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   dymatsuoka

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   Mr. Robert's dog is named Toddy.

   Toddy is an "old, gray, nasty-looking dog", and it is obvious that Mr. Robert is quite fond of him, and vice versa.  Mr. Robert says that "in his day (Toddy) was the best coon dog in all Alabama", and that he would get "a hundred bucks just to stud him".  Now, however, the dog is so old that he doesn't hunt anymore.  Like Mr. Robert, he has "lost the desire".

   It is hard for Mr. Robert to watch his dog grow old.  The two of them have been extremely close for a very long time; Mr. Robert says that they even saved each other's lives.  The boys are incredulous that Mr. Robert saved Toddy's life like he says, and when Mr. Robert relates how Toddy was almost drowned by a raccoon, Kenny says he "stopped believing (his story) right there", but when Mr. Robert goes on to tell how he gave the dog mouth-to-mouth resucitation, however, both boys are impressed.  Byron exclaims, "Man!  That's too much!  That's cool!", and Kenny decides that Mr. Robert "was probably the only human being who'd ever put his mouth on a dog's nose", a pretty impressive undertaking (Chapter 12).

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   Posted by dymatsuoka on Monday March 16, 2009 at 7:19 PM