The Tail of Toast

Toasts Beginning

One cold morning at a large Midwestern animal hospital in Illinois, a couple walked through the doors carrying a puppy from their newest golden doodle litter. As breeders, they were no strangers to sicknesses or setbacks that can come with raising puppies, but this one was different. He stumbled, toppled over, and even went completely unresponsive at times. Something was clearly wrong.

The veterinarians examined him closely. Test after test came back normal, yet the symptoms persisted. The more the doctors discussed tests like advanced imaging and further diagnostics, the more worried the owners became about the cost of care. After a long pause, they made a painful decision: they surrendered their puppy to the hospital and walked away.

Suddenly without a family, the tiny doodle was quickly taken in by the staff. Each employee stopped by his kennel that day, unable to resist his sweet face. He was passed from arm to arm, cuddled and cooed over, and instantly loved. Soon, there was a new task, choosing a name. Suggestions flew around the treatment room until one veterinary assistant joked, “What about Cinnamon Toast Crunch?” Another chimed in, “Or just Toast, ya know, ‘cause his brain is toast.” The room laughed, and just like that, the name stuck. Toast.

As with all surrendered pets, Toast was transferred under the care of Peoples Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, a local animal shelter. Because of his medical uncertainty, the shelter agreed it would be best if he stayed with veterinary staff until his condition was better understood. A handful of technicians eagerly stepped in to foster, co-parenting him week by week. Toast came to work with them every morning and went home every evening, switching houses each week. He became a fixture in the hospital hallways, greeted by doctors, staff, and clients alike.

The search for answers continued. CT scans, bloodwork, neurological exams, everything came back clear. The puppy seemed perfectly healthy, except for the sudden collapses, the slow movements, the moments where he seemed to drift away. Finally, with all other possibilities ruled out, the doctors landed on a diagnosis: narcolepsy. A rare, lifelong neurological condition that causes sudden bouts of sleep and loss of muscle control. It was an explanation that finally made sense.

Toast’s Forever Fosters

Among the staff was Luke Jaws, a young veterinary assistant who had fallen especially hard for Toast. No matter how busy or stressful the day was, Toast always gave him a reason to smile. One morning, as Luke started his shift, he filmed a short video of the little doodle and sent it to the Jaws family group chat. His family fell in love instantly, especially his mom, Laura Jaws. Animals had always been a part of Laura’s life. Between her day job as a Nurse, she volunteers at the animal shelter, and she has fostered more than 250 kittens over the years. She always gravitated toward the ones who were harder to place: the disabled, the sick, the “different.” To her, they weren’t problems, they were possibilities. With that experience, Laura wanted to meet Toast as soon as possible.

Luke arranged a meet-and-greet for his parents. At first sight, they hesitated. Toast was clearly very disabled. As a puppy, he could barely stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time. Caring for him would mean constant attention: helping him eat, walk, climb stairs, go to the bathroom, and keeping him safe when his narcolepsy made him collapse without warning. Still, the Jaws family was not one to back away from a challenge, or from an animal in need. They decided to take a chance and bring him home.

Toast’s Rise to Fame

The first few weeks were tough. Adjustments were many, and each day brought a new learning curve. But over time, Toast proved to be the perfect fit for the Jaws household. With every challenge came more love, and Toast quickly became a source of joy that tied the family even closer together.

One day, Laura decided to share that joy with the internet. She posted a few videos, never expecting more than a handful of smiles. Within hours, Luke’s “Toast Pitch” clip and other short snippets of Toast nodding off began to spread like wildfire. What started as a few hundred views turned into thousands, then millions. Before long, Toast had more than 400,000 followers across social media platforms, all of whom the Jaws family lovingly calls “Team Toast.”

Through this growing platform, families of special-needs and disabled dogs began reaching out and sharing their stories. These incredible animals, alongside Toast, became known as The Underdogs, the underloved, underappreciated, and often overlooked pets who deserve the same chance at love and care as any other.

Toast’s Dreams Come True

The story that changed everything was Rupert, a pup from Canada born with a spinal deformity affecting both hind legs. Her condition made even routine procedures more complicated, causing vet bills to stack up quickly. With Toast’s help, Rupert’s family started a TikTok and launched a GoFundMe. Rupert’s family along with Team Toast raised more than $25,000—enough for a CT scan, a spay surgery, and even a double amputation that gave Rupert the best quality of life possible.

Rupert’s story opened Laura’s eyes to the real power of Toast’s platform. Simply by being themselves and sharing their journey, they had changed another animal’s life forever. It was in that moment that the early vision for Team Toast’s mission began to take shape: to help as many animals and families like Rupert as possible.

That vision is now growing into Team Underdogs , a community dedicated to giving overlooked animals a voice and a chance. With the upcoming “Toast: An Underdog-umentary” , the Jaws family hopes to share Toast’s story with the world, not just as a tale of one sleepy doodle, but as the beginning of a movement. Every view, every donation, and every shared story helps keep Toast’s mission alive, proving that together, Team Toast can change the lives of Underdogs everywhere.