I know we just bought a house and have been blogging slackers and this is not the post most of you are expecting, but life happens sometimes and this post is dedicated to my dog Scrappy. He joined our family when I was a Sophmore in High School. My dad was a Foreman on his construction site and noticed a little dog hanging around begging for food, winter was on its way and he quickly became the site mascot. He ate anything and everything given to him so he was named Scrappy. My dad was adamant that we would not be adding another pet to our collection, but it was getting cold and it became more and more apparent that no one was claiming this dog. He did some checking and found out that his owners lived down the road and wanted nothing to do with him, they told my dad that Scrappy was good for nothing and stupid. My dad was so furious that someone would just abandon a dog and he decided to rescue him and bring him home. We were so excited when he came through the door for the first time. I don't think he had any clue what he was in for when he joined our wacky family, but he fit in so perfectly and recieved so much love he would hide from me mostly beause I would love him to death and he didn't know what to do about it :) I mean he was so small he would just give up and take it and then when given the chance scamper off as fast as his little leggs would carry him.He was there for all the good times and the bad I think the memories I will remember most about Scrappy is that he would nip at our heels when we would fight- he hated contention and he always knew who started it. He would beg like no other dog he would take one paw and tap our leg with it to let us know he was there and when that would fail he would nudge us with his nose until he got his table scraps.
He bacame a member of our family in so many ways, infact he picked up on our obsessive compulsive behaviors and HATED it when anyone would touch his paws he would roll his eyes and then begin licking them like we were unclean and had just infected him with germs. He was our watch dog. He was a cross between a weener dog and a beagle and he acted like he was as big as a great dane.
If anyone shady came around our house he would bark and nip at their heels until they left his home. He was in charge and would jump on our beds and nestle into our covers and lay his head down on our pillow and sleep. When he got hungry and mom had put him on another failed attempt of a diet he would just trot down the street to our neighbor Betty's house and pick up one of her styrofoam bowls full of cat food and bring it home to our lawn. Every time we would leave to go somewhere it didn't matter Scrappy was the first one out of the gate. He would wait until we backed our car out of the driveway and then proceed to trot in front of our car escorting us off of the cul-de-sac safely driving 10 miles an hour as all the neighbors laughed and watched. When we were not home he would go visit our other neighbors and get love from them..and food i'm sure :)
Scrappy was diagnosed with Cancer a year and a half ago and showed no signs of quitting. He was the same old scrappy even though his body was full of tumors. We kept waiting for him to go down hill but he never did until this fall and then sadly today was the day. It was time we all felt it, but Scrappy didn't want to go even when my parents took him in to the vet to be put down he knew and tried to nip at my dads hands to let him go. He has fought for so long to stay in our family and for a good reason. We have needed that dog way more than he needed us. He was an old soul very wise and very kind. His chocolate brown eyes held all the love you could ever want in the world and when he was playing with you in the yard nothing else exsisted. There will never be another dog in the world like him, but I'm convinced that we have pets for a reason. I think this would be a very lonely world without the love of pets and relationships to keep us sane when the world seems like a very unstable place a pets love never wavers and is a constant in a world of change.
I know this a long post for just a dog, but I will miss Scrappy with all my heart all the love he gave me and all he funny things he did that made me laugh. I know he was in my life for a reason and I can't wait to see him again and hope he will continue to be my watch dog in Heaven.
Last Christmas with Scrappy
Dad and Scrappy playing
Scrappy Thuggin'
