Scout's Story

With the discovery of Peter's degenerative disc disease, it has been "all about him" for awhile. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Scout (our black lab), I thought this might be a good time to share some info about her.

We got Scout back in late September, 2008. A friend mentioned that a breeder in Gilroy was looking for good homes for some of his puppies. Allen and I are both suckers for puppies, so once we saw this face, we knew that she would be the newest addition to our family!

Scout is a curious dog and a great companion. She has A LOT more energy than Peter and needs a lot more exercise and stimulation. Most mornings begin with Allen and Scout taking a run around the neighborhood with the hope that it will tire her out (at least for a few hours!). She and Peter, while polar opposites are starting to become good siblings and they love to chase each other around the house and play.

Ultimately, Allen is hoping that Scout will prove to be a good hunting companion and he is planning on taking her out for the coming duck season. In preparation, he got a membership to the San Jose Retriever Club and has been taking her out to "train" whenever he has free time. On a few occasions, I have gone out with them and watched her "progress" :) I have to say that she is turning out to be a pretty smart little dog and it has been neat to watch her grow up over the past few months.

Allen even built her a dog stand--as you can see, she can't wait to hop in the water and stand on top of it!

By far, one of Scout's biggest adventures to date was her first trip to the snow. With the storms in the area, Allen thought it would be fun to take her up to Henry Coe to see how she liked the snow. The two of them woke up REALLY early on Saturday morning while Peter and I slept in. I can't say that I'm too upset about missing this expedition, but fortunately, Allen took a few pictures.

Not much to report in baby news. She is definitely kicking around and I really notice it in the late mornings while I'm at work. I have my next doctor's appointment on the 26th of this month. We have started looking at cribs and changing tables and need to figure out what we want to do with the nursery. Once we have some ideas in mind, I'll be sure to share. Also for those who are wondering, we still can't seem to settle on a name!