Lots of people have been asking, so I thought an update on Scoutie would be in order. It turns out that the “Doggie Weed” idea didn’t really do anything to help her. Oh, she absolutely loved the treats, and she couldn’t wait for the next one, but it turns out they were nothing more than super-expensive munchies.

But the regular pain meds absolutely do help, so Scout just lounges around all day using the minimum possible output of energy; in fact, she’s so good at it we could set her up in the basement with a video-game consul and call her a college dropout. She will go outside when it’s absolutely necessary to take care of business, otherwise she’s pretty much a large shag rug in need of the occasional spritz of Fabreeze.

But she is happy. Scout loves us, she wants to be with us, and her tail vibrates her whole body when we walk in the house. She has a couple of vantage points where she can keep an eye on what’s going on without having to move around. Then at night, just as soon as she’s certain we really have gone to bed, she literally crawls up the stairs so we can all be together.

Scout turned twelve at the beginning of May, as a large breed she’s considered “elderly”, and she has a boatload of issues – but she seems determined to hang in there for the long haul and we are extremely grateful to have her around.

So yesterday as she sat on the driveway and refused to walk back into the house until she was ready, I took her photograph and celebrated how absolutely beautiful she is. Or maybe it’s life that is beautiful and she just helps to remind me.

Regardless, we love her so very much.

Derek Maul lives, writes, and cooks in Wake Forest, NC

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