Let me tell you a story about a little black and white pup. He was about 10 months old and had spent his life on the streets of Houston, Texas. When the rescue (Houston Street Dogs) was at a shelter to pick up one dog, they saw this little black and white pup being walked down the hall towards the euthanasia room. They couldn't let that happen, so they brought him back with them too.

In October 2015, he was loaded onto a truck (Rescue Road Trips/Greg Mahle) with lots of other pups and, with many stops along the way, he came to Massachusetts. His very first night in our home, he fell asleep on my lap - peaceful, safe, and HOME. (That's the orangey glowing picture of him where he is sleeping - and the first time I noticed that he had a black rubber duck on his face!).

Every time we would return to the house, he would run to the door and greet us with a toy in his mouth and a spring in his step. The last couple of years, his black markings were fading to grey and his joints were getting a little creaky, but he would still come running with a toy when we came home.

August 21, 2026 was no different - when his Daddy came home from work, Petey was there with a toy. Then after a potty break, he curled up on the couch to take a nap next to Daddy as he did every afternoon, and at some point, he left us.

I didn't want to just make a post saying our dog was gone. I wanted to tell his story. He was not a perfect dog (which dog is?), but he was cherished. We will miss him greeting us with a toy, we will miss cuddling with him and telling him to stop licking us. We will even miss his stank-ass breath.

He was 30 seconds away from being euthanized 11 years ago, so we consider each and every one of those 11 years to be a bonus.

Petey was a very good boy. He was loved, and he will be missed.