Toby Part One: Hero Worship

“Look, mommy, puppies!” said a little girl.  “Can we have one, please?”

“Sure, Tina.  Why don’t you pick one?”

Tina picked up one of the puppies.  The puppy barked and licked her face, making her laugh.  “I’ll take this one,” she said.

Terry smiled as she watched the family walk away.  “I guess our kids are growing up,” she said in a voice that was half-happy and half-sad.  She nuzzled her mate, a bloodhound named Rex.

“Hmmph,” he replied grumpily.  Terry wasn’t bothered by his apparent gruffness.  She knew that Rex’s thin coat made the cold uncomfortable for him.  He was a police dog who almost never ventured outdoors unless his nose was needed to track down a lost child or an escaped criminal.  And whenever he did go outside, he tended to be irritable.  But Terry knew that under that gruff exterior, Rex was really very kind and affectionate.  She nuzzled him again and noticed with some satisfaction that his tail had begun to wag just a little.

One by one the pups were taken by eager little boys and girls.  Terry’s eyes began to mist slightly.  She knew Nome was a small enough town that she would be able to keep in touch with her children, but it seemed like just yesterday that they had been just tiny, hairless puppies with their eyes and ears still shut.  'It never gets easier,' she told herself.  'It's one of those things that's always hard.'

She looked into the box and noticed something was wrong.  Four puppies had been taken, but five were gone.  Then she saw why.  A hole had been scratched in the side of the box just big enough for a pup to squeeze out.  She didn’t have to check to guess who it was.  ‘Toby,’ she thought with an exasperated sigh.  “Rex, would you watch them for a minute?  I’ll be right back.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Rex.

“It seems our little Houdini has disappeared.  Again.”

Rex stood up.  “I’ll go find him,” he said, but Terry stepped into his path.

“Oh no you don’t.  You stay here.  Ever since you visited the school last week all the children know you.  They’ll want the pups more if they know their father is a police dog, especially Nome’s best tracker.  And a good nose won’t be necessary for this case.  I know exactly where he is.”  And with that, Terry took off.

Rex groaned.  A chance to get up and move around would have suited him just fine.  But he knew Terry was right.  “The things I do for family,” he muttered.

Terry headed quickly to the lot where Toby liked to play.  Sure enough, there he was, standing on a pile of boxes and howling.  With his combination of Terry’s husky appearance and Rex’s dark brown color, one could have actually mistaken him for a wolf cub.  But at the moment all Terry noticed was how close he was to the edge, and how unsteady the pile looked.  “Toby!” she called.  “Get down from there before you get yourself hurt!  You’re supposed to be in the box, not on it!”

               Toby stopped howling and just sat there.  “I’m not gonna get hurt,” he insisted.  “I’m practicing.”  And he lifted his head and let out another howl.

“Toby, please stop that howling.  Humans won’t want you if you do that all the time.”

“I don’t wanna get a human,” he said.  “I wanna be a wolf-dog like Balto.”

Terry sighed.  “I should never have told you about him.  Your brothers and sisters can simply enjoy a story, but you always have to try and live it.”

“Dad always says stories are supposed to be learned from,” Toby pointed out.

Terry shook her head.  “Toby, please.  You know I just want a good life for you.  I lived on the streets for a while once, and it was terrible.  I don’t want that life for you.”

“Your mother is right, son.”

Toby and Terry’s heads swiveled.  “Rex?” asked Terry.  “You said you’d watch the kids.”

“They’ve all found homes,” he said.  “All except Toby.”  He looked up at his son.  “Toby, your mother is right.  I’ve seen what life on the streets does to a dog.  And it’s not good.”

“I don’t want to live on the streets either,” Toby countered.  “I just wanna stay with mom until I’m old enough to handle myself.  Then I’ll find a spot somewhere on the edge of town, just like Balto and his boat.”

Rex scowled.  “Toby, I’ve told you before, you should be a tracker like me.  It’s a good job, you’ll be helping people who really need it, and besides, you’re practically made for the job.  You’ve got the best nose out of all your brothers and sisters.”

Toby shook his head.  “I don’t want some hand-me-down legacy.  I don’t want to have my whole life handed to me.  That’s how Steele had it and look where he ended up.”

“Alright,” Terry said before Rex could burst out about Toby’s calling tracking a “hand-me-down legacy.”  “Toby, if you want to stay with me, I’ll make you a deal.  I’ll let you stay longer if you promise me that if you find a home you’re happy with, you will stay there."

Toby jumped down off the boxes.  ‘Like that’s ever gonna happen,’ he thought.  “Okay,” he said.  “It’s a deal.”

“Now let’s go home,” said Terry.  “It’s getting dark.”

Rex shook himself.  “And I’m guessing there’s a storm coming.  I can smell it.”

Toby didn’t want to admit it, but he smelled something in the air too.  ‘Ah, who cares?’ he thought.  ‘I’ll bet Balto can smell storms too.  I’ll bet he smelled this one a month ago.’

Later that night, Terry got up.  She went over to the police chief’s house and slipped through the dog door.  She walked through the house, looking for Rex.  “What kept you?” came a playful voice from behind her.

She spun around.  “Rex!” she breathed.  “You scared me.”

Rex chuckled.  “Oh, come on.  I know I’m not the best-looking dog in Nome, but-“

Terry laughed.  “No, no.  I mean, you startled me.”  She walked up to him and they touched noses.  “How did you know I’d be coming here at this hour?”

“Because I know you,” he said simply.  “And because I’m worried about Toby too.”  He led her over by the fire so she could warm up while they were talking.

“Rex, when will he come to his senses?”

He looked her in the eyes.  “Sweetheart, I’m not really sure he hasn’t.  He’s right about one thing: having everything hand-fed to you is no way to live.”

“Rex!  Don’t you want a good life for him?”

“Absolutely.  But in the meantime, a little challenge will be good for him.  When the time comes, he’ll find his place.”

Terry’s ears slid down.  “But what if he doesn’t?”

“Then his place will find him.  We just have to make sure he gets by until then and doesn’t get into trouble.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Absolutely.  Kids have a way of rising to the occasion.  Especially when they get the right help.”  He walked her to the door.  “Now, you’d best get home before he wakes up and decides to get into mischief.”

Unfortunately, not everyone in Toby’s family agreed with Rex.  The next day Toby had a run-in with his half-brother Pete.  Pete’s father had been a husky like Terry, but had died when he tripped pulling a sled in a race.  Pete had been bitter ever since, and when Terry met Rex it had gotten even worse.  When his half-siblings arrived, Pete had been scornful of them all.  But Toby was the one he hated most.  And today was no exception.  “So what’s up, runt?” he asked in greeting.  “Did you get a home yesterday?”

“Nope,” said Toby cheerfully.

“Aww, that’s too bad,” Pete said in a voice generally used for talking to infants.  “But I guess nobody wants a runty mutt like you.”

“I escaped.  I decided I wanna grow up just like Balto.”

“Heh,” sneered Pete.  “That old half-breed?  Why don’t you start by sticking your head in a garbage can?”

“’Cause then I’d have to room with you,” answered Toby.  “You’ll see.  Someday you’ll see that it doesn’t take a purebred to be somebody.”

“Ha!  We’ll see,” sneered Pete, walking away.

Later while he