While volunteering at her local animal rescue center, Jess Martin fell in love with an adorable Staffordshire named Amos that was born blind. When she heard that he was having some trouble finding his forever family, she immediately opened up her home to the timid pup. What originally began as a temporary foster home for Amos, turned into the home that would forever change his life.
Jess was initially worried about how Toby, her 9-year-old terrier, would react to his foster brother. Toby was Jess’s very best friend. They have been on some incredible adventures together, and have formed a marvelous bond, so the thought of adding to their small family sounded a ʙɪᴛ daunting. After a couple of days of uncertainty between Toby and Amos, their friendship bloomed.
“I thought it would be very difficult to find an owner and while Amos was on medical care for four months, we decided to foster him in February last year but after a while, we realized we would never give him back.”
Amos had never lived in a house before meeting Jess, as he had spent his entire existence at a rescue center. Amos would run into walls, be ᴛᴇʀʀɪfɪᴇᴅ by the sound of the television, and even dislike the feel of the carpet under his paws. Finding the water bowl, for example, was a huge difficulty for the ʙʟɪɴᴅ puppy. Tᴏʙʏ was sᴋᴇᴘᴛɪᴄᴀʟ about Amos at first, but Jess soon discovered something remarkable. Toby would nudge Amos in the proper direction if she spotted him straining to reach his water bowl.
“At the beginning, Toby growled at him a few times and then ignored him – Amos came from a kennel so doesn’t know how to socialize with other dogs. After a couple of days, I saw that Amos couldn’t find his water bowl and Toby nudged him and helped him out.”
What began as a kind nudge turned into Amos being assigned his own personal guide. Jess and her family were overjoyed to have found yet another cherished buddy.
Ms. Martin continued: “When we went out on walks Amos was very scared, especially of the noises and Toby quickly picked up that he needed help – so every time Amos was stopping, Toby would go and lie next to him till he would be ready.”
The two even work on synchronized commands during training time. “They have developed a nice communication between them, and they know each other’s boundaries.” Toby is truly the best guide and bodyguard that Amos could have ever asked for! And they have found a forever friend.
Hiking through the hills is now a favorite pastime for furry best friends! Toby guides Amos through the hills with body bumps and nudges and helps guide him back to the path if he ever strays.
Amos has mastered the art of hiking, but still has a lot to learn in the category of socialization and interacting with other dogs. Toby will often act as the middle man during these encounters since many dogs are put off by Amos due to his inability to communicate as a normal dog would. Jess and Toby are working together to improve his socialization skills every day!
