🎧 Want to hear my story?
Not my voice — it’s Mochie’s Owner.
It turns out that Toby had a “criminal past.” At least, that’s how the owners liked to tell the story of the time the police took Toby and he spent a night behind bars. Officially, people refer to it as “being taken into custody.”
Here’s what happened. The owners were working in the garden—it was summer, and there was so much to do. On top of that, the owner, like me sometimes, had a sore leg that day and could barely move. Toby, as usual, was wandering around the owners. Closer to evening, they realised he wasn’t nearby. Horrified, they remembered that the day before, a storm had knocked down part of the fence and immediately feared that Toby had taken advantage of it.
Masha rushed to search the yards and playgrounds around the house, while the Boss, limping, “rushed” along the path to the sea, the one they usually took for walks with Toby.
The dog had disappeared. Toby was nowhere to be found. By sheer luck, when Masha unsuccessfully tried to get information about Toby at the reception of the hotel near the house, an elderly gentleman passing by told her what had happened. He had seen, earlier in the day, a small, white dog playing with other dogs in a clearing near the hotel. Then all the owners and their dogs left, and this little white dog, left alone, darted across the road. Thank goodness, at that moment, some kind people were passing by and stopped traffic so the dog wouldn’t get run over.
As fate would have it, a police car was passing on the opposite lane at that very moment. Spotting the “traffic violator,” the officers caught him, put him in their car, and drove off.
After thanking the gentleman, the owners dashed to the police station. It wasn’t too late yet, but the station was closed, and the only way to communicate with law enforcement was the wall phone. However, the lady on the other end, somewhere on the mainland, checked details and gave complete information about Toby. Yes, the dog had been taken into custody and placed in the kennel. The kennel was already closed, and the owners could pick up the “offender” the next morning.
On one hand, the owners breathed a sigh of relief. On the other hand, they were unanimous in thinking: Toby deserved it! Let him spend a night behind bars—maybe he would understand that you have to think before you act, especially when you’re so eager to be free from your owners but don’t know how to enjoy that freedom safely. (I, for example, have been trained by the owners and follow the rules strictly, no matter how much I want to step out faster to lift a paw; I wait at the edge of the road until given the command, safe from traffic.)
It’s hard to say what Toby thought that morning about freedom. Still, when the owners arrived at the shelter and Toby was brought out to them, it was clear that the dog realised he had done something terrible and expected inevitable punishment. But his appearance—dirty fur, so messy you couldn’t even imagine it was white, tail tucked between his legs, head down, a rope around his neck instead of his usual collar—was so touching! It was apparent—he understood, he regretted it, and he wouldn’t do it again. And the main point was – it was their Toby: alive, safe, and healthy. So the owners didn’t even consider punishing him.
Just a few words from the owners, and Toby immediately understood by their tone that all was forgiven! His tail returned to its usual place and wagged happily, his head lifted proudly, and without fear, he rushed to his owners.
As for how they washed Toby in the bath, dried and brushed him, and fed him extra—well, that’s more about the owners than Toby. Love is always mutual in our house! Even after his “custody,” Toby remained loved, and he always returned that love in full measure.
