Today is Girlscout’s birthday. The last five years went by in a blur.
Scout is a Sagitarius. She is also a Welsh Terrier. My friend Chip’s day of birth is upstaged annually when the spotlight swings to Scout on Nov 30. I know not everyone celebrates their pet’s birthday or reads their horoscope. But then, I’m not everyone. We usually use Scout’s birthday as an excuse to celebrate Cowboy and Loki’s too. Since they were rescued from kill shelters, we have no idea when they were born. I even got a deck of tarot cards and tried to read their birthdays based on their selections. We think Loki is a Capricorn. Cowboy’s special day remains a mystery however, since he wasn’t as excited about chewing on a dumb old card that didn’t have any peanut butter on it.
Scout’s birthday is also a milestone in my life. In November of 2005, the love of my life, an Airedale named Mimi went to the happy hunting ground. About 3 weeks later I found Cowboy in a Pocatello shelter and brought him to live with me, a forever home. A few weeks later I split from a long-time boyfriend. The one thing I wanted to get me through this hard winter was a Welsh Terrier named Girlscout.
Scout was an extremely impractical decision. I was single. I had one dog already. She was costly. She was far away in Loveland, Colorado. Her breed is known for being nearly impossible to house train. Did I care? Nope. Her breeder agreed to meet me at the half way point, Rawlins. I felt like the original adventurer that freezing day when Cowboy and I loaded up in the truck and struck out across Wyoming. Cowboy loved Scout immediately when they met in the Maverick parking lot. He slept all the way home with his head on her crate. They’ve been best friends ever since.
Scout also brought someone special into my life, an artist named Todd. Of course, a gal with 2 puppies, one under 10 weeks, has her hands full at the dog park where my little pack went every day after work. I would carry Scout and let Cowdawg romp. Sometimes he romped too hard and I had to chase him with 6 lbs of curly black&tan in my arms. Enter Todd, to take the pup out of my arms or chase down the Cowboy for me while his stately old rottweiler, Loki watched the pups play.
To celebrate Scout’s birthday this year, the dogs, my friend Cher, a little girl named Clara and I sent a care package to a Welsh Terrier who is homeless in California. Her name is Mama, she is 10 and has been used for breeding. She lives in a boarding facility and, because my WT sleeps under the covers in my arms at night like a baby, it breaks my heart to imagine a dog like Scout living in such a sterile environment. I wish I could adopt her. Here is the link to her page if you have room for a dominant female in your life http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17419012
Happy birthday Scout! Happy pretend birthday Cowboy and Loki! This concludes Pet Awareness Month on artduh.com. Save the furbees!
Until next November,
The pet lovers at artduh.com
ArtDuh.com 
