Meet the Family

This is Roxie. She’s a Labradoodle, and way too hairy for life on St. Elsewhere, but here she be. She’s lived here her whole life – about six years. I’ve known her since she was the diva of Dive St. Elsewhere, the scuba shop her owners operated for years. Back then, she’d collect pats and scratches from arriving divers as they assembled in the morning. By mid-afternoon, in the tropical heat, and worn out from the ebb and flow of strangers, she couldn’t be bothered to move her carcass out of the doorway.

These days, now that her owners have sold the shop, she passes the time snoozing at home. Her favorite spot is on the cold tile floor, snuggled in as close to my legs as she can get without becoming an actual extremity. I don’t know much about dogs, but I figure she may have separation anxiety, or she may just be a fickle love-puppy. In the morning, when she greets me at my bedroom door with her partner, Reef, she gives me a huge, scary smile, full of big teeth that she bangs into my hand. Why, I have no idea. But as long as she’s smiling, I guess we’re doing okay.