Scruffy was a wonderful companion

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#RIP #Scruffy

She came to us almost whimsically, our dog, the one who would become so much a part of us, that is. A few years into The Great Recession of 2008, a bunch of real estate in our neighborhood went belly-up. Some people just abandoned their houses, now foreclosed, with a bunch of possessions behind — including pets.

Somewhere from a few streets down — I'm not sure from where exactly, a lady in the neighborhood had to deal with an annoying barking dog that had been abandoned. She grabbed the poor thing and literally went door-to-door telling anyone who would answer her cold call to their front door that if they didn't take the poor creature, it was the dog pound for sure tomorrow and the roulette wheel of pet adoption would be on. She must have done this with a dozen of my neighbors, but the recession's impact was cruel, so who wanted another pet around no matter how cute she was?

For me it was different. When we laid eyes on each other, it was love at first sight for me and Scruffy, which the lady who delivered her to us said was her name — and from that moment forward we were instantly connected.

Immediately, she took to my voice commands which I learned I could vary to elicit different responses and remarkably, I could take her even around the block without a leash. If she wandered, I could yell “Scruffy” and she'd be at me feet proud to have us as her companions from now on.

Once she settled where she made us hers, all her fussing disappeared. She became our family dog for over a decade.

We're going to miss her so much.