Scout-Free at Last~RIP

It is with a heavy heart that I share a message from Scout’s Mom, Susan, “I have really bad news about Scout. He jumped out of my daughters bedroom window, 2nd floor, yesterday and passed away this morning. We are so sad, we can’t believe this even happened. Just wanted to let you guys know. We love him so much. It’s completely shocking. ~Susan

I hope to talk to Susan over the phone to get more details, but our sadness  is felt and support is offered for Susan and her family through this tragic loss.

I have spoken to Susan and have learned that her 9 year-old daughter tried to grab Scout to prevent him from jumping out.  Scout has always been an escape artist, much like my Ozzie.  I have seen dogs break though screens and windows to get out.  This is so sad.

History:  The rescue community is networked far beyond what most people realize. Scout had been living the last few years in a garage in Wisconsin. So how did we find him? Madison, a wonderful animal advocate and rescuer from Habersham Co. Shelter goes out of her way to drive dogs out of state to adopters and rescue’s. She has a friend in Wisconsin. The friend had been telling Madison of a dog she knew of that they had tried and tried to get to rescue. There aren’t many herding breed rescues up there because where Scout was there wasn’t much call for herd dogs.

Every time a rescue would try and get him they would be turned away. Why? Why would they keep him in a garage? Here’s the story:

Their son wanted a dog. The parents weren’t keen on it, but told the son that if they got a dog for him it was his responsibility, not theirs. Sound familiar?

So they went to the Pet Shop and decided that if they were going to get a dog, they wanted an expensive, good looking dog, you know, it was a “status” thing. So they brought home this adorable fluffy puppy which the son loved…..for a minute….then he was on to the next thing. The parents told him it was his puppy and he had to take care of it. They refused to do it. So out to the garage he went, so he wouldn’t mess up the house, heaven knows training would have been too much to ask! They would toss food in to him and go about their day.

Why didn’t they find him another home? They had paid a lot of money for him and they expected to get it back. He was “for sale”! They weren’t going to just give him away! The cold wisconsin winters he spent trying to keep warm in their garage while they sat by the fire. All he wanted was to be a part of the family….the cute puppy had grown into a beautiful dog, who was smart and had so much to give…so he sat waiting patiently for them to come….

These “adults” who bought a puppy for their son to teach him responsibility were going to show him that they meant it! Hmmm. who was being irresponsible now? What has this boy learned and what will he grow up to be? …..another person who thinks dogs are disposable items they’ve purchased…not living, breathing, feeling, beings with souls.

If you know Aussies at all, you know how loyal and loving they are to their families. All they want in life is to be with you. It doesn’t matter if that means 8 hours in the car, as long as they are with you, a part of your life. They are also highly intelligent and know when things are not right and they worry… I can not imagine what poor Scout went through waiting to be loved by his family….Wondering what he had done wrong…

So, a friend of a friend who knew Maddie began working on the father through the aussie rescue up there. I don’t know all the details, but evidently they threw all the punches, not limited to “bribery” to convince him to let Scout come south to Georgia and Maddie!

I had rescued from Habersham Shelter before, “Little Jack Black” was my first from there! Maddie told them she knew of a rescue called “The Dog Liberator” that could find him a home! So transport was set in motion and while he was on the way, Maddie started sending me pics of him! My heart went out to this sweet boy! She said they potty trained him in 2 days!

Despite his captivity he has shown himself a quick learner and is totally enjoying the love and attention being lavished on him. He loves the couch! I promised we would find him a home where he would never be in the garage, never be left in the cold, but instead would lounge by the warmth of the fire with his family.

I know his perfect family is out there in Dog Liberator world. All the way to Wisconsin they had faith in us, Scout has faith in us…..let’s get him “home!”-vicki