Tigger Club News
By Animals - For Animals
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Scout the Shortsighted Sighthound

Tell me a little bit about yourself.
A little bit about me - My name is Scout and I am a survivor. I was picked up as a stray in County Durham when I was just a puppy and was taken to a stray pound. I was very undernourished, had a bad case of mange and had contracted kennel cough.It was also suspected that I was blind and deaf. Initial thoughts were that maybe it would be kinder to put me to sleep, after all who would want a puppy with so many problems? Luckily for me, three rescue organisations pulled together and they saved my life and brought me to safety. I was adopted by my mum and dad a short time later and am now living the dream. Although not deaf, I am almost completely blind but this does not hold me back one bit and I face every challenge head on.

How many humans/siblings do you have and long have you had them?
I live with my lovely mum and dad . They tell me that their world changed when they met me. When I was first adopted I had two whippet sisters Izzy and Misty who helped me to be the super confident dog that I am today. Izzy loved to play with me, she taught me how to shred cardboard boxes! Misty is much more sensible and she is the practical one that comes and rounds me up if I move too far away from mum and dad. Sadly Izzy made her journey across the Rainbow Bridge in October 2014 and we miss her dearly but her legacy lives on in me. I now have a new brother Sparky the rescue whippet who was adopted by my mum and dad in March 2014. Sparky had many behavioural problems which my mum an dad have worked very hard on to resolve. Sparky is my best friend, he takes care of me and keeps me safe and doesn't mind that I trash all of his toys.

Do you work? If so where/what do you do?
My job - I have lots of important jobs. I am an ambassador for one of the rescue's that helped to save my life when I was just a puppy. I attend fundraisers and meet and greets to raise much needed funds. I also help to demonstrate that dogs with a disability can live a full and normal life. I am also chief treat taster in our house.

If you could choose your name what would it be?
My mum chose my current name Scout after a character in her favourite book To Kill a Mockingbird because that character was brave and fearless just like me. I had two other names when I was a puppy. My first name was Baby Buttons , Baby because I was only a baby and Buttons because I was described as being as bright as a button. When I was taken from the pound and transported to a safe rescue I was re named Frankie.

What is your favourite food?
My favourite food - ANYTHING! My mum and dad say that my sense of smell is better than most and I am a bit of a Hoover.

Where is your favourite place to be?
I love to be with my friends and family, both two and four legged. We have many friends and we meet up most weeks, we even all went on holiday together last year which was awesome. I like to play with toys.

What is your favourite way to entertain yourself (annoy) your humans?
My mum, dad and friends have bought me a lot of sensory toys but I prefer a plain old fashioned tennis ball. I like to roll it across the floor and make my mum and dad find it for me.

What is your greatest accomplishment?
I have achieved many things in my life so far. I have made it to the Scruffts crossbreed semi finals three times in the rescue class and been awarded 2nd place twice. I met a lot of celebrities at Pup Aid in 2014 and won Reserve Best in Show after winning a rescue class. I was awarded the RSPCA's Scruffs Perfectly Imperfect winner in 2015 and shortly after that I was named as the fittest medium sized dog in the UK by Butchers Pet food. I also won a Champion of Champions class in a local dog show finals.

What is your next goal in life?
My next goal in life is a very exciting one. My mum wrote a book about me and my friends about 2 years ago For the Love of Hounds which she self-published and was very well received. My mum has recently signed a contract with a publishing company Hubble & Hattie to write a book about me called For the love of Scout which will be published in 2017.

If you could be/do anything for a day, what would it be?
If I could have one wish then just for one day I would like to be able to see my mum, dad and friends.

Finally and most importantly...What was your human’s most embarrassing moment?
My mums most embarrassing moment ( although this has happened more than once) was when she was out walking with me. I wear a special lead that says "blind dog" and a lovely lady tapped my mum gently on the shoulder and congratulated her on how good a guide dog I was as she thought mum was the blind one.

Woofs and licks Scout