Scout's Story in the Cairn Rescue USA Newsletter

HAPPY ENDING: "Scout Masters" Alan & Mark Prove There's a Family for Every Dog 

In June of 2016, Midwest Adoptions Director, Shell Lewis, was contacted by an elderly woman in a small Indiana town who was desperately seeking to re-home her terrier "Scout". Scout's owner was a volunteer at a small animal shelter that was stretched for funds and space. So, when Scout was adopted out but then returned, she feared for the young terrier's future and decided to adopt her herself. Although she had good intentions, the new owner and her husband quickly came to realize that Scout had far too much energy for their sedate lifestyle. So, within the week, Scout was on her way to a foster home in Chicago with veteran terrier owners, Larry and Janet Eaton.  

 

Scout proved to be a poster child for "the naughty terrier". Recalls foster mom Janet: 

	Chandler (L), Mark, Scout & Alan

"When Scout arrived at our home, she immediately jumped the fence into our newly landscaped garden and in a matter of minutes flattened three new hydrangeas and trampled every living plant. Over the course of the next three weeks, she ate a plastic dog bowl, dug a hole in a woven blanket and tore apart our own Cairn's crate pad. She tore off every diaper we attempted to put on her and peed everywhere in the house, EXCEPT on the puppy pads!"

"Who", you might ask, "would want to adopt this crazy dog???"

Scout and Mark

Well, as it turned out, Alan Putz and Mark Knowles!  

The couple, who had recently moved to Chicago from Florida, were undeterred by Scout's questionable resume. They had recently lost their beloved schnauzer, Bette, and their large-breed dog, Chandler, was missing his best pal. So were Alan and Mark.

   

Said Alan, "Mark went online and found a photo of a pretty little dog named Scout on the Cairn Rescue USA website. At our home visit, Chandler loved her on sight. They ran around our back yard as if they had been friends forever. Scout's happy personality, quick familiarity with kisses, and downright amazing good looks, hooked me. After all our preliminaries, she became part of our family!"

Alan reports that they were able to house train Scout in less than two weeks, but curbing her enthusiasm for chewing proved to be a greater challenge. Scout added to the "list of destructions" she had begun compiling in her foster home, starting with Mark's new eye glasses, Alan's straight-out-of-the-box $160 running shoes, the television remote, pillows, bed spreads and pens. And oh, did we mention the sofa? Scout "single pawedly" gutted and stripped the covering off the living room sofa. It appears that all items, great and small, were fair game to Scout. 

Today, almost a year later, Scout has settled in and settled down, and the destructive chapter of her younger days has thankfully come to a close. Alan and Mark are amazed at Scout's intelligence and her ability to communicate with them even if they don't always know what she's trying to say. 

Chandler and Scout have formed their own unique and quirky relationship. Observes Alan, "Chandler is old and he'll lay on the floor trying to nap while Scout pulls on his jowls like taffy, trying to get him to play. She'll bite his ankles as he walks through the house and she'll argue loudly with him over squeaky toys; she thinks they ALL belong to her. But put the two of them out in the yard together, and it is just like the first time they saw each other. Lots of romping, chasing, and play. Thank you Cairn Rescue USA, for allowing us to bring Scout into our home. We love her and are pretty sure the feeling is mutual."

You can visit the Cairn Recue USA Newsletter web site by clicking here. Lots of adorable little guys looking for homes there.