Boy Scout

I was walking Scout around the block and a nice couple stopped to admire her.

"Oh, he's so cute. Can I pet him?"

"Sure, but she's a female. Her name is Scout."

After a few face licks by Scout and a scratch under the chin by the lady, she asks

"Such a good looking fellow. What breed is he?"

"It's a she, Scout is a female. I'm not sure about the mix of breeds, she's basically a terrier mutt. Possibly some Cairn Terrier in there. That's where I got her, from the Cairn Terrier Rescue."

"Oh we don't care if you're a mutt. You're just the cutest little guy. Aren't you, aren't you? Yes you are..."

I smiled and said goodbye to the nice ladies.

"We have to go now. I still have to walk his sister, Chandler."

I did not give her that gender neutral name. She came to me with the name Scout, and I'm too lazy to think of a new one or go through the trouble of teaching her a new name. So it's Scout. It kind of bothered me at first, but then I met two nice ladies in the neighborhood. They went nuts over Scout and were quite impressed that I had named my dog after such a notable literary figure.

"Oh, a female? I love that you named her after the little girl in, To Kill a Mockingbird."

I hadn't even thought of that before, so I told the nice ladies, "Yes, yes I did." 

I have that problem all the time. People want Scout to be a little boy dog. Almost nobody uses the pronoun, she or calls her a girl when they see her. They always assume that Scout is a boy. The fact that her hair is so long and hides the area where her wiener would be doesn't help. Also, Scout is very butch. People see her beating the hell out of Chandler and assume that she couldn't be a female. Also, she lifts her leg when she pees. Honestly, she will walk up to a tree or other upright surface, lift her leg, and pee. It's so cute.