An Ode to a Dear Old Coonhound

When most people see an old dog at the shelter, they move right along to the puppies, and that's just what happened to this skin and bone, tri-colored dog for 3 months. 

Until one day, a man with a beard came in, and this old coonhound caught his eye. He had enough love in his heart to stop and love on an old dog, and the old dog was grateful. 

Oh but the man with a beard couldnt bring the old coonhound home yet, you see he needed the misses approval. She was a dog lover too, you see, and had also been shopping around for a dog. 

The misses wasn't sure about getting a male dog, but the man with the beard's heart was set. He convinced the misses to go see the dog. 

She went to the shelter to see the old coonhound that stole her husbands heart. He was all skin and bone, but again, happy to see someone who might give him a chance.

Next thing you know, the old dog was coming home with them.  His smile was so wide to finally get out of the shelter and get a car ride. 

They gave him a name, they called him Scout. The next few weeks were tough, at first they had to hand feed him, and potty train the old fella. They quickly learned of his climbing skills. Oh a fence would not do. So on a leash he stayed. 

Scout the coonhound loved to go on walks, but hated the crate he was supposed to sleep in. He would try his hardest to bust out. Eventually the crate went away, and he started sleeping on the couch. 

His previous owner didnt treat him right or feed him right, the man with the beard and the misses knew, for Old boy Scout would tremble when they swept the floors or got the mail, but he slowly learned they wouldn't hurt him. 

He drank and drank and drank water. The man with the beard and his misses were concerned. But they kept his water bowl full. Maybe he didnt get water often at his old home, they sadly thought. 

They took him to the vet, and learned most of his teeth were bad. The vet would have to take most of his teeth out. But he came home a younger dog, without all the grief. 

Soon another dog came home, Sophie was her name. He knew he couldnt keep up with her energy, he didnt even try, but Scout always left half his food bowl for her, even though she had her own bowl. 

Sophie preferred to share the bowl with scout, so her bowl faded away. They loved going on walks together and napping on the couch. 

Then one day scout had a stroke. They took him to the vet where he got some medicine. It took him a while to get his balance back, but he recovered. 

Then the household changed again as all this baby stuff was brought in. He started getting a little nervous again. When the baby was brought home he wasnt sure about her, but as the little girl grew she loved scout and Scout grew to love her too. 

Then one day, scout stopped eating. At first it was only special treats, then he didn't even want those. The family braced themselves for a broken heart, but can you ever really prepare for that? 

The man with a beard and his family never knew how bad Scout's life was before going to the shelter, but they knew the years they had with him were probably his best years. 

Scout, We love you and will always be in our hearts. We miss you, and are thankful we were able to give you some of the best years of your life. We don't know how old you really are (the estimate is 14), but you lived a good long life. Hopefully there was more good than bad in the years before you found us ♡