Toufa was the black standard poodle that our family had from 1965 to 1977. She was a wonderful, smart and loving animal. We adopted her from another family -- I don't know any details on this. Does anyone else? We never did know for sure what her name really meant except that to all of us it meant LOVE. She played with the kids and was especially good at the game of 'hide and go seek'. She loved chocolate and french fries. One Christmas she knocked over the Christmas tree and consumed all the foil wrapped chocolate balls which decorated the tree during the night while the family slept.
Toufa loved to go camping with us and would really prance around in the wood. We would take her for a walk and wait until she became caught up in her surroundings and and then we would quickly hide behind a tree. Toufa would keep walking for awhile and then suddenly realize that her human was not with her. She would hunt and hunt all over until she found us. Then she would smile and snort, embarrassed that she had "lost" us and also enjoying our little game.
One thing Toufa had a hard time with on the camping trips was the swimming. She didn't like to swim -- in fact she hated being in the water. But the humans liked to see her swim. We tried everything to get Toufa to swim. Finally we resorted to putting her on one of the little homemade rafts that were always around and taking her ten to twenty yards or so out into the lake. Then we'd push her off. Sure enough, then she'd swim. (Oh, I don't like remembering that we were mean to her!)
Toufa had a cold wet nose that she used to good advantage. She would nudge nudge nudge any idle arm resting on the arm of a chair until it would love her little head. Then oh, she was okay. She loved to go for rides in the car and would often sit in the front seat next to the driver (we had what were called 'bench' seats then. Fancier 'bucket' seats were few and far between). So great was her need for love and affection that she was plastered against the driver making right turns really difficult. People seeing us with her in the car often thought we had some black hairy adult with us, since she was human size when she sat on the car seat with us.
Toufa's most distinguishing characteristic was her smile. She would bare her teeth as a mad dog might, only hers was to show affection or embarrassment. One summer day I remember her standing at the back door with her nose pressed against the glass panel in the closed screen door. As she was looking outside and concentrating, there was a sonic boom. It scared her and she jumped so hard that she slammed her little noses right into the glass. Realizing that a human was watching her she smiled and ducked her head and sneezed over and over. (She was embarrassed!)
Toufa not just tolerated the cats we had through the years, she was buddies with them. They would play together but most often slept together, snuggling up close for warmth.
Oh, we loved Toufa! She was an amazing dog and a true member of our family.
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My memory of Toufa's arrival...Toufa had gotten away from her family and was running down Addison. I thought either Mom or Dad or both or Larry or Dick had helped catch her so she would not get hit by a car. She had a tag on her collar with her name on it. Her owner never was discovered so we adpoted her and she adpoted us. I remember her fear of a uniform, Postman, Dick when he came home with his Navy uniform on. Toufa would go into a barking fit. Remember she jumped the postman one day on his delivery to our house on Addison. Toufa knew the mail carriers schedule and would wait for him at the front door. Remember the mailbox was by the front door. The screen door didn't latch tight and she jumped at him which opened the door. If that happened today we would lose our sweet dog. We concluded Toufa must have been abused by some one who wore a uniform. I also remember when we could not find her. How we went out walking through the neighborhood and no Toufa, so afraid she had been run over. Finally someone drove the car to look for her farther a field, I was a passenger or maybe the driver, can't remember. We found her blocks away with a new dog friend, sitting together in the shade on the front lawn. Just as regal as ever, and so happy when we called her name. She didn't come bounding to us however, but we did manage to get her in the car and take her home.
ReplyDeleteI loved that dog!!!!! She was so smart!!! And she loved her family. I really don't remember where she came from, but she quickly was a member of the family. I was a cat person, having a dog was pretty foriegn to me. I wasn't really excited to have a dog. But mother wanted her so we got her. Dad wasn't excited to have another mouth to feed, but quickly became best friends with her. Oh, he would act like she was just another pest bothering him, but Dad really came to love her. And then when it was time for her to leave....... the whole family was so upset. Mother wouldn't think of having another dog because there wasn't another dog like Toufa. And that's true because she was very "regal",and she was smart...she knew people talk. She would prance when she was outside. When she would play fetch with the kids, she would run and get the ball and then with her head held high she would maybe come back with the ball maybe not.
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