Fluffy, the dog who adopted our soi

Fluffy showed up in our soi in Ekkamai about four years ago, a scruffy little shih tzu with matted fur and a very confident walk, as if he owned the place. Nobody knew where he had come from. The guard at the end of the soi was feeding him rice, and the lady at the noodle shop gave him leftover chicken, so by the time I noticed him he already had a fan club. I didn't plan to take on a dog at my age, but after a rainy week when he waited outside my gate every morning, I brought him in for a bath and a vet check. Dried and brushed, he looked like a completely different animal. Now he greets everyone on the soi by name, and the neighbours call him Fluffy like he has always been theirs. Honestly, he changed my routine more than I expected. We walk the soi at seven, I buy him a slice of ham from the mart, and the security guards argue over who gets to throw his ball. Every single morning he runs to the gate as if it's the best news in the world. He isn't a street dog anymore, but I'm glad he still knows every corner of the neighbourhood.