The Dog That Almost Got Away
By Dale Kaplan
Designed by Alex Hochberg
During the pandemic, my constant and loving canine companion, Meltie passed away from a genetic disease at the age of 9.5 years old. He lived a year longer than expected and I will be forever thankful that he got me through the Trump administration and Covid. He went to doggie heaven a week after I received the Moderna vaccine.
My heart was broken but after 4 months I start looking to adopt a rescue dog in his memory. While I have always had large dogs, Meltie was over 80 pounds, I decided that I would adopt a smaller dog so that I would be able to take him/her on mass transit.
In April I scanned the website Petfinders almost every evening when an adorable canine named Raphael caught my eye. He looked like a miniature version of my first dog Harvey, my best furry friend who inspired the writings of 12 songs and a children’s play and who infamously ate a 13″ diameter hole in the back of my pants, the damage of which was discovered on my way to a dinner party traveling on the F train to meet relatives who already thought I was quirky.
Raphael was listed at 19 pounds and when I realized that he was a puppy and not a full-grown dog, I came to the disappointing conclusion that he would grow to be too big. My heart sank but I decided to stick to my plan, however, little Raphael who looked so sweet and gentle never left my thoughts.
A week later, I went to visit my neighbors Greg and Stephen from Gregory Tuck Architecture on the 7th floor at 68 Jay Street. They are both great guys. When I walked in I was greeted by a beautiful new puppy that they had just adopted, from Social Tees Rescue. I fell in love instantly with the new canine who they had named Roscoe. I mentioned that Roscoe resembled a baby version of my first dog Harvey and that he reminded me of Raphael, the dog that I had fallen in love with on Petfinders.
Raphael? repeated Stephen, this is Raphael, we just changed his name to Roscoe. I went a little crazy, did a dance, jumped around, and picked up the little critter and did not want to let him go. I felt a wave of gratitude and joy knowing that beautiful Raphael had found an amazing home and that I would still be able to see him in the 68 Jay Street building that I basically call home.
Welcome to Dumbo little Roscoe, formerly Raphael, and congratulations on being the Dumbo dog of the month.
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