At the time of his rescue, Toby was dirty, and his fur was so tangled that his rescuers worried about how they’d clean him.
His long, tangled, and matted fur made him almost unrecognizable as a dog. He couldn’t walk or see, which was heartbreaking. One of his caretakers, Callie Crowe, shared:
“He was abandoned by his previous parent, and it was clear he had been abused when my uncle rescued him.”
Callie’s family continued caring for Toby after her uncle, who was Toby’s rescuer, fell ill. As Callie shared in an interview:
“We have had dogs before, and a big family, so we rushed to help him.”
Toby was scared and nervous on his first day at their house. Callie knew the first thing they needed to do was take him to a groomer. She believed that a nice haircut was the best first step toward his recovery!
Callie was right! As the groomer removed his tangled fur, and all those matted layers started to fall off, Toby’s true personality began to emerge.
Underneath all that dirty, long fur, was the joyful, happy, and friendly dog he’d always been! Callie admits:
“We were all in shock and almost didn’t believe he was the same dog. It was honestly a bit emotional to see him after his transformation.”
Poor Toby, can you imagine how horrible it was to live under all that fur? And even worse, in a dumpster.
Thanks to Callie and her family, he is now reborn! As soon as the groomer shaved off everything that was getting in the way of Toby living his life to the fullest, he started feeling better.
Not only could he see clearly now, but he could also run and be his true self once again, and that was just the beginning…
Toby was feeling great, and luckily, wasn’t injured in any other way, he was healthy overall.
However, gaining his trust proved to be more challenging than Callie initially thought. But step by step, they made it!
“When he finally allowed himself to be pet, it was a sigh of relief. He used to only eat in the presence of … our dad, but [has] now extended his comfort to everyone in the house. He loves to play fetch with the tennis ball and welcomes everyone that comes in the drive.”
He’s still anxious at times, but he has come a long way. Callie hopes that once her uncle recovers and Toby sees his first rescuer again, he’ll fully trust them. As she shared:
“We got him cleaned up, but it was our uncle who saved Toby and gave him a second chance at life. Hopefully they can reunite soon.”
Follow Callie on TikTok for more updates on sweet Toby I’m sure you don’t want to miss.