Happy Birthday Scout!

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Scout’s Birthday on Vimeo

Every year on MLK day, we celebrate Scout’s birthday. Sure it’s not the same date every year, but Scout doesn’t know any better.

On Martin Luther King day 2003, I took off from work early, and Sally and I went to the Anti-Cruelty Society to pick out a dog. We quickly narrowed it down to a litter of five dogs in the top row of cages near the entrance. Four of the five puppies were dark brown, and looked like chocolate labs. Scout was unique among his siblings – colored like a german shepherd. We took Scout out of his cage to get to know him, and he hid underneath a bench. Despite his furry charm, we weren’t completely sold on him until we set him back into his cage. As soon as we shut the door, he wet the entire cage, and we knew he was a considerate dog. Considerate and unique.

Because of the shelter’s policy to neuter dogs before allowing their adoption, it wasn’t until the next day that we actually got to pick up our dog. In the meantime, we tried out different names. We tried Flash, Fletch, The Nose, Navin R. Johnson. In the end, he just seemed like a Scout (although some have attributed his name to an attempt to derail Sally’s effort to name a human child Scout). When we got his tags, we labeled them “Scout C. Gulde.”

The total cost for obtaining this dog was $105.00: $55.00 in fees to the shelter, and one $50.00 ticket from the city for overstaying our meter. Considerate, unique, and economical.

Four years and two babies later, Scout has been a constant in our household. He makes our lives better in every way but one: we could do wihout the shedding. Regardless, here’s to our dog. May he find dog treats in unexpected places.