Beth Bradley

So Susie was not a perfect dog, but she was our dog, and we loved her.

My mom first laid eyes on her at the animal shelter, and she just fell in love with Susie's cute little foxy face, and she had this curly tail and thick black fur.

So my whole family, my dad, my mom, and my two sisters and I headed over there to see if we had a good vibe with Susie.

And I do remember that the animal shelter lady pointed out she was worried that my dad and Susie might not be bonding that well.

And that was probably true.

My dad is not that much of an animal person and kind of thinks of pets as just like another hassle to deal with.

But as usual, the rest of us overruled my dad and we got to bring Susie home and she became our first family dog.

So to be fair, Susie really could be kind of a hassle.

Her favorite hobby was barking at anyone that dared to walk by our house.

And the other thing she liked to try to do was escape.

So one time she actually combined those hobbies, and she launched herself through the front window of our house through the screen in pursuit of some strangers.

So we had to go lure her back into our house.

But on the other hand, she could be very sweet.

So like one time I remember in high school, I had broken up with a boyfriend and I was crying.

And Susie came and just like leaned up against me.

And I could tell she was like, you know, got your back.

So but over the years, my dad's feelings towards Susie didn't really warm up.

He kind of just tolerated her, generally thought of her as pretty annoying person.

But honestly, my dad could make my sisters and I feel that way too sometimes.

It was hard to ask him for help, and he could kind of respond to us in the same way that he was annoyed with Susie the dog.