Caring for her 10-plus-year-old dog, local Center Moriches resident Catherine McHeffey said she feels it is a privilege.
McHeffey, 33, graduated from St. Joseph’s in 2015 and Adelphi with her MSW in 2017.
Toby, her rescue, who she got in 2016 at 1 year old, developed a fatal disease called oral melanoma in May of 2025. The disease required surgery and radiation that would be aggressive. Instead, she committed to a less intrusive approach of treatment adjusting his lifestyle and diet.
“Toby has been my anchor for over 10 years,” said McHeffey. “And since May of last year, I think he has begun to lean on me.”
As part of her efforts, she began changing his diet to a healthier, more holistic diet, including freshly cooked chicken and a special Moringa tea.
The doctors gave Toby three months to live.
“The doctor said he had tops three months to live,” said McHeffey. “Well, last July came and went, and even though he definitely started showing symptoms, he was still with us!”
The McHeffey family are lifelong Moriches area residents. There have been numerous rescue pets in their homes. Toby was a rescue from Texas. He always had lots of energy and was known to be mischievous.
“My brother and sisters are runners and I thought, maybe Toby and I could do a 5K?!” And 5K they did!” she said, noting Toby completed three in his late-life activities.
One time, she recalled, they even found him on the roof of their house.
“I was traumatized, but he seemed to be cool with it!” she said. “He just came back through the second-floor window.”
Saddened by his death, she summed up Toby’s outlook on life, noting that he always found an opening and explored it.
“He really lived in the moment,” she disclosed softly. “It’s a life lesson for all of us!” McHeffey is a LMSW at Stony Brook University, and appreciates life and death in her work. She admitted it can be intense, but, she said, there was no one better to ground her than Toby.
Toby died on Jan. 18, 2026, eight months passed the doctor’s diagnosis.
What’s next for McHeffey?
A new puppy, she said, is not yet in the cards. Instead, she devoted all her time and energy into Toby’s last days.
“I was blessed to be able to care for such a gentle soul,” she added.
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