When he was just 8 months old, Daintree’s Flying Kangaroo, our Australian litter’s Qantas (left) found himself unwanted by his original family. Due to the distance, I had a colleague go and pick him up with a cheque because the owners wouldn’t give him back, but rather held him ransom for a complete refund. Not all breeders have a few grand sitting around so I struggled, but we got him back.
He was a handful but a good dog.
Enter Josh Smith and his mother Cheryl. Josh is a special needs adult with a love of dogs and especially Tollers. He had lost his Toller Jesse and made a beautiful video tribute to the departed boy which made the rounds online. Although I have never met Josh in person, I understand that he is largely non-verbal and that his family didn’t even know that he knew how to make videos on the computer. Until this one... ❤️
Though the Smiths had applied with a couple of different kennels aside from Daintree for a puppy, they knew with their lifestyle and Toller experience that they could manage a slightly older dog as well, so accepted both Qantas and Levi. That was 8 years ago ❤️❤️.
Qantas went on to save the life of Josh’s dad, Cheryl’s husband Paul when he was in distress in his armchair one night by behaving in an agitated fashion until Cheryl arrived from a different part of the house to help. He ended up being okay! We’ve since lost Paul, but the fur boys remain a bonded and valued part of the family. And Qantas is still a handful. ☺️
Qantas and Levi, summer 2019