Scout

I guess this year isn't done with me yet. In a year full of heartbreaking goodbyes, today I said goodbye to our oldest pet Scout Eleanor Wilde. She would have been 11 in December. She joins her brothers Chester Bardonio and Wilson Osito in dog heaven.

Scout was a diva for sure. She was high maintenance and marched to a different drummer.

Like me, she was showing her age and slowing down. She moved at a glacial pace and had lost most of her sight. She thumped her foot loudly at night and could wake you from a sound sleep with it. She was slightly odiferous. But between five and six each night she came alive with a loud distinctive bark when she heard the clinking of a beer bottle being removed from the beer fridge. That sound meant it was time to go out to the pool with Kevin. It was the highlight of her day. She was his constant companion and kept the same office hours. She didn't have much use for Ted E and Truman. They got the hint and kept their distance... mostly.

When Laura graduated from college she humored her by allowing her to put an ASU outfit on her but she was a U of A supporter at heart. When Laura lived at home she was Laura's dog but when Laura moved out she took a "if you can't be with the Wilde you love, love the Wilde you're with" philosophy.

She loved to roll around in the garden and then she would present herself at the patio door muddy and smelling of rosemary. She did it last week and as I was wiping her paws clean I scolded her and said "I am NOT doing this again!" I never will.

Thanks for being part of our family Scout. We loved you and we always will.