Penny's Reflections of Dr. Luibi

TOSICI Dr. Liubinco Tosici, age 60, of Milford, Liubi to his friends and family, peacefully passed away at home on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, with his family by his side. Born in Romania, Dr. Tosici came to the United States in 1980 and earned his doctorate of veterinary medicine. He dedicated his life to the care of animals and helping people learn the proper care of their pets. He began many years ago as the directing veterinarian at The Emergency Veterinary Clinic in Norwalk before opening his own private practice in Milford in 1993. He was voted 2009 Veterinarian of the Year by the Fairfield County Veterinary Medical Association and was the track veterinarian for the Shoreline Star Greyhound Park in Bridgeport, helping thousands of Greyhounds find their way to loving homes while caring for his patients at his own practice. He was an active member of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association for many years, and served as treasurer for the Fairfield County Veterinary Medical Association for more than 20 years. He is survived by his loving wife Janice, a daughter Dana, and a son Tiberius. He was predeceased by his mother Angelina and father Jivco. Dr. Tosici will be sadly missed by his patients and clients, as he was a giving person whose love for all animals will continue to live on in our hearts. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at The Milford Bank to The Dr. Liubi Pet Wellness Fund, 33 Broad Street, Milford, Connecticut. Memorial service arrangements to be announced.

Wow. I had to read this over and over and over to make it soak in. It’s too simple, too plain; something Doc was not. I’m not even sure where to start but I’m going to try to keep this short even though it could be a book.

While working at Shoreline Star Greyhound Park I met “Doc,” as he was called, when he was hired as one of the track vets. Our first few encounters were very routine.

Then came the hard stuff.

The first greyhound that broke a hind leg which, unfortunately, is common place in the greyhound racing industry, usually warrants the dog be euthanized. We were offered a change with our new vet. Doc cast the dog's leg and off he went to become a pet. A first! I’m sure other tracks had done this before but not here.

The next adventure was a little white greyhound named I’m Nova (aka Mouse) who shattered a FRONT leg. That surely warranted euthanasia, but as a small crowd formed around Doc’s office, he said “What do you mean you brutalize? We can save this dog!” We all thought he was purely insane. He stabilized this little girl and off we went to the surgeon. Mouse became part of the underground greyhound groupies as the Internet and phone lines were burning up with: “THEY DID WHAT?!”

MOUSE got her own crate with around the clock people watching her and donations were made to pay for the cost of her surgery. Mouse now lives in Long Island and set the pace for many others to be saved.

Why? Because of DOC. His compassion, knowledge and quite honestly, his attitude was determined to make a CHANGE. He never gave up.

I remember one very snowy day (now we all know Doc could not drive very well!) when I called him in on a secret mission. A hauler had come to the kennels to drop off racing dogs and I heard a dog crying in the truck.

I asked what was wrong and was informed there was a greyhound with a broken leg on board going back to the “farm.”

I could not stand it and took the dog into my kennel. This poor boy was a mess. So I called doc and swore him to secrecy and asked that he come to the kennels to help. I could not bring him to the track; I would be caught!

In the dark of a snowy night he came. We worked on this dog in less than perfect conditions and during our casting doc asked what the dog’s name was. I had no clue so we aptly named him Whatwasithinking.

Chester now lives in PA. I don’t think anyone but doc and I knew the truth.

Doc stood by me in lots of bad situations. My divorce was hard. He let me come work for him in the clinic, which then prepared me for working in the vet community.

I went onto Cheshire emergency which was a huge learning experience. He introduced me to some great vets in the community. Dr. Frank, Dr. Steckel and countless others. All these people came on board to help the greyhounds which we both loved so dearly.

Ok, I said I would keep this short.

Working at the clinic with Doc really showed me the depth of his caring of animals. Some of the wretches that came through the door shocked even me. Yet he did all he could for them. Doc could be very rough around the edges with people but never with animals. He could be difficult if you didn’t listen to him. There is just not nearly enough that we can all say about him but if you looked up compassion in the dictionary his photo with an animal would be there.

The last time I saw Doc, I went to Yale and when I saw his name on the door I nearly fainted. The nurses and my son and his girlfriend had to drag me away before I could go in. As an EMT I see horrible things daily but this was, without words, how deeply it affected me, as I knew what it meant.

I composed myself and went in the door. In the bed was a body. Once the body began to talk it was still my DOC. He told me everything that was going on right down to the last mg. of drugs he was getting. I could not help but smile. His body failed him, yet his mind was sharp and his spirit was not broken, but he knew.

We talked for a while. He told me how he had driven himself to the hospital after working the previous day. He knew I was SHOCKED at his appearance but we both hid it well. He said to me, Penny, “Let me tell you one thing” his famous words. He said, “you know life is hard, living is difficult, but you only have to die once.” I knew that was my exit cue.

On my way out as a shattered broken person knowing this was goodbye I told everyone that when the time comes I was going to memorialize him and tell everyone ONE THING: as you see even I could not do that (but neither could he).

ONE THING:

Doc, Luibi, dad, friend, whatever you called him, will be deeply missed but never forgotten. If we all learned one thing from him it was compassion for those that cannot speak for themselves.

Doc, there are so many waiting for you in heaven. After you have all gotten reacquainted, take a look down on the rest of us and smile as your memories bring smiles to our faces. Your human body may be gone but your spirit and caring will carry on forever and ever!

Penny

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