- January 7, 2025
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Jelly holds a ball in her mouth, next to Reese Toth, Sophia, Mary Toth and Bean. Photo by Paige Wilson
Mary Toth holds up their first children's book, "Jelly and the Lost Ball." Photo by Paige Wilson
Jelly plays with her ball. Photo by Paige Wilson
Reese and Mary Toth hold up a painting of their family. Photo by Paige Wilson
Behind the puppy pictures on the Facebook page “The Adventures of Jelly, Bean and Sophia,” there’s a family that’s coping with loss.
The Facebook page, created by the Toth family of Palm Coast, now has over 80,000 “likes” and “followers.” It was started in December 2016 as a collaboration between Mary Toth and her son, Drew, to showcase the fun lives and personalities of their three fluffy friends: Jelly, Bean and Sophia.
One month after the page was created, Drew died of a drug overdose.
“It just devastated our house and our family,” Mary Toth said.
Mary Toth and her wife, Reese Toth, had only lived in Palm Coast for about seven months before creating the “The Adventures of Jelly, Bean and Sophia” account, but its rapid growth made it a special community that they knew they needed to continue — now, in honor of Drew.
They took the empty space left by Drew and filled it with love and positivity on the dogs’ account.
“Through our dogs, we’ve found happiness,” Mary Toth said. “And through my son’s death, there is healing. My son has given me many gifts since he’s been dead; he was my best friend.”
Mary Toth said that Sophia was Drew’s dog of choice, and she’s a constant reminder of him to this day.
The Toths began fostering children in January 2018, and the house was soon full. Over the last year, they have had up to three dogs and six foster children at once.
They have officially adopted two boys and are in the process of adopting two girls, Mary Toth said.
“Before I knew it, I could see Mary lifting up out of her grief,” Reese Toth said. “And I knew it was the dogs. And before you knew it, I could see the dogs doing the same things for the kids.”
Mary and Reese said they’ve seen their dogs warm their way into their kids’ hearts — a stark contrast from the day the kids walked into the home unsure and angry.
“After they started to get close with the dogs, you just start to see that horrible day, the worst day of their life, disappear,” Reese Toth said.
Mary was adopted as a baby herself, which fuels her passion to continue fostering.
“We know what these kids’ lives were like because those are the lives we lived,” Reese Toth said.
Though she wasn’t adopted, Reese Toth said she has a complicated past. Her childhood dog, Sebastian, a Norwegian elkhound, saved her countless times from an aggressive father; it’s how she knows the power of human-dog connections.
“I can tell you, as an abused child, [Sebastian] slept with me and stayed with me,” Reese Toth said. “They had to put him out of the house if they were going to do anything. So, I knew immediately that an animal was going to protect me over anything else. I mean, he would sit in my doorway until my stepfather was in bed, and then, he would come and get in bed with me.”
Reese Toth said she feels a similar connection with the family’s dogs now. They know when she’s in pain and when she is due for a doctor’s visit, due to injuries from a motor vehicle crash six years ago. The dogs seem to have a sixth sense about her and her family’s needs.
“Dogs to me are just a manifestation of love,” she said. “Even when we’re in the deepest, darkest of places, and other humans can’t get us out, the dogs can.”
The family just added a new pup, a little Yorkie and Havanese mix named Luke. They recently came out with their first children’s book, “Jelly and the Lost Ball,” which was written by Mary Toth and illustrated by her brother, Ryan Toth.
The book features detailed drawings of local spots, including Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, the Flagler Beach Pier and the Daytona International Speedway, as readers follow Jelly’s quest to find her ball.
The Toths have much more in the works for “The Adventures of Jelly, Bean and Sophia.” They’re working on writing a movie script, and they want to create a nonprofit in honor of Drew, through the series.
“I wanted to give back some way, in my son’s name,” Mary Toth said. “So, we’re in the process of coming up with some name for a nonprofit. My son loved shoes, like Jordans. I think he had 35 pairs when he died. When our foster kids came, they had nothing. They go to school and get uniforms, but the only way they can express themselves is through their feet.”
Reese Toth hopes to use their fostering experience to help local single mothers and those dealing with the aftermath of abuse.
“My passion for fostering is that I know I’m saving them from an environment that I’m very familiar with. And I can give them the things that no one gave me,” Reese Toth said. “But animals definitely saved my life. When I couldn’t connect with another human, I could connect with my dog.”
