Dobro was our first Toller and a wonderful introduction into the world of purebred dogs. He had an outstanding temperament: outgoing and eager to meet people, amiable even with pushy dogs— he was a wonderful (if perhaps misleadingly gregarious) ambassador for the breed. He liked nothing more than to be meet people and charm them.

Dobro was usually Rich’s companion for dog sports. Though Rich never had the time to train or show Dobro extensively, they dabbled in conformation, agility, obedience, and field events, earning several titles and honors. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, Dobro was ranked among the AKC’s Top 25 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers showing in conformation. In performance events, Dobro had a nice work ethic and was a real ham who responded well to either food or retrieving rewards. In the field, he had wonderful marking abilities and a joyous water entry.

He was also put together nicely, and his head was a wonderful example of the "Brittany-type" head. (Several types of head are popular in Tollers.) A cowlick ran through the thin blaze down his face, which often prompted strangers to ask if all Tollers have a facial ridge-- but no, that was just Dobro! Dobro sired his only litter in 2005.

Dobro came to us from Evelyn William’s Lonetree Kennel, formerly in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Many people are curious about his name… A dobro is a resonator guitar, sort of like a banjo mated with a guitar. (Specifically, Dobro is the brand name owned by Gibson instruments, and all similar instruments are called resophonic guitars.) It’s heard in bluegrass, country, blues, and Hawaiian music. We came up with Dobro’s name because of Rich’s eclectic interest in guitar music and woodcrafts. Dobro’s full name (Lonetree Journeyman Luthier) relates to his call name because a luthier is a maker of stringed instruments, such as guitars, dulcimers, and dobros. In the tradition of craftsmans’ guilds, a journeyman luthier would be a trained craftsman who did not require supervision but was not skilled enough to take on his own apprentices. If we could have, we would have named Dobro “Master Luthier,” but since he was in the “J” litter, we were pleased to rank him as a journeyman!

We lost Dobro at nine years old, after a brief struggle with cancer. He came down with a nighttime cough, which we attributed to kennel cough. None of the other dogs was coughing, but, as our oldest dog, we thought perhaps Dobro was a little more susceptible. Dobro only coughed occasionally-- at night, when he laid down-- and though his cough wasn't productive and didn't seem to trouble him, it also didn't go away. When we took x-rays, the local vet found some masses in Dobro's lungs and referred us to the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Hospital. Their radiologists and oncologists found multiple inoperable sarcomas. This was a huge shock to us, because Dobro seemed robustly healthy, other than this nagging nighttime cough. He ate with gusto, he retrieved happily, he seemed perfectly content-- we couldn't believe he had cancer. We began at-home chemotherapy to try and slow the tumor growth, but just six weeks later, Dobro's lung tumors were overwhelming him. We had to let him go.