The Forever Promise: Marty, Scooby, and Six Years of Showing Up
Forever Promise…Forever Home.
In 2019, a little Dachshund named Scooby lost his person. A kind pet sitter kept him safe while we searched for a Forever Guardian — someone who would open their home and their heart, knowing we would be there every step of the way. It took some time. Scooby was a resource guarder with a bite history, and the right match had to be exactly right.
Then Marty Fox called. A longtime Jupiter Farms resident and lifelong lover of Dachshunds, Marty had recently lost his own beloved Rocky at the age of 20. When he saw Scooby’s face on social media, he said he just knew. I visited Marty’s home, was fully transparent about Scooby’s history, and we brought in a professional trainer to set them both up for success. In October 2019, Scooby came home.
That was the beginning of something quietly extraordinary.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down in 2020, Marty found himself home alone — as so many of our Forever Guardians did. He told us later that Scooby was his saving grace. The Pet Cottage kept in contact, delivered food and medications, and made sure no one felt forgotten. Scooby kept Marty’s world small, warm, and worth getting up for.
“You all are my angels.”
— Marty Fox, Jupiter Farms Forever Guardian
In the years since, both of them have faced hard things. Marty had a stroke and lost the use of one arm. Scooby developed a serious eye disease — painful, progressing — and was also diagnosed with kidney disease, requiring a prescription diet. At one point, we discussed removing both eyes to stop the suffering. But Marty wasn’t ready to give up. With one arm and the help of those around him, he learned to administer Scooby’s eye drops every single day. Scooby’s eyes healed. He can still see. He and Marty are still besties.
The Pet Cottage covers everything: the eye specialist, the prescription kidney diet, the medications, the trips to the vet when Marty can’t drive. We show up, because that is what the Forever Promise means. Not just on the good days. On all of them. Scooby is 11 now. He and Marty have been together for six years — through a pandemic, a stroke, and more veterinary appointments than either of them would have chosen. What they’ve built is real, and it is ours to protect. This is why The Pet Cottage exists: not just to place a pet in a home, but to stay. To be the Circle of Protection around every pet and every guardian, for as long as they need us.
We now care for 66 pets throughout Palm Beach and Martin Counties. If you’d like to support our mission — through a donation, by becoming a Forever Guardian, or simply by spreading the word — visit thepetcottage.org or call 561-818-5025. A fall open house is coming at our forever home right here in Jupiter Farms. We hope you’ll join us.
