We got Scruffy while I was in middle school. We had previously had another dog and a couple of rodents hamsters, but those didn’t really seem to work for us well. What we needed was another dog, and my parents decided to make that a reality for my brother Scott and I.
She was technically more Scott’s dog than mine, but obviously we both enjoyed her so much. We got her as a puppy and went through the house-breaking phase, the sock- and underwear-eating phase, and the “I’m-going-to-beg-by-sitting-up-for-30-minutes” phase.
Even though my parents got her for us, it was quickly apparent that they were breaking their own rules in order to garner affection from the new puppy. Quickly, we realized, that Scruffy was becoming a “Daddy’s Girl” and that the only one who would give her people food was Mom. No matter how hard we tried to stop them and no matter how many times we pleaded with them to let Scruffy sleep in our room, in the end Dad and Mom still had the corner on the market of our dog’s true affections.
We had the fun of taking her on walks down to the local elementary school and then teaching her how to catch a tennis ball and a frisbee in her mouth (although not at the same time). We watched her have so much fun that we were sure she was going to pant the tongue right out of her mouth. She always wanted to go back and do it some more, but we had to made sure she rested too!
She went with us through our high school years and the first part of our college years. During that time, of course, Scott and I were discovering more of who we were as young men and pursuing our studies with a fervor that prevented us from spending as much time with our doggie as we used to, save for the occasional tear around the house or knock-over-and-lick sessions.
Scott and I soon moved out of our parents’ house and moved on with our lives, leaving Scruffy to the care of my parents. She didn’t seem to mind it so much, as she got to sleep a lot and eat Mom’s toast everyday. She enjoyed our visits though, and certainly as Sammy and Noah entered the house, she became protective and would run in excitement to see them, despite the fact that she was usually abused at their hand.
Just this last Thursday, my parents had to make one of the toughest decisions they’ve ever had to make. Scruffy has been mostly deaf for several months and very blind; she had arthritis and cysts all over her body. Although she seemed to be in mostly good spirits, there were several occasions where she was in very evident pain. Life was exceedingly difficult for her now; she’d wake up in the middle of the night and yelp in sheer fright and pain. So my parents decided it was time to let her go.
Scruffy, I will miss your yawns at the expense of Dad’s hands; I will miss your sweet heart and protective nature toward me and my children; I will miss how you would tear around the house when you got excited.
With love,
Mark
Posted by Mark