JACK BRUNSON likes his dogs like he likes his guitars — a little rough around the edges.
When you walk into his shop, Jack’s Guitarcheology in Lebanon, you might first notice the rows of unusual, quirky guitars hanging from the walls — old Silvertones, dime-store brands from the ’50s and ’60s, and stringed oddities of all shapes and sizes. But if you spend just a few minutes inside, your attention will drift from the instruments to a one-eyed beagle stretched out on a blanket behind the counter. His name is Toby, and to those who stop by, he’s as much a fixture as the guitars on the wall.
A Craigslist Ad and One Very Adult Decision
“Toby’s been with me nine years this month,” Jack said. “We got him in 2016, when my wife and I barely had two nickels to rub together. It was one of those grownup decisions you don’t think you’re ready for, but looking back, it was the best one we ever made.”
Jack and his wife were newly married at the time, living in a shared house with friends and struggling to find their footing. “We were kind of craving something that made our life together feel real — something that made us feel like a family,” Jack recalled. That something came in the form of a Craigslist ad.
The photo was of a young beagle with two bright eyes, listed as “Dusty.” A couple had found him wandering along busy Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. Jack remembers meeting Toby for the first time. “We took him for a little walk, and before I could even say anything, my wife just goes, ‘Okay, we’ll take him.’ She handed them the leash, and suddenly we had a dog.”
More Than a Rescue
That dog quickly became the steady heartbeat of their home. “There were parts of the [COVID-19 pandemic] where I don’t even think I would have noticed the passage of time if it weren’t for feeding Toby and taking him out,” Jack
said. “He was the only marker of the day.”
Toby also played a quiet but powerful role in another turning point: Jack and his wife’s decision to get sober in 2019. “He was a huge part of that,” Jack said. “We’d take him walking, we’d do things that kept our minds off drinking. He gave us a routine, and that made all the difference.”
If Toby gave Jack stability, Jack gave Toby a forever home — and even gave him his real name back.
To Jack, he never seemed like a “Dusty.” One night while watching “The Office,” Jack suggested he looked like Toby Flenderson, the HR guy. “The second I said ‘Toby,’ he perked up,” Jack said. “Turns out, that had been his original name all along. We were able to confirm it years later. We didn’t name him; we rediscovered who he was.”
One Less Eye, Twice the Spirit
Over the years, Toby has been through his share of trials. A few years ago, a fast-growing tumor in his eye left him lethargic and sick. They had to remove his eye. “Everyone said, ‘Poor baby.’ But don’t feel bad for him,” Jack laughed. “After he got that eye out, he was like a completely new dog. He feels better than he ever has.”
Toby spends most of his days at Guitarcheology alongside Jack. “He sleeps about 20 hours a day, but when people walk in, he’ll get up, greet them, and see if they’ll give him a pet,” Jack said. “Then he goes right back to his blanket. He honestly lives the life of a well-treated Walmart greeter.”
Customers have grown just as fond of Toby as they are of the rare guitars. “Some people come by just to pet Toby,” Jack said. “They’ll say, ‘OK, we just wanted to see him,’ and then head out. And I love that. He’s become kind of a little micro-celebrity around here.”
Jack admitted that he and his wife have even put off international travel until Toby passes. “We want to be there with him until the very end,” he said quietly. “We don’t have kids, so for almost a decade now, Toby has been our world. He’s the one we’ve cared for besides each other.”
A Shared Lesson in Care and Character
For Jack, the parallel between his shop and his beagle is clear. Just as he sees beauty and potential in overlooked guitars, he saw it in a scruffy rescue dog. Both required care, patience, and a little belief that what’s written off by others can still shine.
“In the most cliche way, he saved me. I didn’t save him,” Jack said. “He gave me a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to keep going, and I just try to return the favor by giving him structure, routine, and love.”
In a town known for its music, Jack and Toby’s story isn’t about chasing fame or fortune. It’s about faithfulness — the kind that shows up every day, tail wagging, ready for the next walk or the next customer at the door.
“I think I’ll always be a dog guy,” Jack said. “I’ll always go find the scruffy one at the pound and bring him home. That’s just who I am.” GN
