PAT'S PETS

So here it is, more about my two Scotties. (You clicked on it so don't blame me!) The first Scotty I bought was a "wee" little girl I fell in love with through the pet store glass. I always said I'd never buy from a pet store (because of the cruelty of puppy mills), but I couldn't stand the thought of that little dog staying there one more night! She was four months, a little older than the other puppies, and so had either been passed over, or brought back a couple of times. It was love at first sight. Her eyes looked right into mine as if to say "I belong to you". The pet store employee suggested my daughter and I take her into "the booth". That's when they have you. Don't go into "the booth" with a puppy; if you do, you're hooked. Anyway, the little dog was so earnest and quiet! And I'd always wanted a Scotty, since I was a girl. My daughter held onto her while I filled out the paperwork. We took her home August 20, 1994. The first night was pretty quiet. She explored our apartment, and met my daughter's old, grumpy cat, Omar. The dog was willing to be friends, but Omar wanted nothing of it! He led her up the stairs, then ran back down. She couldn't follow, becuse she hadn't figured out how to come down yet. We had to go up and get her. We came up with a proper name for her right off the bat. She was small, pretty, a girl, and a Scotty; she would be "Wee Bonnie Lassie" from that day on. After dinner and a walk, she mostly just felt like sleeping, which was fine with us and the cat. The next day was when we figured out that the pet store must've had her on tranquilizers, because she spent most of her time bouncing off the walls. She figured out how the stairs worked, and there was no stopping her. From the living room to the kitchen, up the stairs, down the stairs, and back again. Thank goodness we had a small townhouse, so she couldn't really build up a good head of steam.

She looked a little like this after the drugs wore off. She was as stubborn as a Scotty is supposed to be, and intelligent, but she didn't necessarily agree with everything we tried to teach her. Potty-training was especially difficult. She learned words very fast, she just didn't think she had to respond to those words unless she thought it was a good idea. But we stuck it out, and a year later we had ourselves a pretty good dog (who still has ideas of her own about some things)! Why, almost 6 years later, I decided to get another one, I'll never know. I saw the next one on TV, on a local morning news segment where they feature a Humane Society "Pet of the Day". I couldn't imagine a Scotty being abandoned, but here it was: an 11- month-old male. I called to ask about him, and offered a "bid" of $100. Later, I was told there was another bid of $125. So, fool that I am, I offered $150. That must have been the magic number, because I got him. When the shelter attendant brought him out, I was told he'd been neutered (which was fine with me), and that they'd been calling him "Duncan". Since that was a fine Scottish name, I decided Duncan he would be. I'm here to tell you, not all Scotties are alike. Bonnie had always been so quick and bright. Duncan is sweet, but clumsy and dumb. (Could that be because he's a boy?) I brought him home on April 1, 2000. Since we don't have papers on him, or know his "official" birth date, we made his the same as Bonnie's: May 20. We just "celebrated" their birthdays by taking them to the park for a picnic, and a really long walk. They got to see some squirrels (which they were not allowed to chase) and a few other dogs. They now think every day should be their birthday! Scotties come "programmed" with their own little Scottie games. Bonnie would run to the end of the sofa with her ball and drop it in the wastebasket, as if she were Shaq. The other day, out of the blue, Duncan made a basket. Now I just need three more Scotties to make a team! Bonnie also, when she wanted something, would drop her favorite "toy of the moment" at my feet as a "trade". (After she got what she wanted, she would take the toy back, though.) Yesterday, Duncan brought me his ball for a bite of chicken. Right now, they are "measuring" mouths. Whoever can open the widest, wins. Whenever Bonnie gets a toy out of her toybox, she holds it up to Duncan so he can play with it too. Whenever Duncan gets a toy, it's "finders-keepers"! They both "ZOOM" when they get sleepy, Just like children, they fight sleep till they drop. They climb the futon, bounce off, under the coffee table, up on the loveseat, jump off the arm, back up on the futon, again and again, growling angrily all the while, till they run down. This is a nightly thing with Scotties. Click here to view Raising Duncan, a comic strip about a couple with a Scottie named Duncan (no, we did not name our dog after theirs; we just discovered this comic strip a few days ago!). UPDATE!! I guess it was a good thing we got Duncan; at 6 years, Scotties are considered to be in their senior years. While Bonnie appeared to be the picture of health, there was some slowing down. Then, at 7-1/2, she awoke with a limp one day that didn't get better. She also couldn't go to the bathroom. We took her to the vet for x-rays which showed nothing. We were given some anti-inflammatory medicine for her, but they didn't help. After two more days, and further x-rays, we took her in on 10/02/01 for exploratory surgery. The vet said, "Good news, no obstruction. I'll manually evacuate her and you can take her home in a couple of days." We were immeasurably relieved. That evening, the vet called us at home. In evacuating her bowels, she found a huge growth pressing on her bowels and bladder. It was inoperable. We decided to bring her home for a night or two to pamper and enjoy her, but it soon beame apparent she was in pain, couldn't walk, and kept looking to us to do something. While we held her and talked to her, Bonnie was put to sleep on 10/04/01. She lies now under a grassy knoll in a woods alive with birds and squirrels and foxes. We all miss her very much.

SAVE A LIFE! ADOPT A SHELTER PET. Background music is Copyright © 1996, 1997 by Michael D. Walthius. All Rights Reserved.

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