Meet Scout

I recently found out that Pedigree was offering to donate a 20 pound bag of food for every post about rescuing a dog. I don't need much prodding to talk about Scout and this was such a great idea that I had to participate. The following post was originally published on June 1st, 2010, a few days after we adopted Scout from a local shelter. She is now 5 1/2 months old, still melting our hearts, and stealing an occasional sock ;) Thanks for reading. More information can be found about Pedigree's campaign here, Write a Blog, Help a Dog!


We have added a new member to our family. She is sweet and spunky. We named her Scout, as in Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, she also fits the name with her impressive bug hunting abilities. She has already shown the yard who's boss by dominating over the smaller bushes and uprooting chunks of grass that have no business growing in her path.

The picture above was made by my sister in law, who has satellite adopted her. She is so much better at taking pictures and then making them even cuter with her creativity, so I happily bring Scout over as often as possible. The picture below is Scout with her cousin Bailey (my in laws dog). She already thinks she one of the big dogs :)

Don't let these sweet pictures fool you though. She is a mini terror. There is not a toe or ankle safe in our home. She sucks you in with her blueish/green eyes and when you're close enough she pounces with a look I can only explain as Gremlin like. The more you react and run from her the more she loves it. Upon first meeting her no one believes she could ever do anything but blink her puppy dog eyes, struggle to master the 2 steps into the house, and lie around chewing landscaping. We know better, she has reduced grown men to yiping, hopping, running for cover cowards (trust me, it's quite a sight).

Scout has been with us a week and she is fully embedded into the family. Each of my kids takes turns playing, walking her, and of course running from her razor sharp baby gremlin teeth (we have yet to evenly dole out the pooper scooping duties though). They are also proud to tell everyone who asks that she is a pound rescue.

Scout was one of 18 new puppies born in a local pet rescue. We had been talking about getting a dog for a while. Our local news does a Lost & Pound series every weekend that highlights some of the pets available for adoption. Last weekend they spotlighted some of her siblings and we knew it was time to add a new family member. The adoption process was thorough, but quick. We had to fill out an application, answering all kinds of questions about our home and family. We even had to give 3 non family references, which were called to make sure we would make good parents. We sent in our application on Saturday and received the green light on Tuesday to come on down and pick out a puppy.

If you are contemplating adding a new family member I hope that you consider adopting from a local pound. If you don't have the time to spend training a brand new pup like Scout you can choose an older dog. A good pound like, Bandits Place will pair you and your family with the perfect pet depending on your needs, space, and even allergies.

There are many puppies, dogs, rabbits, chickens, birds, and more available. If you are in the Connecticut area take a look at Bandits Place or enter your town and state in Pet Finder and let them find the perfect match for you.

Before I go check on Scout I wanted to say a special thanks to Liz Bennet, who runs Bandits Place, and all of the generous people who give their homes and hearts to animals in need of good, loving homes.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by to meet Scout.

Kristin : )