Thank you for not treating her like a retriever
On Scout's cattle-dogginess, time with loved ones, and lots of gratitude
“She doesn’t require an ounce of management when people don’t expect her to be a Labrador1” — summing up Scout’s ability to happily coexist with strangers
We just spent a long weekend with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend in Miami. After we bade them farewell, I found myself gushing to Sean about how perfect Scout is (“I mean, she’s the most perfect creature to ever walk the planet, right?!”) and gushing to her (not that she understood, of course, though she did like my tone of voice) the reasons she deserves a big thank you. The people we love deserve a big thank you, too.
So here’s some gratitude.
Scout Finch: Thank you for rolling with our chaos—for peeing in whatever random parking lot we bring you to next (and in all types of weather) and never barking at strange city sounds or passerby. Thank you for allowing us to adventure without you when needed. Thank you for boasting one of the strongest pet dog stomachs I’ve ever encountered. Thank you for, despite your intestines of steel, still not eating discarded sidewalk food. Thank you for loving our van home so much. Thank you for feeling safe and comfortable in your crate. Thank you for handling a few boring days unbelievably well for your breed’s expectations. Thank you for welcoming new friends with a quick sniff and adorable wiggle followed by complete neutrality. Thank you for gracefully allowing those new friends in your house (I know it’s not very big to share). Thank you for never demanding any sort of set routine.
Friends new and old: Thank you for following instructions about interacting with our sensitive dog. Thank you for laughing when I make the (admittedly weak) joke that she’s a liar when explaining that even if she sits directly in front of you with perfect sweetness, she’d prefer you didn’t reach for her face. Thank you for humoring me when I over-analyze one of her quirks not for the first time. Thank you for understanding when we’re on a schedule dictated by her bladder. Thank you for making everything so easy. Thank you for loving her, too—the most important extension of us—even when “love” looks more like reserved respect and short ball throws than the unlimited snuggles you might have first dreamed.
Obviously not all Labradors are stereotypically gregarious either! I still like this analogy, though. Most people understand the classic Labrador/golden retriever vibe—and my current understanding is that human sociability is one of the most heritable personality traits we see in domestic dogs (so falls along breed lines more reliably than other things).