Even though this is not my dog, it’s the kind of thing that Scout would have done (begrudgingly) to make us happy.
She was a good girl with lots of kisses, even with that stinky breath at the end.
Sleep well my friend.
My First Dog: When I was a kid we lived in the country, so I was always around animals, but because of my Mom’s schedule and our financial situation I never had any house pets. For some reason this never seemed odd, and because so many people I know had pets I was never lacking in enjoying them. So it wasn’t until the summer after I graduated from college that I was living on my own and decided to buy a dog. It’s a long story, but the short version is that my Mom was in town visiting for the Easter of 1995 when we were driving to/and after picking up the 6 week old dog and driving home all she said was “you are going to regret this.
Sidekick: Most people in our neighborhood and at our studio knew me and my name, but EVERYONE knew Scout’s name. She was hand sign trained and never on a leash. She walked faithfully by my side no matter where we were and was eager to meet everyone that she encountered, especially because she never knew where the next treat is going to come from. For the first 12 years that we were together we didn’t spend (on average) more than 2 hours apart a day. And when I say “Apart” I mean more than 12’ apart. She faithfully slept under my table saw in a soft pile of saw dust and her snoring was often louder than the chop saw. It was perfect.
Dog is my Co-Pilot: One of her favorite things was to ride in our 1964 Chevy pickup truck with her head stuck out the window watching the world go by. That door would swing open and she would look at me with her tail wagging until I told her to “Load up”.
Passing of the guard: With about 6 weeks until my wife was due with 1st child, a boy, Scout had a Seizure, which she had been having small ones for many years. This was long and really took the strength out of her. In fact I thought she was going to die that weekend. As I laid with her on her bed trying to feed her peanut butter I whispered in her ear “Please, just meet him”. And she did. She held on for another 3 months and did indeed get to meet “Atticus”, our son.
WTF? Scout never truly seem to understand what our son was, or why he was here, but she did understand that he was part of the pack and therefore worth protecting. She spent a lot of time laying at my wife’s feet or next to wherever Atticus was to make sure that no unauthorized people got too close.
I’m so thankful that they got to meet, even if just for a month, and while I wish she could still be here and reap the reward of cleaning the floor after our son, I’m glad that she lived a VERY full life and did not spend but an hour in pain.
Respect: How do you say good bye to your best friend, and the creature that you have spent the most time with in your life? It’s fucking hard, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I had tears rolling down my face as I write this, so I guess you never really do? The best I could think of was to have her portrait put on my thigh where she always walked next to me, that way we will always be together.
Forever: This is the finished 10” x 10” portrait of Scout by the Amazing Phil Colvin at Memorial Tattoo in Atlanta, GA.
Rest in piece Scoutie, and I hope your days are filled with fresh tennis balls and fountains of bacon.
