I’m delivering this message from Tuesday afternoon, because with everything else going on, I knew I wouldn’t have the time or inclination to even consider doing a standard post on Friday.  If this rambles, or doesn’t make sense, I hope you’ll forgive me.

Today, we had to put Scout, our beloved 15 year-old Chocolate Labrador, to sleep.  In her early years, she had the reputation as a holy terror with boundless puppy energy and an insatiable appetite.  In the end, the appetite never left her, but her body was beginning to let her down.  In her final days, Scout couldn’t even stand up, or go to the bathroom on her own, and her immobility was leading to bed sores on her hips.  Honestly, I could have lugged that silly old, deaf, incontinent dog out the door to pee for the rest of my days, but it had reached the point where Scout’s inability to move was actually beginning to harm her.

We love her so very, very much and we’ll miss her sweet, gentle disposition.  I know that somewhere sweet Scout is riffling through God’s garbage and having the best time ever.

A couple years ago, for my fiancee’s birthday, I created paper “action figures” of Scout and our other dog, Hoppie.   Go ahead and click on the image, and you should get a full-sized version to cut out for yourselves.  (If it doesn’t work, e-mail me, and I’ll send you a copy.)  I wanted to share Scout’s cut-out with you and maybe share a tiny fraction of the joy that she brought to our lives every day.

We love you, Scout.

- JEP