This is Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle.  I know that this will be shocking to you since I am the Sheriff and everything.  But one time?  I was in jail.  Shelter jail. And I wasn’t alone. I was there with my puppy brother and sister who got bailed out.  But I ended up being there almost a whole six months.  And that’s when I met my brother from another mother.  Franky.

Franky had his own cell in shelter jail, but we passed notes by barking every day. You don’t need paper for that.

(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend

And when he got sprung out, I was sad.  Real sad.  But little did I know that I would meet him again.

Girl Person worked at her own kind of jail, a cubicle work jail.  And her time was passed there with a friend too.  Her cubicle jail mate was Heidi Person and one day, Heidi Person decided that she wanted to adopt a dog from jail.  Now, Girl Person at that time had never thought of shelter jail.  She said that all of the furkids in her life had just shown up. And so to go jail to pick out a dog was new to her.  But one day, Heidi Person brought home Franky.

And although I was happy for Franky, I was alone again. And I thought that I would never, ever get out of jail.

Long story as short as my tail, people didn’t even give me the time of day.  They didn’t even give me a peanut butter cookie.  But Boy Person saw my picture online after Heidi Person gave him the idea.  He would adopt the saddest looking dog there who had been there the longest. And that. Was. Me.  The future Sheriff.  So when Girl Person came home one day with me and Boy Person waiting in the driveway as a surprise, I knew I was home.  No more jail.  No more jail food.  But no more Franky.  And that did make me sad a little.

But then I heard Girl Person on her phone.  Girl Person was going to take me to something called a dog park. I had never been to a dog park before. And she told me that there was someone coming that I would probably want to meet.  I thought about who it could be.  And although I was hoping it was my Franky, I tried not to get my hopes up.  But that is when it happened.  Who showed up at the dog park?  It. Was. Franky.  I had to get right to the point.

And when you think that maybe you will never see your friend again…but then you see him…again…that was pretty great.  We spent many weekends together with dog parks and sleepovers.  Until.  Girl Person brought Deputy Digby home from the jail too, many months later.

Family is family, and Deputy Digby was certainly my new brother.  But I never forgot my brother from another mother.  The three of us became fast friends and decided to make up our own law enforcement team to enforce everyone to “Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice©”.  And that is what we did until we moved away and then our trip started.  And well, it had been three years.  Three long years.  Time went by fast…much faster than when you are in jail.  And I have never forgot about him.   Yes, there were times that I wondered if we would ever see each other again.  Here we were. Turning nine years old this month.

But then on Friday, Girl Person decided that she wanted to surprise me.  She told me that we were going to go back to our old dog park in that Florida place.  And I thought a little. The Deputy and I had been to 48 states and 48 other shelter jails since I was last here.  So much had changed.  But oh, so much was still the same.  Including who I used to meet here.  Including the friend that greeted me almost nine years ago at this same gate.

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true you’re a pal and a confidant

Franky was coming.  Girl Person wondered.  Would we recognize each other?  Would our reunion be any different than seeing any other dog?  She didn’t have to wonder long.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 2 Traveling Dogs (@2travelingdogs)

When time passes, sometimes, you don’t even realize it.  You are so busy living every day that all of the days run together.  But for friends, when you see true friends, no matter how much time has passed, it doesn’t matter.  It doesn’t even matter if you have spent almost two years traveling the country.  It is like the first time you reunited at the dog park gate.  Every. Time.  And Girl Person says that if persons could see how dogs remember and love, and feel…would they still take their furkids to shelter jail? Would they see them more for what they truly are?  Individuals?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 2 Traveling Dogs (@2travelingdogs)

Girl Person says that in a way, Franky was one of the paths we took to animal rescue and making a difference.  Life decisions aren’t always one lightbulb moment, but a few flickers of a switch that make you change direction.  And I am happy that our direction led us back, if only for a visit to this Tampa, Florida place for a little while. Things may have changed some.  Heidi Person has a little person without fur.

Franky has less fur. And I am more handsome.  But what hasn’t changed is that we will always be friends forever…won’t we?

Life is a journey, so much of the time.  There is rarely a time when we aren’t learning, or making our way.  Whether we spend that time with friends is our decision.  What is not our decision is the fact that we all get older.  Do we appreciate our friends no matter where we are…no matter where we go?  No matter how old we get?

Our true friends don’t care where we have been or how much money we make or what we can do for them. True friends are friends because they want to be and because there is love for each other.  Franky and I may have started our friendship in shelter jail, and those were hard times.  But we never forgot those times to make the future times better.  And Franky?  No matter where our paths lead us now, I know we will meet again, possibly with a few more gray hairs.  Possibly with a few more stories.  But how we met will never change.

And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it’s hard to hear
I will stand real close and say
Thank you for being a friend

-Sheriff Peanut Butter Brickle

All of our merchandise online is 15% off!  Use coupon code 15FORYOU at checkout April 6th – April 10th!

Shop now