A Day in the Life of Faithful Pup Scout

Faithful Pup Scout is snoring loudly and sleeping soundly when Daddio's alarm goes off.  Scout slowly rolls over to look at Daddio, who hits the snooze on the alarm and goes back to sleep.  Scout then slowly rolls back over with a loud exhale, and drifts back to sleep, not quite ready to stir her little 9-pound, 13 year old body.  Nine minutes later, the alarm goes off again, and Daddio crawls out of bed.  Scout doesn't budge, snoring loudly and sleeping soundly.  Scout soon realizes Daddio is in the shower, so she takes Daddio's spot on the bed, which is much warmer than any other spot on the bed.  Scout curls up and snoozes.

Soon, Daddio exits the bathroom, freshly showered, and proceeds to get dressed.  Scout stands, stretches, and begins her morning dance which consists of roaming all over the bed rubbing her nose in all of the blankets.  Daddio is now dressed and reaches to pick up Scout.  She quickly drops and rolls onto her back, insisting on a belly rub, and Daddio relents and gives her a vigorous massage lasting about 15 seconds, then quickly picks her up.  Scout nuzzles into Daddio's neck, resting her head on his shoulder, as they exit the bedroom and wander downstairs.

Daddio drops Scout onto the ottoman next to the living room couch, joining a waiting Aunt G, and Daddio goes to the kitchen to pack his lunch and prepare Scout's breakfast.  Aunt G, who is relaxing on the couch and watching TV since arriving about 5 minutes before, gets the full brunt of Scout insisting on a trip outside for her morning constitutional. Scout begins barking loudly into Aunt G's face.  Aunt G shushes her, but Scout continues to bark.  Aunt G picks her up and takes Scout down to the back door and sends her out into the backyard.  Scout is outside no more than 30 seconds, doing her business and running back inside as if being chased by a pack of wild coyotes.  Scout zooms upstairs to find her breakfast waiting for her, and she tears into it, eating it all in minutes.  Daddio sneaks out the front door and heads to work.

Scout makes her way back to the couch and snoozes again while Aunt G watches TV.  Soon, it's time to wake up daughter Melody.  Scout follows Aunt G upstairs and proceeds to enter Melody's bathroom, where she sniffs around the entire room for any piece of dust on the floor.  Why she does this, no one but Scout knows.  Melody soon joins her in the bathroom and begins to get ready for school.  Scout goes to the top of the stairs and waits.  She knows that soon everyone will be leaving and she'll be alone.

Once Melody is ready, Scout slips down the stairs and hides under the dining room table.  Aunt G and Melody come down and prepare to leave.  Then comes the frustrating job of getting Scout out from under the table, something she resists by hiding as far away as she can from hands trying to grasp at her.  Resistance is futile, and Scout is soon caught and carried into the kitchen.  This is her home for a big chunk of the day, though she has the entire kitchen to roam around in, with her bowl of fresh water, her bed, a stool to look out at the neighbors in the front of the house, and a pooch pad which she can use if nature calls (and it usually does).

Soon enough, Daddio and Melody arrive, and Scout watches as they exit their car and unlock the front door.  Scout is as excited as she can be, and greets them both with a wagging tail, excited barking, and a quick lap around the entire main level of the house, before coming back to the front door to go on a much needed walk.  Melody takes Scout outside while Daddio cleans up any messes on the kitchen floor.  When Scout returns from outside, she barks at Daddio until he follows her towards the stairs.  Scout anticipates that Daddio will go up upstairs, and as Daddio walks towards her, she runs up the stairs.  Daddio takes a detour into the living room, and Scout dejectedly struggles back down to bark at Daddio until he follows her up the stairs.  This time she waits to be sure he actually is going to follow her.  She appears excited that he is, and she gallops up the stairs.

Daddio goes into his room to change his clothes.  Scout sits on the floor and watches.  As soon as Daddio is changed, Scout begins barking again until Daddio acknowledges her and she leads him back down the stairs.  Scout watches as Daddio works out a bit, then fixes a snack and watches a little TV (while Melody completes her homework upstairs in her room).  Scout is very content to rest next to Daddio's lap.

Soon it's time for dinner, and as Daddio returns to the kitchen to begin preparations, Scout sits on the kitchen floor to watch.  As dinner is cooking, Scout gets her dinner.  She barks at Daddio to get him to make it faster.  Soon, she is contentedly and hurriedly filling her mouth with chicken, cheese, and rice.

Dinner is spent on the couch watching TV.  While not ideal, this is a typical meal time for Daddio and Melody.  Scout has completed her meal, and just as Daddio gets his first bite of his delicious hot meal into his mouth, Scout begins barking impatiently again, telling Daddio that she needs to go outside IMMEDIATELY!  Daddio, who has not had a complete hot meal at home in many years, must then answer nature's call and carry Scout back downstairs for a return trip to the backyard.  Scout spends more than a few minutes exploring the backyard as far as her leash will allow, then she returns to the house.  She quickly runs back upstairs, arriving a full 30 seconds ahead of Daddio.  Scout then heads into Daddio's warm spot on the couch.  Daddio, upon arriving at the couch 30 seconds later, motions for Scout to scoot over, and she reluctantly does so.  Daddio sits and begins eating his dinner.  Again.  Melody gets up off the couch to refill her plate and glass, and Scout immediately takes her warm spot on the couch.  Again, after Melody returns and motions to Scout to move over, Scout slowly and reluctantly does so.

Soon, Scout is snoozing soundly on the Ottoman.  It's time for bed.  Scout is awakened and Daddio carries her back downstairs for one more trip to the backyard.  This trip is usually very short, and upon re-entering the house, she awaits Daddio to pick her up and carry her back upstairs.  Daddio drops her off at the kitchen where Scout gets one more gulp of water, then she follows Daddio upstairs to the bedrooms. She enters Daddio's room and barks at him until he picks her up and places her on the bed on her blanket.  She immediately moves over to Daddio's pillow and curls up.  Daddio sighs.

Daddio then tucks Melody into bed, they pray, and then Melody goes to sleep.  Daddio returns to the bedroom, motions to Scout to move over to her blanket, which she slowly and reluctantly does, and Daddio lays down.  He does his daily devotion, reads for a bit, then turns out the light.  Scout, knowing that this time it's really bedtime, curls up next to Daddio on her blanket, and they both drift off to sleep.  It has been another successful, exciting, wonderful day in the life of her little family, and Scout follows Daddio, her pack leader, into the gentle throes of dreamland.  May God bless them, now and always.

Have a great evening, everyone!