouble he gets the full name screamed at him.
He has a big head and a lil' body. He will have a GIANT head, will be about 17" tall, and he'll weigh 80 pounds. He's super smart and loving. Here's a picture of our little monster.
