Remembering Scout

On Wednesday, April 6, our beloved dog, Scout, died due to kidney failure. She had not been herself for the past few months, but we didn't realize until recently just how sick she was. She had been throwing up more and shaking incessantly. At first the vet thought that she might be having pain from arthritis, so we started her on some anti-inflammatory medicine. However, after a few days of her symptoms not getting any better, we took her back in and they did some blood work on her. That was when we discovered that her creatinine levels were very high. We admitted her to the vet hospital that day and they gave her IV fluids for a day to see if it would help bring her levels down, but it didn't work. Then we knew that her kidneys were in massive failure and there was nothing left to be done at that point. It was then that we had to make the very sad and heart-wrenching decision to put her to sleep. It all just happened so quickly and I had no idea we would have to say goodbye to her so soon. She had been part of our family for almost ten years and had seen us through all our moves, our children being born, and had just been a sweet and good dog by our side all that time. It was so sad losing her, so I wanted to write this as a kind of memorial to her for us to remember what a sweet dog she was and smile at the good memories we had with her.

From the time we got Scout as a puppy, she always loved to eat. She would act like she hadn't eaten in a week every time we fed her. She literally inhaled her food. She was our built-in cleaning service for getting all the food particles up off the floor. Another thing she always loved was ice. Every time we would open the freezer, she would be right there, wagging her tail and waiting for us to toss her a piece. She would always be around when I was putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher as well. She would help to get the excess food off the plates and silverware for us. It's amazing she never cut her tongue on a sharp utensil. Barrett was her favorite person for free food handouts. She knew she wouldn't get anything from me, so she would sit at attention in front of Barrett when he was eating, and watch every movement of his hands in hope that he would let her lick his plate or bowl.
When we lived in our first place, and Scout was a puppy, we would take her outside and Barrett would go to the back of our yard and I would stand in the front. We would each have a piece of cheese with us and we would take turns calling her as she ran from one side of the house for a bite of cheese, back to the other for more cheese.
She never liked the water. She didn't like swimming (it was hilarious to watch her try to swim in Barrett's parent's pool!) and she hated to get a bath. As soon as she realized that I was taking her toward the bathroom, she would dig in her back paws and refuse to move!
We liked to tease that Scout was like a cat with nine lives- she did some pretty crazy things in her younger years, but always recovered. Once she was running down the stairs and jumped from about seven stairs up from the bottom and flew into the wall, but got up and acted like it hadn't even hurt. Another time when she was a little puppy she managed to climb over the doggie gate and fall face first to the ground. She had an egg size bump on her nose for a week after that! She did her share of damage to our furniture when she was a puppy- back before we learned the value of kenneling. Our couch had begun to wrip in one spot, and one night when we came home, we found chunks of cushion foam all over our floor. It's amazing that she survived that experience!
Before Caleb was born, we didn't know how she would react to having a baby in the house, so we practiced showing her a baby doll and teaching her to be gentle, etc. We never had any trouble with any of our children with Scout. She was the most gentle dog and put up with all the kids pulling her hair and tail while they "played" with her.
Every once in a while, Scout would get into a really hyper mood and tear around the house, going from one side to another as fast as she could, evening bumping into furniture as she tried to maneuver. The kids would jump up on the couch to avoid getting run over and we would all laugh and egg her on. The kids thought it was hilarious, and Judson would giggle and laugh as he watched her. After she had worked out every last drop of energy, she would just colapse on the floor and not budge.

Barrett's mom, aka Grandmamma, wrote a sweet story as a tribute to Scout, and I wanted to share it here. It is in the same style as the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book.

If You Give a Dog a Hug . . . .A Tribute to Scout
By Grandmamma Jones

It was almost time for Grandmamma and Granddaddy to arrive for Christmas vacation. The tree was decorated; the lights were twinkling; the stockings were hung. Everyone was excited including Scout. Scout always liked to see Grandmamma for she had been her friend since she was a puppy.

We see our grandparents drive up in the driveway and go out to meet them. Hugs and kisses are passed around to everyone over and over again.
Our dad helps Granddaddy unload the car. There is luggage, goodies made by Grandmamma, and presents. What a happy time at our house!

Waiting inside is Scout, our brown dog. Scout sees Grandmamma and begins to wag her tail as she sees Grandmamma approaching. Grandmamma leans down to give Scout a hug and that’s when it all begins. . . .

You see, when you give Scout a hug, she give you kisses——kisses on your ear. It tickles and makes you laugh. (Grandmamma has learned to be careful for she found out the hard way that Scout likes earrings.)
When she kisses your ear and it tickles, you begin to laugh. You might even clap your hands and say, “Scout.” Then she begins to run and run. She runs around the room, and then around the whole house returning to hear you clap her on.

If you say, “Go, Scout, go,” she runs even more. Sometimes she sprints through the doggie door and into the screened porch. Give her a second and away she goes through the screen door and around the yard in circles and back into the house again.

By this time she is tired and wants an ice cube. If you give her an ice cube, she will want another. After the ice cube, she rests on her checkered bed. When she is rested, she will ask for your attention.

Scout will stand and look at you, pace the floor, and look some more. Eventually, if you have not understood her message, she will begin to twist her head, body and tail as she smiles at you. She wants you to follow her . . . it is time to eat. Before you can get to the laundry room, you can hear her moving her dog bowl as if to say, “Hurry, please!”

When you feed her, she is so happy and full. Scout wants to thank you, so you give her a hug. Then comes the kiss on your ear, and the tickles and giggles. And you know what happens next. It starts all over again. . .


Scout as a puppy




Our first family Christmas picture

Yes, she used to get up on our furniture!

Bounding down the stairs

Scout with Caleb


Caleb with his stuffed dog "My Dog", and his real dog, Scout


Isabelle with Scout



Isabelle always asked to have her picture taken with Scout

Scout wearing her Air Force bandana

Scout kissing Judson

Caleb's Karate Tournament

Caleb had his first karate tournament back in February at one of the local YMCAs. He got to perform and compete in his "kata", which is a series of punching and kicking moves that he performs from memory. It's kind of like coreographed karate. Two kids do their katas side by side and there is a judge that proclaims the winner of the two. Caleb did that a couple times, and then he also got to spar a couple times with an opponent. He had a great time and enjoyed getting to put his karate skills to use. Everyone got a medal at the end of the tournament, so that made it even more special for him. It was a long day for the rest of us (especially Judson) as we had to wait around for a few hours before his age group was finished. But it was an important event for Caleb, who has really been enjoying taking karate and learning a new skill. He also regulary practices his moves at home!

Spring Break

For Spring Break I decided to drive down to Florida with the kids (by myself) to see my family. As our trip got closer, I began to REALLY second guess my decision! What was I thinking?!? Barrett wasn't able to take any vacation time with his job yet, so I wanted to take advantage of the time we had to visit Grammy, Pappy, Uncle Heath, and Nana. Nana had not met Judson in person yet, so that was another reason I really wanted to go. The Lord was very gracious to me, and our trip there and back was nowhere near as hard as I thought it might be with Judson. He did surprisingly well for such a long drive, and the kids were great to help out in giving him snacks and his drinks. On the way down to Largo, we stopped in Niceville and stayed with our good friends, the Wards, for the night. It was so nice to see their family again, and the kids had such a fun time playing together. It is such a blessing to have friends to stay with to make the trip easier! So, after two days of driving, we finally made it to Grammy and Pappy's house.
We enjoyed our usual Largo activities which the kids love, and we had beautiful weather all week! One day we went to Largo Central Park and played croquet out in the field. Throughout the week we visited Lisa (the Macaw) at the Sand Key Shops and got an icecream, went to the "banana" park and played in the trees, and took a trip to the St. Petersburg Children's Museum (which was not very crowded). It was nice because we had a high enough adult/ child ratio to spread out with the kids and let them do what they wanted. They even had a little toddler area for Judson, which he loved. Another day we went to a nature park where the kids got to feed lots of turtles and hold a live butterfly in their hand. While at the house, the kids mainly worked on drawing and other various forms of art, as well as watched a few movies. That kept them busy between outings. Nana got to go with us everywhere we went, so that was a real blessing and the kids had a lot of fun getting to share everything with her all week. The week seemed to fly by as it usually does, and it was time to leave. On the way back we stayed with some other friends, the Sullivans, and then made a quick trip to our old church for Sunday School and to say hello to some friends before getting on the road for home. After all that driving, we were so glad to be home!

Judson in the suitcase

Pappy and Caleb went fishing and Caleb caught a fish!

Visiting Lisa


At the artist's table

Uncle Heath and Caleb playing Connect Four

At the Children's Museum- Isabelle going shopping at the grocery store

Judson "milking" the cow

Caleb sweating it up on "Dance Revolution"

Nana with her great grandchildren

Judson is walking!

Our little Judson decided to start things early in his life. He crawled at 5 months, and now he started walking at 9 months! It has been cute to see the progression in the last few weeks from his "Frankenstein" walk to a "duck" walk, and now he is getting pretty good at it and is actually faster walking than crawling. He is now getting into even more around the house, so objects on tables are no longer safe. He loves to play hide and seek and chase with his big brother and sister, and thinks he is just one of the big kids! He likes to hide in the space between his crib and the wall, which is the perfect size for him. He loves to be the center of attention and be a goofball to get everyone to laugh.

Now sporting two bottom teeth

Peek-a-boo!