#Bay Ridge shooting victim was ‘salt of the earth’ dog lover: Friends

The 62-year-old Bay Ridge man gunned down while walking his dog Monday morning was a beloved perfume salesman who doted over both his close friends and his Cocker Spaniels — which he named after the Three Stooges, friends and neighbors said.

Michael Scully, who was shot outside his Brooklyn home shortly before 7 a.m., was so devoted to his pups that he fed them filet mignon, and was a generous friend who was always ready to lend a hand, pals said.

“He was a wonderful guy, he loved his country,” said William Mendez, who had known Scully since elementary school. “He was very interested in World War II. We would watch documentaries together.”

“He helped when he could help. He helped people when he could,” Mendez, 55, said. “I don’t know. I can’t picture anybody hurting Mike. I cannot believe this.”

Scully was a lifelong Brooklynite who was self-employed as a cologne and perfume salesman, another close friend, David Martinez, told The Post.

“It broke my heart,” said Martinez, 56, a photographer. “I’ve been hanging out with him ever since I was a teenager. He told me if I graduated he was going to purchase my suit. At that time the style was Pierre Cardin. He bought me the suit and the shoes.”

He said Scully once invited Martinez and his friend out for coffee, but they ordered cheeseburger deluxe plates instead — and he laughed about it and picked up the heftier tab anyway because “he knew we were short.”

“He’s not a troublemaker, such a nice guy,” he added. “He’s outgoing, friends with everybody. There is nothing I can tell you better about the guy. Even if it was about money, he was the type of person to say, ‘Give it back to me some other time.’ ”

Martinez said Scully cared for his mother, a former school crossing guard, until she died, and also cared for his late girlfriend.

Another longtime friend, who would only give his name as Wally, called Scully “salt of the earth.”

“Happy go lucky,” said Wally, 60. “No kids, a bachelor. He would sit outside Paneantico’s on Third Avenue. I saw him about two weeks ago. He would sit outside, have coffee, cookies. Park his dogs by the hydrant. He would bring his dogs to church. He was a big church guy.”

His friends said Scully owned five Cocker Spaniels, naming them Larry, Moe, Curly, Lisa, and Shemp — all named for Stooges characters — although Moe died recently.

His brother, who neighbors said lived in the same building, declined to comment. He cried as he hugged friends outside his home Monday.

There have been no arrests in the shooting and police have not disclosed a motive.

One police source told The Post that Scully may have known his assailant and that the dispute was over money.