Scamp’s apology

My name is Scamp, the son of the Tramp; the most experienced street dog in all of New Haven, Connecticut; and I come with a very important message to my family and who I love the most. I must confess that most things that I have done in my childhood have been a bit extreme and completely out of character, and my actions nearly led to my demise as a result, as well as the safety and well-being of my loved ones. Therefore I would like to take this time to explain myself and confess all my wrongdoings.

Ever since I came out into this world, all I ever wanted to do was to have some fun. Well, being a dog, there is only so much that you can do to keep yourself satisfied without knowing what you are doing and whether it is wise or not. Being the age that I was, it would be very difficult to understand until you are older. The truth is that when you are young, you just want to play and mess around without worrying too much about work and responsible behaviour; but once you start to grow older, it becomes a completely different story. You eventually enter a time in your life where it is time to “evolve”; meaning that you have to start learning about certain things in life and about the appropriate attitude required to be able to learn. This is where maturity starts; and those who cannot fully mature will not get very far in life.

I never fully understood between right and wrong until I experienced life outside the fences. I never even wanted to believe what my father was trying to tell me about the street life and I did not want to listen to or obey the rules that restricted me from doing whatever I wanted to. Most of what happened to us inside the house somehow seemed to satisfy my sisters; but I didn’t like all of this “must eat everything in your bowl”; “must come inside when it rains”; “must go to bed at this hour”; or “must take a bath”, because there is just no free will and you cannot say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It is always made up for you and you have to go along with it. But I understand now that all that was for the safety and well-being of my sisters and I; and I promise that I will try to be more appreciative of it, even if it does not seem appealing to me.

I hated being put on a chain and I hated being yelled at by my father. I had a feeling that everyone was being too harsh on me for that; but I understand now that dad was just trying to protect me; and therefore I say to you, dad, that you had every right to say what you said to me and I deserved what I got. The thing is that I was young at the time and I just needed some time to see things through with a learning experience.

After escaping the gates of family confinement, I began to have the time of my life. Whatever I was doing out in the streets was what I believed made me who I am. This was my choice and it was were I believed I belonged. But then there were also several challenges that I had to face while I was out there, and I could have been killed because of it. I then realized that, and I quote from Angel, “Every day out there is like a test of survival”. And she was right: If it is hard enough obeying the rules inside the family buffer zone, it is even harder attempting to survive out on the streets when you have to scratch and claw just to get to your food supply; avoid dog catchers and impoundments; cheat death from vicious street dog attacks; and watch the infestation of fleas or mange when it is therefore not worth attempting to make the long climb in the end if you have a choice of a safer environment. That also counts for the fact that if you have a family that loves you, you risk turning your back on them and therefore losing their respect. You could even put them in jeopardy. I realize that now, and I wish that I did back then.

I had no idea that my own father was probably the most successful street dog in the town; The Master, if you will; until I turned to the streets and heard it from his former protégé. I could not believe that he didn’t tell me that he was a street dog or that would give it all up for life inside the fences with rules that prevent you from doing what you want. But I understand now that he was just trying to protect me from a dangerous environment and he found that love and family is better and more important for him. He knew what was best for him and myself, and I respect that; and if I hadn’t found love of my own, I am not sure if I would still be breathing.

It is not free will that means everything to me any more. Angel means everything to me. I love her more than anything. She is gentle, kind, descent, playful, charming, and has a heart of gold. Even though she is street-wise, she never fully acts like one. She is very much a family dog and she never lets it get in the way of the street life. If I hadn’t met her, I would probably have never learned to choose wisely. I never thought that I could feel this way, and I realize now that there is more to life than just running free. I realize that love is a feeling that you treasure, and you must treat it like your most valuable possession. If you let it go, you will never be fully complete and your life will start to crash down on you. Falling in love is probably the best thing that ever happened to me, and Angel is my true love. From this day forth I promise not to let anything get between me and her. I could still have all the fun that I would like or will be allowed to have, but I will never neglect the special bond that I have created with Angel. On my honour, I swear this to be the truth.

I would like to apologize to my family, dogs and humans, for my behaviour. Of all the mischief that came out of me and the mess and mayhem that I caused, I went a little too far sometimes and I acted like a complete jerk when I got in trouble. For whatever punishment or stern talking to that I received, I deserved it and you had every right to say and do those things to me. Now that I am a little older, I have learned a lot about self-control, and I scold myself for not listening to earlier advice because it almost cost me my life.

I will just add that I still do not like having baths, and it is really hard for me to say whether of not I will change my way of thinking about it. But I understand now that all who live in such a high class house must be clean if the house is to maintain its prestigious standard. I also believe that having a bath doesn’t just make me clean on the outside; it should also clean me on the inside; meaning that it cleans up my act and makes me better. So therefore I cannot promise that I will start to enjoy baths, but I can promise that I will try.

I apologize to my sisters Annette, Collette, and Daniel for making you disapprove of me because of my actions and attitude; as well as the fact that I never took much time to spend with you, as a good brother should. You three have good hearts and you have always respected the rules of the house; and I admire that. I also promise that I will spend some more time with you. This I also promise to mum as I spent more time with dad than her, and it was selfish of me to do so. Even though I love to play and mess around with dad, I really do love you too, mum; and I will vow to open my fare share of love to the entire family. This also goes for Uncle Jock and Uncle Trusty: You two have been very good to all of us and you deserve our love. If there have been times where I have neglected you or let you down, I’m really sorry and I promise to be a better dog so that I do not lose your respect. For what you have done for us, you deserve a returned favor, and I swear that I will give that you.

I apologize to dad for being so arrogant and out of control when he didn’t want me to be that way; for ignoring everything wisdom-wise that he was teaching me; for turning my back on him when he was trying to convince me to come home; but most of all for not understanding how much he and my whole family loves me. If I had understood earlier, maybe I would not have been such a jerk. So dad, I promise that I will never turn away from you or neglect some time together. I return the love and affection that you and the family have given me and I will never backtrack to the old road ever again. You really are a shining light to me and I respect all that you have done for me. I am so sorry for everything and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for still loving and believing in me.

Most of all, I apologize to Angel; the love of my life. You and I built a special bond almost from the moment that I met you. The one night that we spent together completely changed my life; and it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. That was the night that I began to feel and understand love, and that I needed it more than freedom, because love is freedom to me. You, Angel, are the key to my heart and you set mine free. I threw it all away when I became desperate to prove myself as a street dog and turned my back on my father just to get what I wanted. I did this without thinking that I was being turned into someone who I am not. I also let it slip to Buster that you wanted to be a housedog when I promised that I would keep your secret safe. I blew your cover and I almost lost you because of it. It was a very selfish thing to do and it was from that moment on that I realized that the street life was changing me. It got worse when I got picked up by the dogcatcher for not wearing my collar and sent to the pound; and it made me feel so bad that sometimes I wished that I would have just let Reggie kill me. So Angel, I am so sorry that I let the street life get in the way of our love, for blowing your cover, and being arrogant. From this moment on I promise on my heart that I will not let anything get in the way of our bond and to treasure our love for the rest of our lives. You saved my life, now I am going to save yours. I love you, Angel. I love you so much; and I will always love you.

I will also clean up a few things about myself: Yes, I am a bit of a rascal by nature; yes, I like to play and mess around like a wild wrestler; yes, I like to play tricks and jokes just for fun; yes, I prefer to spend more time outdoors than inside a house; no, I do not like taking baths and it is hard to say whether I ever will; BUT I am NOT mean. I never wanted ANYONE to think that I was a complete jerk for the way that I acted. I am not self-centered: I care about my friends and my family because they care about me and they are very much understanding. I also love making new friends. I never wanted to say or do anything that would make my friends and family think less of me, if not not think of me at all. The whole point is that I just wanted to have some fun; and sometimes I would never be aware of how far I would actually go before suffering the consequences. I was young at the time and there were a lot of things that I did not understand; so I needed to see reason to all of those things through maturity. I wish that I knew now things that I didn’t know then.

What I used to be is in the past, and now I look to the future for a new me; and the new me will be a much more responsible dog who is disciplined, obedient, descent, generous, loving, and kind. This I promise. I will also wear my collar with pride: It is a symbol of my goodness and it represents family, so I am a true family dog. I will never take it off or let it go because it is my ticket to freedom from impoundment. I know that I will always be safe as long as I wear it. This I also promise.

So to all my friends and family, I am so sorry for my behaviour in the past and I hope that you can all find it deep within your hearts to forgive me. And I promise to behave better so that I can keep your respect for me. Thank you all again for still loving and supporting me through all of this. It really means the world to me.

Yours sincerely,

Scamp.