Thursday, May 19, 2011

Toby Plays Soccer

Toby loves soccer. Recently he called all the dogs together for a game of soccer in the back yard. I got to be the referee. My first act as referee, before the game even started, was to eject Ziggy for bad behavior. He hadn't done anything wrong yet, but I knew it was just a matter of time, so he was forced to leave the playing field before someone got hurt. Then, I blew my imaginary whistle and tossed the soccer ball into the middle of the field.
Small rope toy with plastic soccer ball in the middle of dog pack

 This is how soccer games start, right? I'm not really a soccer fan, so I sort of made up rules as we went along. None of the players seemed to mind.


Jumping right into action, Target gets the ball first, while Toby circles around to steal it, and Tulsa gives him "the look".
Target sniffs toy while Tulsa gives a sideways glare
 
Tulsa's stare-down wins her the ball and she sniffs it to make sure it isn't trying to get away. 

In an action packed moment, Toby steals the ball from Tulsa and takes off towards the goal.



Toby is cheered on by his rhinocerous, donated by his sponsor, who also donated the soccer ball and many other toys!

plastic rhinocerous sitting on deck

 Toby doesn't get far before being tackled. I blow my imaginary whistle, which all the dogs ignore, and play continues as before.
Tulsa tackler Toby

Target has taken a breather on the sidelines (i.e. the back deck) and Toby chases him down to force ask him to rejoin the game.
Toby carrying toy and chasing Target

Mission accomplished, Toby and Target return to the field.



The game continues for awhile, until finally the other dogs get tired of playing and leave Toby alone, wondering where everyone went. 
Toby with soccer ball and other dogs walking away

Undeterred, Toby continues to play soccer alone.  This is one soccer-loving dog!
Toby alone with soccer ball toy

9 comments:

Kari in Alaska said...

Those must be professional games based on all the tackling I saw ;)

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

Quite frequently I am on the recieving end of that cattle dog stare-down! Take no prisoners, Tulsa!

Tucker The Crestie said...

Forget Beckham! The new thing at the dog park will be Bending it Like Toby! Looks like fun!

Unknown said...

So cute that I can't even handle it!!

Unknown said...

soccer sounds pretty wild with everyone playing!

havetailwillwag said...

I love this post!! So cute!

24 Paws of Love said...

We love those kind of soccer games around here. We also play football and baseball! No better way to play than with our own rules!!

ForPetsSake said...

How did I know Ziggy would get in trouble ;)

Sue said...

We play soccer sometimes and like you I toss the ball to get play started. My dogs after chasing each other around will bring the ball back to me to start over. Morgan always wins.
Sue