Muffy: When my youngest daughter was twelve, we went to the pound to find a puppy. A man met us as we came in and offered to show us around and tell us about the available pups. We hardly noticed the tiny ball of fur tucked in the crook of his arm.
As we walked from cage to cage, we mentally scored each dog…too big, too small, too old, not cute, too much hair etc. After seeing each dog probably more than twice, I told my youngest, that perhaps today was not the day for a new puppy. The man casually said, “Well, of course, there is this little guy, “ as he held up the black and white fur ball in his arms. “His family moved away and left him. He does have a little issue with his right paw, but…..”, and he handed him to my daughter. I won’t say it was love at first sight, but close! She looked at me, I looked at the puppy, we both looked at the man and said, “We love him! We want him!”
Before we took him home, the worker explained, “You see here? This little guy has an extra paw on his right foot. He might have been hurt or maybe born that way, but he should be just fine.” I think he was named before we left the parking lot…’Muffo’ was ours! All ours!
I won’t say Muffo was perfect in every other way, but almost. Moving into an all-female household, his name quickly morphed into “Muffy”. I don’t know why, but it did. Some of our family and friends refused to call him Muffy, so he had other nicknames like Murphy or Mufster. But, Muffy was a ‘metro-sexual’ male and didn’t mind the girly name! He was secure in who he was.
Muffy was loyal, sweet, good natured and calm. We babied him and loved him for 13 years. He was an endless source of laughter, stories, and entertainment. Sadly, as time went on, not only was his extra appendage more prominent, he developed cataracts and became blind. He adjusted very well to his loss of sight, but there was this once…….
I had finally been able to afford new den furniture and so we gave away the old and had a two-day window until the new couch arrived. On this day, I opened the back door to let Muffy in and as was his practice, he jogged to the den to leap up on the couch for a nap. It was slow motion…..as I shut the door, turned and saw Muffy in mid air….aiming for his usual spot on the couch, which was NOT there. Thud! I always did feel terrible about that, but how could I have explained, what he could not see?
When Muffy knew you were eating something delicious and he was not, he would sit up, balanced on his hind legs, and hold his wounded, extra paw with his good front paw, and quietly beg. He was never pushy or loud, but he always got our sympathy with his pitiful little beg and two paw wave.
Muffy was with us through thick and thin; holidays; vacations; moving cross country; and empty nesting. I never felt lonely as long as he was around.
Muffy was the OG of K-town and the NKOTB in Austin….he was the epitome of a perfect pet. Charming, cute beyond words, sensitive because of his handicaps, loyal and an excellent judge of character. In fact, 15 years ago, Muffy convinced me that my then boyfriend would make a great husband…and he was right. Muffy knew a good person when he met one.
Our Muffy was agreeable but not a pushover; caring but not overbearing. He was precious and we loved him. In fact, everyone who knew Muffy, loved him. Afterall, wouldn’t we all love to be admired like that? He had it all and more! There will never be another Muffy!
We love you Muffy and miss you terribly! RIP little guy!
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