Scruffy came to live with our family when he was about a year old. His old family was having a new baby and with their three year old (who, by the way, was the one who named Scruffy...great choice for a poodle, right?), they knew they had their hands too full for a dog. They advertised an apricot poodle with all his shots for just $60 in the local classifieds. My parents took us to go look at him for my sister Laura's birthday, even though we didn't know that our family was even in the market for a dog! My dad pretended he didn't really want a dog, but we all knew the truth. He was in a big hurry to buy this dog saying, "if we don't buy him for only $60, I'm sure that someone else will!" When we got out of the car, a flash of apricot zipped past us and then out of sight. I decided then and there that I did NOT like this dog--a poodle? yuck. apricot? double yuck. and now he looked awfully hyper. ugh. But the rest of the family loved him and so he came home with us in the car that very day. The first thing he did when we brought him home was go under the dining room table and poop on the floor. This dog was obviously not aware that I already did not like him. And guess who was asked to take him outside? Yep, me. We had a little talk outside about how I didn't like him and he better shape up if he was going to stay in this family.
I'm not sure when the tide turned, but I didn't stay mad at him for long. Scruffy became our brother, a part of everything we did. This included lots of doll clothes and carrying him around and riding in strollers. His (ok, our) favorite outfit on him was a Tigger baby sleeper...orange with black stripes and a hat with ears. Adorable! Except that he was pretty fiesty and was a very bitey baby when he was dressed up. Over the years, Scruffy had lots of other good outfits like his red winter parka with the fur hood and his little dog booties and the onesies he wore when he had itchy skin and needed to be stopped from biting himself. He was one good looking dog.
Besides being a fashionable dog, Scruffy was also a playful dog. His favorite squeaky toys were a Barrel of Monkeys and an alligator. He loved to play chase with them and was very protective of them. He would hide them somewhere and come trotting back to the family, but if you made any sort of movement toward the hiding place or you said "I'm gonna get your monkeys!" he would race past you and get it before you had a chance. Scruffy also loved rawhide bones for chewing and hiding. His favorites were little ruffle chip shaped ones or long thin sticks.
Speaking of hiding...there were a few episodes where Scruffy hid things he shouldn't have. When we left him home alone he liked to find treasures in the garbage and then hide them in between the couch cushions. A time or two someone put their hand down on the couch and was suprised to find the remains of a peanut butter sandwich!
Scruffy was more than a great dog, he was a member of our family. He and my dad were best friends for the last several years as my dad worked from home and then this year while he was watching Charlotte. When Charlotte was first born, I was sad that she wouldn't ever get to know Scruffy. He was so old then I figured she would never remember him. But here we are with Charlotte almost three years old and with lots of memories of Scruffy. A few days ago in the car:
Charlotte: (very solemnly) I'm sad.
Mama: Why are you sad?
Charlotte: Because I miss Scruffy because he died. And he was such a good boy.
A good boy, indeed. We'll miss you Fish Breath Goat Legs Butt Licker. You were an excellent dog Mush Mouth. Hope you're having fun chasing squirrels Mr. Muff Muff. And hope you're eating lots of popcorn and buttered toast Mr. Shivers.
