Scout 06-198

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4/30/06: Annabelle (~3 yr old spayed female Golden) and Scout (~1.5 yr old neutered male Golden) are two of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet. After a day and a half with them, I’ve fallen hard, as did their original rescuers in Iowa. Here’s what we know of their history: once upon a time, they had a loving family and were raised as indoor dogs. They appear to be well socialized, have good indoor manners, are completely housebroken, ride well in the car, and even offer up their paws for wiping off when coming inside (which is great, considering it hasn’t stopped raining since they got here). As the result of a divorce, they wound up with a new family, who kept them in a barn and were pretty neglectful. Needless to say, Annabelle and Scout must have known there was a better life out there waiting for them, and one day when the door was left ajar, they got the heck out of Dodge. I don’t think they are your typical “runners”, however, since they’ve made no attempt to get more than 5 feet away from me, or the house or yard, and seem pretty content here already.

They were picked up as strays by a rescue group in Iowa and despite the fact that they looked a little rough around the edges at first, they both come with a clean bill of health – negative for heartworm and Lymes, and negative fecals too! They have been bathed, de-flea’d, de-tick’d, and de-burr’d, micro-chipped and brought up to date on their shots. Both could use a little additional primping but I’m hoping one of these days it stops raining so we can do some grooming in the backyard while also having some fun.

Annabelle and Scout are beautiful BIG dogs. Scout is a dark red gold (with a tiny bit of white on his chest) and weighs around 80 lbs, which is pretty close to ideal for him. Annabelle is a lighter gold and, shall we say a bit full-figured, weighing in at 100 lbs, so her forever family will need to practice some good weight management with her (Sorry Belle, but I think she’d say the same about me). These two are mother and son and have never been apart. That said, they are definitely closely bonded, but also have their individual personalities and both seem most concerned with human attention (especially Scout, who is 100% Velcro dog!)… so for that reason, I don’t think they necessarily need to stay together.

Both have the typical affectionate, attention-seeking Golden personality, but Annabelle is the more independent of the two (she is sleeping in another room right now, whereas Scout is at my feet – no actually ON my feet – and will gladly get up to accompany me to the kitchen or bathroom as needed). Neither are especially needy though, so I expect them to do fine when left alone in the house… they slept last night baby-gated in the kitchen without a peep and have both been completely trustworthy with free reign of the house while I’m home.

I don’t see any family restrictions for these two so far, although I have yet to introduce them to small children or cats. I think they lived with children most recently but I don’t think they probably had much contact, so we’ll need to test this out. Neither appears to have an aggressive bone in their body and both have let me take food and toys from them without blinking an eye. That said, they are BIG dogs who are prone to butt-wiggling happiness, so a family with small children will at least need to understand that the kids might get knocked over once in a while. Mason (my Golden) and Scout also had a small tiff yesterday, but I think their playing just escalated too quickly, and neither was hurt. I place at least 50% of the blame on Mason for any initial spats with foster dogs since he typically needs to show them who’s boss around here.

Since I am working directly with RAGOM Placement on these two, you are likely already an approved adopter if you are reading this… so let us know if you are interested in meeting one or both of these sweethearts. Oh, and here are some pictures of these gorgeous creatures, although one caveat on Scout – it’s very difficult to get a good picture of the boy since he is never more than 2 inches from your face when the camera is out! I’ll keep trying though… and one other correction – I just got up and left the room for a minute and he continued snoozing peacefully under the desk, so maybe he is only 50% velcro dog afterall, which is a good happy medium :)

 Scout
Meet Scout and Annabelle
 Scout
Annabelle and Scout		 Scout
Here come the wet sloppy kisses!

At a Glance #06-198

Golden Retriever Born: October 2004
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

4/30/06: Annabelle (~3 yr old spayed female Golden) and Scout (~1.5 yr old neutered male Golden) are two of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet. After a day and a half with them, I’ve fallen hard, as did their original rescuers in Iowa. Here’s what we know of their history: once upon a time, they had a loving family and were raised as indoor dogs. They appear to be well socialized, have good indoor manners, are completely housebroken, ride well in the car, and even offer up their paws for wiping off when coming inside (which is great, considering it hasn’t stopped raining since they got here). As the result of a divorce, they wound up with a new family, who kept them in a barn and were pretty neglectful. Needless to say, Annabelle and Scout must have known there was a better life out there waiting for them, and one day when the door was left ajar, they got the heck out of Dodge. I don’t think they are your typical “runners”, however, since they’ve made no attempt to get more than 5 feet away from me, or the house or yard, and seem pretty content here already.

They were picked up as strays by a rescue group in Iowa and despite the fact that they looked a little rough around the edges at first, they both come with a clean bill of health – negative for heartworm and Lymes, and negative fecals too! They have been bathed, de-flea’d, de-tick’d, and de-burr’d, micro-chipped and brought up to date on their shots. Both could use a little additional primping but I’m hoping one of these days it stops raining so we can do some grooming in the backyard while also having some fun.

Annabelle and Scout are beautiful BIG dogs. Scout is a dark red gold (with a tiny bit of white on his chest) and weighs around 80 lbs, which is pretty close to ideal for him. Annabelle is a lighter gold and, shall we say a bit full-figured, weighing in at 100 lbs, so her forever family will need to practice some good weight management with her (Sorry Belle, but I think she’d say the same about me). These two are mother and son and have never been apart. That said, they are definitely closely bonded, but also have their individual personalities and both seem most concerned with human attention (especially Scout, who is 100% Velcro dog!)… so for that reason, I don’t think they necessarily need to stay together.

Both have the typical affectionate, attention-seeking Golden personality, but Annabelle is the more independent of the two (she is sleeping in another room right now, whereas Scout is at my feet – no actually ON my feet – and will gladly get up to accompany me to the kitchen or bathroom as needed). Neither are especially needy though, so I expect them to do fine when left alone in the house… they slept last night baby-gated in the kitchen without a peep and have both been completely trustworthy with free reign of the house while I’m home.

I don’t see any family restrictions for these two so far, although I have yet to introduce them to small children or cats. I think they lived with children most recently but I don’t think they probably had much contact, so we’ll need to test this out. Neither appears to have an aggressive bone in their body and both have let me take food and toys from them without blinking an eye. That said, they are BIG dogs who are prone to butt-wiggling happiness, so a family with small children will at least need to understand that the kids might get knocked over once in a while. Mason (my Golden) and Scout also had a small tiff yesterday, but I think their playing just escalated too quickly, and neither was hurt. I place at least 50% of the blame on Mason for any initial spats with foster dogs since he typically needs to show them who’s boss around here.

Since I am working directly with RAGOM Placement on these two, you are likely already an approved adopter if you are reading this… so let us know if you are interested in meeting one or both of these sweethearts. Oh, and here are some pictures of these gorgeous creatures, although one caveat on Scout – it’s very difficult to get a good picture of the boy since he is never more than 2 inches from your face when the camera is out! I’ll keep trying though… and one other correction – I just got up and left the room for a minute and he continued snoozing peacefully under the desk, so maybe he is only 50% velcro dog afterall, which is a good happy medium :)

 Scout
Meet Scout and Annabelle
 Scout
Annabelle and Scout		 Scout
Here come the wet sloppy kisses!

Updates

Sunday, February 27, 2011

 

Dear RAGOM,

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that our buddy Scout passed over the Rainbow Bridge. On Tuesday, February 22nd at the young age of six, this gentle giant left us to be with his mother Belle forever. Scout had a lot of arthritis in all of his joints, spine included and both acl's in his back legs had seen better days. Since the begining of last summer he had slowed down quite a bit. The weekend prior to his passing Scout just wasn't acting quite like himself. By Tuesday morning he wasn't interested in his usual walk so we took him in to see his vet, truly thinking he would just need a med adjustment for his arthritis. After an xray that looked suspicious and an aspiration of the fluid in his abdomen showing blood our vet was sure....Scout had cancer of his spleen (Hemangiosarcoma) which in fact had just recently ruptured. This was shocking news, we had to let Scout go so he wouldn't suffer any longer. Looking into those big brown eyes was nothing short of heart wrenching...we did the only thing we knew to do. We told Scout that his mother would be waiting for him to show him the way, that he was the best dog in the world and we loved him more than words could ever convey.

I told you about Scout's last day, but I'd really like to tell you about his dash...the time between his first day and his last.

Scout was like all golden's, sweet and patient as the day is long. But this big guy was so much more than just that...he was like an old soul. He knew how to take your heart and just melt it like butter! We knew Scout was something special from the begining, so has everyone else since the day we brought him home. Scout was the family dog, gentle with the babies and old alike. Scout was the neighborhood dog, sitting at the bus stop making sure each child got their pat on his head before they got on. Our big hearted buddy was the lake dog, going from cabin to cabin collecting treats from all of his friends, the only dog we ever knew invited to people parties and welcomed on almost anyone's pontoon! He was a Therapy Dog, visiting the folks at Waverly Gardens in Lino Lakes, always sure to lay his head on the lap of the friend in a wheelchair. Dressing up for their holiday parties and eager to lend a paw to whomever wanted to hold it.

This big ole red dog had a heart of gold and EVERYONE he met fell hopelessly in love with him. We are going to miss you Scout...you were the best dog in the world and we will never forget you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts RAGOM for choosing us to be his forever family.

We love you buddy,
Bryan and Connie O.



Scout, Annabelle and their families at the 2006 RAGOM Picnic

 

Sunday, May 7, 2006

Here's a bit more on Scout as I've gotten to know him better. First of all, this guy is 92 lbs of total lover boy! Yes, 92 lbs at the vet this week -- vs. the 80 lb estimate he came with -- but he is such a GENTLE GIANT! I wouldn't hesitate for a second to place him with a family with small children. He met a 16-month old boy this week, and was as gentle as could be with him. He loves his human attention, but isn't overly needy when you can't give it. I've had no problem leaving the dogs alone this week, everything is just as I left it when I return. Other than minor ear gunk, which we are treating, Scout comes with a clean bill of health. I can't think of anything negative to say about this boy... unless of course you aren't into cuddling with big hairy dogs, then he's definitely not the boy for you. Scout would like a family who is ready to shower him with attention and include him in all aspects of their lives. I think he'd do well as an only dog or in a multi-dog family. He's very social with both dogs and people, it doesn't seem to matter to him whether you have 2 or 4 legs. This boy just wants and deserves a lot of love!!!