A letter to Skooter's new family

To: Skooter’s new family From: His first mom and dad


Here is a bit of history on Skooter

Skooter was born in Monument, CO on May 1st, 2005. I think there were nine puppies in his litter. His breeder, Dave, is a really nice guy. He brought Skooter's mom and sister (from an earlier litter) with him when he brought the puppies for us to consider. The first time we saw Skooter was at the McDonalds parking lot up in Monument. Dave brought the two puppies he had left from the litter to the McDonalds parking lot (a convenient place to meet). It was a joy to pick our little puppy. Dave had been calling him 'Truck' because he was always going underneath his truck. I didn't like the name Truck though. Brad was living with us then and he really took to the puppy. We watched the puppies, their mom and their sister romp around a field across the street. That's when we decided on our puppy. David, Brad and I took the puppy into the truck and headed home. It only took minutes for Brad to come up with the name Skooter. He said he watched the puppy scoot around in the field, so Skooter would be the perfect name for him. So Skooter it was. I came up with Skooter's AKC name: Samantha's Prince of the Prairie. Skooter was about 10 weeks old when we got him in August of 2005. He was so cute. We were living in Colorado Springs when we first got Skooter and Brad lived with us. Skooter often slept with Brad. Skooter was very playful and full of energy when he wasn't sleeping. He also ate everything he could get his mouth on. He had to have an emergency surgery to get a huge wad of 'stuff' out of his tiny little belly. He recovered well. That incident cost us $3,000. We were in it for the long haul with Skooter. I would do anything for him.
In December of 2005 we moved up to Woodland Park to a house that had three acres of land. Skooter loved having so much room to run around in. He also had a buddy now, Olie, our kids dog. Skooter got to chase butterflies, play in the snow and romp endlessly around the property. We still had to keep an eye on his 'eating' habit, but he was doing a lot better. For a while we had to use a muzzle on him, but that didn't last for too long. He got the hint that he shouldn't eat everything that was on the ground (sticks, twigs, grass, etc). Skooter always stayed lanky but muscular. He grew and grew and grew. The kids got another dog besides Olie the beagle. She was a giant breed, a Leonberger, named Genesis. The three dogs got along famously.
In April of 2006 I wrote a letter to Skooter's mom, from Skooter to celebrate his first birthday which was coming up on May 1, 2006. Here's the letter:
Dear Mom,I’ll be one year old soon and I just wanted to thank you and Mr. Davidson for bringing me into the world. It is because of both of you that I had the chance to have the life that I am living now. I am very happy living with my new family. I am their special boy. I love to go for car rides and they let me sleep on the bed with them at night. I get to play outside all the time and run around. I have two other dogs to play with at my house. I have lots of fun and I am loved a lot. Mom, I miss you, but I want you to know that I am happy. I am a big boy now and my life is good. Please give Mr. Davidson a lick for me so he’ll know that I love him too and that I thank him for all he has done for me. I hope that you are proud of the big boy that I have become, Mom. I love you.Your boy,Skooter (who will be one year old on May 1st)
I put some black paint on his paw and let him 'sign' his letter to his mom. Days later we received a heart wrenching letter from Dave. He had received the letter from Skooter but it had arrived just a couple of days late - Skooter's mom had passed away from complications from a tick bite. We were devastated. Thankfully we had a picture of Skooter, his sister and his mom to remember her by. It was one of the saddest days of my life. I cried for Skooter's mom.
In June of 2006 we moved back to the Springs without the kids and grandkids and without Olie and Genesis. Skooter was so sad, missing his buddies. It wasn't long before we decided to get another dog so Skooter wouldn't be so unhappy. David had already decided if we got another dog we would call him Moped (Skooter and Moped, get it!), so in August of 2006 we added eight week old Moped to the family. Skooter loved him. They got along really well. Skooter seemed like such a big boy now compared to the new puppy, but Skooter still had a lot of puppy left in him.
Things went well for quite a while. But soon the dogs were showing some behavior problems: aggressive chewing and whining. They were bored. They weren't getting enough exercise and it was showing in their new behaviors. We realized that keeping the dogs with us might not be the best thing for them. They needed a home that had more activity and a higher energy level. We started considering what was best for the dogs, not what was best for us. I decided to give it one more try and brought the dogs for a behavior evaluation at All Breed Rescue and Training. They were awesome in the evaluation. Very good boys. But the evaluator could see that they were bored. So we put them in obedience classes and a home program. There were lots of toys and chews and project toys (like the tug a jug and kongs) to keep them busy but Moped had become wild running around the house and jumping on the furniture. They both would play fight the majority of the time that they were out of their kennels. The were indeed bored.
I already had the surrender form from Rocky Mountain GSP Rescue. I had already consideded surrendering them. And in March, even though they were in the middle of training, I realized that I was just postponing the inevitable. These dogs needed more than we could give them. So I made the hardest decision I've ever had to make and surrendered the dogs to the Rescue. It was a beautiful Sunday. We gathered all their stuff and crated them down to Penrose, CO. I didn't want to let them go. I wanted to be selfish. But I knew it was best for them to have a chance to be re-homed with a more appropriate family. Leaving them at the Rescue was difficult. Especially since Skooter sat at the door, looking in, wanting me to let him in, wondering why I was leaving him. He was whining for me. I cried. And I cried some more. Being without Skooter was horrible, but I knew I had done the right thing for him.
Skooter and I were really bonded together. I missed him terribly. It was easier to let Moped go, especially since he is so happy go lucky and happy wherever he is. But Skooter was my boy and I worried about him. I checked in on them a few times in the first week and was told by the Rescue owner that they were doing just great. She asked me if I knew that Skooter smiled. I said yes, I did know he smiled. It made me happy to think that he was down there and he was smiling. He was happy. And he wasn't bored anymore. He had other dogs to play with and he was out of his kennel all day.
It's only been a week and a half since he left, but it feels like a lifetime. I haven't been able to let him go yet. He's still my boy and always will be. There's a chance that a man who is a runner might be interested in taking Skooter. I hope Skooter is as loved in his new home as much as he is loved by me.
Skooter will be two years old in May. I hope he is in his forever home by then. This is just the beginning of Skooter's story. He has a long life to look forward to. I hope I can keep tabs on him as he grows and matures. I don't ever want to lose touch with him. He is my boy.

When Skooter was younger he use to eat everything he could get his mouth on - sticks, twigs, grass, bits of cloth. You name it and Skooter ate it. When it finally all got waded up into a big ball in his stomach we had to bring him in for emergency surgery. They saved his life that day. I will forever be grateful (even though it cost $3,000!!!). After the surgery, when we could finally look back at the situation with some humor we decided that Skooter was just a 'lazy bird dog'. He was building a nest inside his tummy so that the birds would come to him instead of him having to go and point at them. :-) Genius!It is memories like Skooter being a 'lazy bird dog' that make the time we had with him completely worth while. And thankfully he grew out of 'making his little nests'. :-) He's a true, active Pointer now.

If there is anything else you’d like to know about Skooter, please feel free to contact us or check out Skooter’s blog.