While Ridgefield continues to grow, the corner of North Main Avenue and Pioneer Street has felt a bit empty the last two weeks.
May had been a mainstay at the corner for more than a decade, but the Jack Russell Terrier was put down about two weeks ago after her health steadily declined the last six or so months, according to Scott Hughes, her keeper and the co-owner of Ridgefield Hardware.
“May was the guardian of the sidewalk in front of our store,” Hughes said. “She was there rain or shine. She loved people giving her food from the grocery store across the street.”
Lee Duncan of Ridgefield made sure to stop at Ridgefield Pioneer Market regularly for May.
“Every time I went on my walk, I stopped there to pick up some food to give her,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one.
“We have a tiny overhang in front of our store, and one day it was raining and she just wouldn’t come in,” Hughes said. “She was just sitting under this overhang, and then a car drove up, the door opened and someone threw a hot dog out to her. She gobbled it right up.”
May was 11 when she died, Hughes said.
“We’ve had dozens of people stopping by the store to ask about her the last few weeks,” Hughes said. “She was a fixture. Most of the locals knew she was having trouble. You could see it. It was a sad day for Ridgefield.”
She wasn’t the first popular dog belonging to Cathy and Scott Hughes to become a mascot of downtown Ridgefield. One of their old dogs, Otis, was known for making rounds around downtown Ridgefield, picking up treats from various other local businesses each day. When the city was searching for a new city manager, a few business owners put signs in their window declaring their support for Otis to take over. Otis died in 2008 at 15.
May didn’t have the same political ambition, but she shared a love of treats. She didn’t travel much for them. She’d wait in front of the store, or occasionally if someone parked by the market across the street too long, she’d walk out and stand outside their car waiting.
At home, May liked chasing squirrels. In her younger years, she caught plenty, Scott Hughes said. She still caught some later in life, although not as violently.
“I think the last five years, she’d catch them and let them go,” Hughes said. “She liked to play with them. She liked the sport of it. She was a sweetheart.”
The Hughes’ still have two dogs: Odette, 12, and Snooks, 2. Odette is a Boston terrier and Snooks is a red Boston terrier.
“My father-in-law opened the store in 1983,” Hughes said. “There’s always been a Boston terrier here. It started with Barney, then went to Otis, and now we have these two.”
