Scamp

I know that we don’t update this page as often as we should, hopefully this Fall we will be able to add more posts that aren’t as infrequent as they are now.  Today, however, I wanted to write a post about Scamp.  You see, last week he was diagnosed with cancer.  I needed some outlet to write about this sweet pup, to let people know just who he is and what he means to me.

I remember the day my parents told me they were getting another dog, looking back it felt like the decision was just dropped on me.  I was away at college and they were still grieving the loss of our first Scottie, Mac. They told me that the same breeder had two puppies that were of the same lineage of Mac and that they were going to go look at them. I also remember some warning about how they were only going to look at them, no promises of getting a dog. (This sounds faintly familiar to how we got Boomer).  My parents were set on getting a male dog.  The breeder had two pups, one female and one male.  The male pup would trot around to us, roll on his back for pets and pick up sticks wherever he could find them.  My parents spent more time with him than they did the female.  I took an instant liking to the female, she would sit in my lap and let me pet her, I wanted her.  Some how or another, we were on our way back home with two dogs.   Itty Bitty Mitty and Bocephus Scamp. The rest, as they say, is history.

Scamp, also known as Scampy, Scampers, ScamperMan, Scamperdoodle, LaPoo, Big Boy, Woodle, is a big scottie.  He is 32 pounds of pure muscle.  The breeder told us that he came from a line of English Scottish Terriers and a litter-mate that her son owned was just as big.

Scamp has an affinity for socks… so much so that when he was a wee pup he ate one.  My parents had to rush him to the emergency vet, pay an arm and a leg, to retrieve said sock. Despite enduring such a traumatic experience, he will attempt to steal a sock any chance he gets.  The same goes for tissues.  He ever so gently will pull his gums back, show his front teeth and gently pull at the sock or tissue until it becomes him.  He is very stealthy at this.  It isn’t until you hear his toe-nails clicking on the hardwood, running, that you realize he’s taken something. However, once you ask him to drop it, he will.

He is also one of the only Scotties that will pay any attention to what you say. He knows commands for sit, drop, come here, treat, cookie, dinner, hungry, squirrel, dad, mom, lay down and settle. The most shocking part is that he will actually perform them, unlike Mitty who knows what you are saying but doesn’t care.  He also knows the knocking sound on the window that says, “time to come inside.”  Like his predecessor Mac, he enjoys sitting on top of the hill we have in our backyard purveying the lawn. He has killed many unwanted guests; mice and snakes top the list and he has even wrestled with a copperhead.  He knows no fear and will protect his family with all he has.  He’s the first to bark at any intruder in our yard, including the first leaves of fall.  During the winter months he is always found settled on a blanket on the couch. He has been there for me through college transfers, breakups, rebellions, and family deaths.  He is the first to offer me one of his toys when I walk in the house.  He will swim on the floor with me, pushing against me for pets, thumping his tail against the floor to welcome me home.  He will always be democratic about where he settles, equally between rooms if my parents are in one and I’m in the other.  When he wakes up in the morning, he always comes to check in on my and give me a nose push and a tail wag.  He never asks for attention and prefers to play the stoic scottie, even to this day through his pain.

We have decided as a family to treat his cancer with palliative care.  There is a 90% chance that is has already spread to his lungs.  The doctor gives him a 2-3 months left.  We want to give him dignity in death, if there is such a thing.  I’m not sure how Mitty will react to losing her brother, or how I will, but we will all take it one day at time.