This month we chat to Toby, a black and white collie with a love of the sounds and smells of the mountains. Now living in Sainte Foy, he was originally from La Rosière above Bourg Saint Maurice.
So what was your first challenge as a puppy?
“I needed to move out of my pack family home, so we put an advert on ‘Le Bon Coin’ an advertising site in France, for a ‘colocation’, (a house share). It was really urgent, and I was very worried, because the farmer who looked after me as a puppy told me that he was going to shoot me at the end of the week if I didn’t find a colocation. I didn’t like him, and I was crossing my paws that someone would answer my advert.”
That wasn’t very nice, what happened?
“Well I was super energetic as a pup, and I was determined to be a good house dog if I could find someone to live with. Then all my prayers were answered when Rob came to see me. Rob’s got lots of energy too, so I knew we were going to get along just fine together.
Our first walk together was in Sainte-Foy to see the cascades, some waterfalls in the forest. It was a big walk for a small puppy, and I was the most excited I had ever been in my life. I loved this walk with Rob, and he is great fun to go walking with.
I was so tired that as soon as we got home I fell asleep, for a very long time. When I woke up, I didn’t know where I was. I saw Rob, and I thought I was still dreaming. But he gave me some food, and I don’t think you can eat when you’re dreaming, so I thought it must be real. I was so happy!”
But there’s another challenge which has influenced your life, can you tell us about it?
“Yes, I lost my sight and became blind one year ago. It was very strange and I didn’t really understand it at first. Rob investigated it on his computer machine, and it said that I need a special gene from both my parents for me to go blind.”
How do you cope with being blind?
“There is something really strange about being blind. It is like I have this special extra sense. Rob calls it my proximity sense, but I call it my “where am I” sense. It’s like I can sense things around me, even though I can’t see them. When we go walking now, I can follow a path, and I know if I start to stray off it. My friend Marvin can run off the paths and cut corners. I used to, but now I have to stay on the paths, or I might fall off something.
We’ve got our own version of musical statues. It’s not really with music, except when Rob’s singing, which happens a lot when he’s happy, but when he shouts “stop!”, I have to freeze. If I don’t, I bump into something or fall off something, so I win every time.”
What makes your tail wag?
“Rob has a drone. It’s like a giant wasp that flies in the sky. Marvin and I love chasing it. I don’t know why we dogs like chasing wasps and bees, but it’s great fun and I can’t help myself.
I can cope with being blind, but there are some things which annoy me. I can smell if a car arrives, and I can walk around it. But it really annoys me if someone leaves the car door open, because I can’t tell and if I walk into it, it really hurts my nose.”
Who is Marvin?
“Marvin lives with us and he is my best dog friend. My relationship with him was difficult at first, because he couldn’t understand why I was bumping into everything, and he thought I was really clumsy. Now he understands, and he’s the best friend you could ever hope for. He’s my eyes now. He tells me if there’s something I need to look out for when we go for walks, which is an odd way to say it, because I can’t “look out”.
I’ve got a blind dog collar and some other special stuff. Marvin says they are very bright, but of course, I’ve never seen them. The best bit, which is really cool, is that me and Marvin both have bells like the cows. It’s really useful, because if I get lost when I’m chasing the giant wasp, Marvin can come back and get me.”
Has Marvin always lived with you?
“No, we only met about 18 months ago. I went for a walk with Rob one day, and met Marvin, so we started playing together. Marvin had a girl with him called Rachael so she started walking with Rob. I think humans must do the same as we dogs do. If you find someone you really like, you just move in and live with them. So Rachael moved in with Rob, and Marvin moved in with me. We are a really cool family now.”
I can’t help noticing that you’ve got a super fluffy coat. What’s your secret?
“It’s not really a secret because my other dog mates do it too, but me and Marvin have this game to make ourselves super fluffy. We call it the side slide. You need some fresh snow and a good slope, then you lie on your side and slide. When you’re good at it, you can roll at the same time, from side to side. It’s one of my favourite things to do.”
What’s your favourite thing to do in the summer?
“We love to go on camping trips and explore new places. We are more relaxed in the summer because there’s more time, and we are always singing in our family, especially me and Rob. It’s a very happy time for us.”
“If you want to see more cool photos of me, have a look at Rob’s Instagram page.”
