Scout is my dog, normally I say Scout is my boyfriend Alex’s dog because I fought having a dog tooth and nail, on numerous occasions I told Alex to take his dog and leave, but next month marks one year of having Scout and I guess I have to resign that she indeed is my dog.
Why did I not want a dog?
I have 3 cats, Roca, Rusty, and Zoe, they are pretty low maintenance, as long as I feed them and clean their litter, they are happy. They each have their own personalities and I love them, I love them so much that I could not fathom disturbing their peace and introducing a new pet, especially one that is not cat! As it is, Roca has become increasingly bitter with the introduction of each additional cat, I felt like a dog was going to push her over the edge.
I am selfish; I like to do what I want when I want, that means not having to worry about the logistics of what we are going to do with the dog. Cats are easy, you put out extra food, water, and additional litter boxes and they will be happy the humans are not wanting to pet and cuddle for a few days. It is much less of a burden to ask a friend to check in on the cats every few days than to take care of a dog which is a 24/7 job (especially this dog).
How did I end up with Scout?
In June 2019 , my parents dogs had puppies and they needed to find them homes because they could not afford to keep them and as it is, my mom doesn’t like dogs (this is probably where I picked it up). I said no to taking a dog on multiple occasions, but my mom took that as a sign that she should ask Alex instead. Alex has only ever had a pet goldfish and boy was he excited about the idea of a dog, but I still said NO.
August 2019 we traveled to Fort Worth to visit my family for my niece’s birthday and when my mom asked about a puppy, I still said NO, but that didn’t stop her from having my niece collect all the puppies and bring them inside so I could reject them in person. Yup it was still a NO from me. I did not want this responsibility and I made that clear to everyone, especially Alex! Obviously I somehow ended up with a puppy, but I was so upset that Alex didn’t back me and my wishes that I was ready to be done with him. How could I be with someone who didn’t respect my feelings that way? I felt so betrayed when I said no and Alex sat with his puppy eyes and got every single person in my family to keep pressuring me to take a dog, my mom was even massaging me while telling me how happy a dog was going to make me. Alex left with a dog, I wasn’t happy.
Why I wanted to quit:
She was so needy! I treasure the few hours of sleep I get at night and I wasn’t getting those because she had to use the restroom every 2 hours. We couldn’t leave the house for more than a few hours at a time because we had to be back to check on her and let her out. We had planned my 30th birthday vacation and we couldn’t take her or find a place to board her because of her age, we ended up paying someone a few hundred dollars to watch her for a week. My cats do not like her. She is so hyper, everyone says she is a “working dog” even to this day I can take her on a 2-3 hour hike and she still wants to play when we get home. She destroyed my new heels! She wants to chew on you (must be how she shows love), she isn’t as bad as she used to be, but when you go in for pets she always wants to nibble. She has destroyed my couch, which I don’t understand because it is one of her favorite places to be…I could go on forever!
Why I didn’t quit:
I want to cry just thinking about the struggle that was Scout at the beginning, but guys, it is so worth it for that goofy face she makes when she doesn’t understand whats going on. It is an ongoing struggle, especially because we never got to take her to training classes because I had a family emergency and then the pandemic happened, but YouTube and a very awesome friendship and walks with a dog named Sonny have really helped. Even with all the craziness, I’m just not the type of person that quits, especially on a living being, I will never understand people who abandon their dogs, Scout is so expressive and has a personality that isn’t shy about letting me know when she is upset. I can’t imagine getting home and not having her wag her tail so hard she knocks on everything within reach and her galloping back and forth waiting for me to put my things down and pet her.
The day I knew she was my dog was probably the day she found me a fossil outside, I had already secretly loved her, but that day I made it Instagram official! Follow Scout and my cats on the Instagram, link: https://www.instagram.com/lansburycats/
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