M. VICTORIA CONDE
Illustrated by Daniel Millán
Toby is a puppy that was born in litter of three Golden Retrievers at a farm-school on the outskirts of the city. At that farm dogs that will one day carry out important missions are trained following a teaching and learning process.
Each dog is unique and different, and Toby is the most restless and curious of the three puppies, so he often gets distracted chasing bees on the hedge of the farm, where one second the bee is sitting on one flower and the next is flying off to another. Toby also amuses himself searching for voles, which he sniffs out as if he were already a great hound.
From when the dogs are a young age, the trainers teach them how to behave and how to walk. They also do a lot of exercise, race around avoiding obstacles, climb up and down stairs, faster and faster each time, and look for hidden objects. They have also learnt how to recognize certain smells; Toby knows that he is doing well when he sees that they give him affection, although he also loves to be rewarded with gummies. If they are taught well, the dogs know and understand what they have to do and feel happier.
Pilar, the vet at the farm-school, is the person who gives the dogs their vaccinations and takes care of their health. With the help of her assistants she sometimes bathes and brushes Toby’s pretty cinnamon-coloured fur, especially when he has to go out to visit a group of grannies and grandads who live in a nursing home. There he walks calmly among them and lets them tickle him between his big ears, because he notices how happy they are when they see him.
From time to time, some children come to the farm with their parents to see the dogs. One of them is Pepe, a boy who has a condition called diabetes. During those visits they got to know each other well and Pepe learned how to play with and take care of Toby; sometimes they participated in activities with other dogs and their guardians.
