When I first got Raffy, his name was listed on PetFinder.com as “Muffin (Very Scared).” No, it wasn’t “Muffin” accompanied by a description of him as “very scared.” It was simply all one name: Muffin Very Scared. And he was (he is), in fact, very scared. (He’s also incredibly manipulative, but that’s a long story for a different blog post.)
So, for months as we signed the lease for a new shop space, prepared to move across the country and move the business into said shop space, and spent a lot of money beautifying said space... Amy and I have also had a lot of background conversations regarding what Raffy would be like as our “shop dog.” Here’s how it’s gone:
Growled at our agent as she gave us the keys to our new shop space.
Whined at Amy and I when our realtor didn’t give his growling any attention at all.
Barked at the property manager as he came into the shop space to introduce himself.
Decided he was in charge of supervising our flooring guy. Yes, growling was involved.
Did not bark at the electrician who was already working in the back of the shop one day.
Did bark at the electrician when he came to the front of the shop later to say goodbye to us.
Barked at our incredibly kind cleaner when she came in, then escalated to a howl when Amy tried to ignore/talk over his barks.
[DAILY] Barks at the UPS, FedEx, and USPS delivery drivers.
[DAILY] Whines when his barks at our delivery drivers are not acknowledged.
Barked at me when I came back from delivering shipments to the UPS store.
Growled at the man who drove for an hour to hand deliver some reprinted cards. THROUGH HIS BLANKIE, because of course he has a blankie, and of course he was so swaddled up, he could only protest our visitor while wrapped up like a burrito.
Whined like crazy from the back room during our ribbon cutting. When we let him out to meet everyone, proceeded to growl at everyone and only let one lady pet him.
Bullrushed customers as they came in. Literally at every single customer during our grand opening, with his trusty sidekick frenemy Cheddar by his side. Yes, this included our friends — whom he’s met and spent the night with (SEVERAL TIMES).
Oh, and here's a fun fact about dogs you might not have known. Not to be too crude, but when some dogs get stressed they can… express themselves in a certain way with their butts (like a skunk). And yes, Raffy is one of those dogs.
And yet, despite ALL of this… people still desperately want to be his friend. They coo at him, they tell him he’s cute, they give him treats, they try so hard to prove that he should let them pet him. All anyone wants is to love him. They tell us how cute he is; how adorable his ears are (“how big!”); how sweet he is when he sits next to us; how much of a good boy he is for being protective of his mom and dad and their shop. AND YET, he refuses their love. He gives them nothing in return but more growls and a few meager barks, and continues to hoard his love like a dragon hiding in its mountainous lair.
He could have the world. Everyone would give him everything. If only he could just simply exist. But alas, Raffy must keep up appearances. I adopted “Muffin (Very Scared)” and he feels he must honor that name.
Anyways, come by the shop and meet our adorable shop dog, Raffy! He is SO sweet, but he is... not nice. But look at those ears!
