Scout finds a forever home

August 31, 2023 10:16 AM

"He’d had enough of being at the animal shelter, so Scout the dog climbed over one tall fence and then another, crossed a busy highway in the darkness, entered the automatic doors of a nursing home down the road, walked unnoticed into the lobby, hopped onto a couch, curled into a ball and quietly went to sleep for the night."
CW - sympathetic mention of animal abuse at the start (non-graphic).
posted by urbanwhaleshark (36 comments total)

A very good boy.
posted by NoxAeternum at 10:37 AM on August 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm not in the mood to cry at work so I just gave this a very cursory scan, but it sounds lovely. I think a happy pup must be good for the spirits of those in the nursing home!
posted by obfuscation at 10:38 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'm not in the mood to cry at work s...

I just made that mistake.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:41 AM on August 31, 2023 [5 favorites]

LOVE THIS SO MUCH. Needed. Thank you.
posted by Glinn at 10:50 AM on August 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

“He’ll always let you pet him and lets you talk to him if you need someone to talk to,” she said, petting the dog. “It’s very nice.”

This is such a lovely story. Thanks, urbanwhaleshark. Needed this today!
posted by heyho at 10:51 AM on August 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

I'm usually one of those "Don't anthropomorphize animals" people, but in this case, I will accept that Scout knew he was needed there.
posted by COD at 10:57 AM on August 31, 2023 [8 favorites]

(In case you're worried about how it ends, don't worry, the dog is very happy--and so stuffed with biscuits he doesn't want any pizza.) (and yeah, a very weepy story!!!)
posted by mittens at 10:58 AM on August 31, 2023 [10 favorites]

My current dog (Mia) showed up at my doorstep, ragged, where she curled up in a ball. Don't feed it, don't be nice to it, my family said. We already have two rescue dogs.
She waited there two days before our resistance gave in.
She knew we would love her, even though we didn't know, not right away.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:10 AM on August 31, 2023 [8 favorites]

I’m not crying, you’re crying!
posted by misterpatrick at 11:14 AM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

(I found this in Ricki Tarr's lovely Mastodon thread inviting people to post positive things.)
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 11:31 AM on August 31, 2023 [7 favorites]

Dogs, man.... still one of the best things a screwed up bunch of overly impressed with themselves apes every helped create.
posted by drewbage1847 at 11:31 AM on August 31, 2023 [10 favorites]

Brought a tear to my eyes for sure - why is it almost impossible to believe a nursing home could actually just make that decision and it works out for everyone without bitching and moaning and lawsuits? What a good boy.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 11:45 AM on August 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

Who's a good boy? SCOUT IS A GOOD BOY!

Sorry for shouting, but oh my god, he's so cute I can hardly stand it.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 11:50 AM on August 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

so dusty in here today
posted by leslies at 12:37 PM on August 31, 2023

“He’s always watching, making sure everybody’s OK,” Martinek said. “If somebody is in the passing process, he’s in and out of the room, checking on them. He’ll even want to climb in bed with them.”

“He can sense that,” added Stephanie Elsey, 42, the facility’s clinical care coordinator. “We’ve had a few in the past whose room he won’t leave. We had a resident that when he was passing away, Scout wouldn’t leave his room. He makes a good nursing home dog. He knows his job and he’s good at what he does.”

"hi I'm Scout, I hear you guys have an opening for a psychopomp?"

a few days later, after being hauled back to the shelter:

"No really, I hear you guys need a psychopomp? Lots of folks dying here with nobody around to help show them where to go."

one more shelter trip later:

"hi I'm Scout and the powers that be have appointed me as your local psychopomp, ok? Just pay me in pets and food and I will make sure none of the people around here ever have to see some of the shit I have seen out on the desert between life and death."
posted by egypturnash at 12:44 PM on August 31, 2023 [35 favorites]

What a great story, dogs are some of my favorite people.
posted by doctor_negative at 12:44 PM on August 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

this is such a great outcome for Scout but surely it must also be a win for the home? those residents have a loving pup to pet and love on now. 15/10
posted by supermedusa at 1:18 PM on August 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

Atul Gawande’s book, being mortal, talks about using animals in care homes. I can’t find much about it online but it’s mentioned in this article. Being surrounded by animals is a blessing, and I hope it’s common practice when I’m old
posted by The River Ivel at 1:29 PM on August 31, 2023 [6 favorites]

Adorable all round.
posted by machine at 1:53 PM on August 31, 2023

The photo of him on the couch! Such a sweetie! It's been said but yes, we do need to emphasize that Scout is a very good boy.

I've known several people who've had dogs choose them (I have a friend who had a dog jump into his car and he took that as a sign). Scout knew where he wanted and needed to be. I'm glad the home agreed with him.

I don't currently have a dog but dogs are the best. I do have a few dogs that do adore me so that's pretty great.
posted by edencosmic at 2:20 PM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Rescue dog stories!

Our dog, Maggie, a long-haired anatolian shepherd, is a rescue.

The partial stories we got from the rescue was that she was a puppy mill mom for most of her life and not treated well; when the breeders got wind that they were going to be in trouble, they kicked most of the dogs just out into the back 40 of their property, and shot any dog that tried to come back. The breeders were brought to justice, and all the surviving dogs saved; they believe Maggie had more puppies - she had clearly been nursing - but...only one made it. They think she was about 4 years old and probably had several litters of puppies.

There's a highway of dogs from Texas to Minnesota; Texas largely are kill shelters, so shelters up north have a network of volunteers who drive, and volunteers who sterilize, so Maggie's path from abandoned-and-shot-at in Texas to Minnesota involved a thousand mile ride in a SUV with a bunch of other dogs, a stop in Ohio where a friendly vet 'fixed' her, and then to Minnesota.

Our basset, Oliver, had died a year before, and I was resistant to getting another dog, but my wife's need for a dog had been increasing, and she saw Maggie on the shelter's website and had to go meet her. Well, Maggie's name was "Kush" at the time, my wife was unaware of any illicit drug connotation of it then.

So, I know my wife was going to the shelter "just to look", and arrived home with the dog, with the warning that Maggie does not like other dogs, children, or men.

The first thing I say, annoyed that there was a new dog without asking me, is "so you went and got a dog that hates me."

But, I like dogs in general, and I tried a tactic that generally works: I completely ignored the dog.

About a day later, I was at the stove cooking dinner, and she was suddenly next to me, sniffing my hand. I raised it to pet her, but she ran away. It all got better from there.

The first year or so, that's kind of how she worked, mysterious and silent: other than once she figured out how to ask to go outside to go to the bathroom (it took 2 days and only 2 accidents but no accident since), and we learned she could be trusted to wander the house unattended, so she would disappear into the furthest basement bedroom and lay hidden in the gap between the bed and wall.

She was absolutely silent; she would disappear, and like when I was cooking, suddenly appear right next to you. (she's still like that)

She was terrified to take food from our hands; we had to set it down on the floor and then she'd take a treat. She still thinks being invited up onto the furniture is a trick.

But, she has blossomed; we have discovered she knows the command "sit", which appeared to be a surprise to Maggie too. "Shake" also dug from deep in her memories; she also tries to 'sit pretty' like a little puppy dog, but she's too big to hold up her weight like that so it doesn't really work.

Playing fetch took a while, but that's her favorite game. Early on I made a mistake: I chased her when she was fetching, and she was terrified. But, now that's her favorite part of playing fetch.

So, now, me and the dog who was adopted knowing she's going to hate me, spend time a couple days a week running all around the house, chasing each other while we throw a pet toy around.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:34 PM on August 31, 2023 [29 favorites]

Scout is obviously a very good boy, but frankly I expect dogs to be awesome.

Three cheers for the nursing home staff who took the hint and were able to make adopting Scout work. So many facilities/people wouldn't have made that happen for any number of reasons.
posted by the primroses were over at 3:03 PM on August 31, 2023 [14 favorites]

I was thinking as I was reading it that adopting a dog is a big responsibility and who walks him and makes sure he can go outside when he needs to, and then I remembered that the story started with Scout letting himself out of the shelter and two fences, crossing the street, and walking in through the automatic door. So I assume Scout needs no help when he needs to go outside.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:27 PM on August 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

WE DO NOT DESERVE DOGS.
posted by tafetta, darling! at 4:14 PM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Of course we do! We MADE dogs!
posted by tiny frying pan at 4:54 PM on August 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Or they made us.

Either way, win win
posted by Windopaene at 5:15 PM on August 31, 2023 [6 favorites]

My first reaction was to be a little nervous, because I know how many people are allergic to dogs, or who are simply afraid of them, or distressed by their barking. But as I read on it turned out that Scout was assigned to Glacier Hill and there are only twenty residents there. He doesn't have the run of a whole enormous nursing home seniors residence. So now I feel more secure - I think the chances are they were able to take account of the issues that worried me, and they made sure that Scout gets to live in a home where everyone there is happy around dogs.
posted by Jane the Brown at 7:05 PM on August 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

My wife is the director of an assisted living facility. Our dog Sammy goes to work with her every day to--as I say--entertain the troops. Here he is at work.
posted by neuron at 9:20 PM on August 31, 2023 [21 favorites]

If I live long enough to end up in an assisted living home, I really hope it is a place that has dogs or cats available for petting and snuggles. I'd love to spend my twilight years with a cat on my lap or a dog resting by my chair.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:09 AM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

Dogs have spent thirty thousand years trying to civilize man. That's patience and dedication.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:47 AM on September 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

Thank you, urbanwhaleshark. My eyes are watering. And, much like your friend, edencosmic, my daughter's first dog chose her by first following her out of the woods, and then following the car she was in until they stopped and let the dog jump into the car.

Also, eight years ago, a sweet beagle came to me via our city's animal shelter the day after she was found wandering on Fay Street and was named Fay by the staff. However, she immediately became Scout in my heart. Clearly it's a name for good dogs!
posted by Scout405 at 9:31 AM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

A prior rescue dog. My downstairs neighbor had a dog named Boo and suggested that I name it after that other character in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout. I named him Atticus Finch.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Aaaww. Scout is a good dog. He deserves all the love. At my mother's nursing home, they have a very realistic plastic dog in the lobby, because it makes some residents feel at home and comfortable. A real Scout seems much better.

Right now in this moment, my dog is both bothering and amusing me. First of all, he looks almost exactly like the Dog in Footrot Flats. The only difference is that he has a freckled nose, which is cute and makes him look a bit like a seal. But he looks enough like the Dog that tourists from New Zealand and Australia stop me on the street to discuss it. He also has the exact same temperament.

Anyway, and relevant to this thread, he does a thing when we are out shopping where he somehow convinces people that he has been abandoned and is very sad while he is waiting outside the grocery store.It happened just now. I have never seen this happen with other dogs. Sometimes I have literally arrived in the last minute when people were calling the authorities (after me being less than ten minutes in the store). I'm not suggesting Scout is anything like my Dog. But some dogs are just very ingratiating. I know for a fact that my Dog hates being away from me, so it isn't like he really wants to be adopted. He just loves the spiel and he honestly loves all humans except robbers. I'm pretty sure that he too would be able to escape from a dog shelter and find a better place, if such a sad fate should happen to him. Which it won't.
posted by mumimor at 1:12 PM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Dogs are THE. BEST.

But most of all, nobody knows why he wanted to be here so badly.

“You know, it’s really hard to say,” Robertson said. “Maybe he felt like it was a safe environment. He certainly has a penchant for the elders. He’s very in tune with what they need, especially our very vulnerable population. If they have dementia or if they’re dying he knows that, and he will go and be with them and comfort them. He must’ve just felt like he needed to be here.”

Indeed, as soon as he was given a home, he appointed himself its protector.

“He’s always watching, making sure everybody’s OK,” Martinek said. “If somebody is in the passing process, he’s in and out of the room, checking on them. He’ll even want to climb in bed with them.”

“He can sense that,” added Stephanie Elsey, 42, the facility’s clinical care coordinator. “We’ve had a few in the past whose room he won’t leave. We had a resident that when he was passing away, Scout wouldn’t leave his room. He makes a good nursing home dog. He knows his job and he’s good at what he does.”
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:28 AM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

But most of all, nobody knows why he wanted to be here so badly.

Um...there was a comfy couch no one was using, right there. I don't understand the confusion.
posted by praemunire at 1:57 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Not long after my stepmom bought her house in rural Mississippi, a scruffy dog started showing up in the evenings, barking at the door. She'd open the door, the dog would join her on the couch for some TV time, and remain there when she went to bed. In the morning, off the dog would trot, only to reappear after sunset.

One day she followed the dog, and found out that it did have a home. Just not a good one - there was food and water, but the dog was not allowed indoors, and the people there were pretty indifferent. About a year later they moved, and left the dog behind.

Her name is now Muffin and she owns the couch, and all humans who enter are swiftly trained to open the door for that particular bark.

Some dogs choose their own places and people.
posted by Vigilant at 2:26 AM on September 3, 2023 [8 favorites]