Today is Toby's birthday

Nearly six and a half years ago God gave me a much needed gift -- Toby. I didn't think my heart was ready to hold another dog in it, but, I was wrong and God knew what I needed. Our dear Cassie died on March 7, 2008 and it broke my heart -- I won't write about it right now, but the date has a bearing on Toby's story. A year later, Alan was ready for another companion and was actively looking for one. Craigslist had a post for an Australian Shepherd puppy, so he persuaded me to go take a look. The dog was in Davis - a long drive.
Once we arrived and opened the door of the car, Toby came rushing over and hopped into the back seat. I couldn't believe it!! What a precocious little dog. We took a walk with Toby's "human caregiver", Toby, and his companion, 'Ashes' (a beautiful old border collie). Toby's owner, a doctor, talked about how important it was to treat dogs like dogs and not humans and she was very interested in making sure that Toby would get training. We didn't realize that we were being interviewed as potential caretakers until the hour long discussion and walk where she ended it by saying she had other people who were interested and she would let us know.
Feeling a little confused (we thought Toby was a 'rescue' dog as advertised) and sad, we said our good-byes to Toby and drove away. Finally we received a call from her to say that she had selected us as Toby's new owners and we could come and pick him up. The day we picked him up was the same day that Cassie had died the year before (Alan told me this later). Also, when I looked at Toby's litter certificate, it said he was born on August 3rd. The same day as Cassie -- only years later of course!! This couldn't be a coincidence and we felt that God was letting us know how much he cares about us and gave us this wonderful gift to ease our hearts and finish the healing process from Cassie's loss.
Well, today Toby is seven years old and he has been such a wonderful companion to us. He is always energetic and happy (except when we walk by certain dogs in the neighborhood) and loves to make sure we get our exercise.
I thank the Lord that He loves us so much and cares about every little thing.