The pet I’ll never forget: Brutus the schnauzer, who arrived with my ex and hung around for far longer

‘We bonded over our shared desire to buck discipline and be feral creatures running through the forest.’ Photograph: courtesy of Emily Halnon

When I first met Brutus, I wanted nothing to do with him.

He clambered into my car in a tornado of black fur, pointy ears and scraggly beard, then looked up at me with saucer eyes, threatening to unleash drool all over my passenger seat. All I could think was: “This is going to be annoying.”