Dogged worker never missed a day

Tennis Straff always perked up when his owners, Larry and Roberta Straff, took him through the Longboat Key Bank of America drive-thru. Even in recent months, when he began to show his age, he still perked up at the bank window in expectation of getting a bone.

Tennis, 18, of Longboat Key, died Friday, Oct. 2. He was born Dec. 25, 1990. In almost 19 years, Tennis never missed a day of work at TRL Enterprises in Avenue of the Flowers. Tennis was a well-known figure on the Key and enjoyed watching tennis games at the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center, strolling in Publix carts and greeting people with licks and kisses.

“He was a low-maintenance dog,” Roberta Straff said. “He just really wanted to hang out with you.”