When Scout's family no longer wanted to cope with his one health issue, megaesophagus (more below), they took him in to have him put down. He was temporarily pulled by someone there and then came to A&B to find him a new home. He came with a short note that summarizes him well:
'Hi, I'm Scout. I'm an Irish Setter and I have Megaesophagus. I was rescued after my human took me to be put down. I'm a happy puppy and looking for a family to love me, take care of me and in return I will love you forever. I love to run, play, snuggle and give big hugs. My rescue human found an easy way to feed me. If you get me to sit (which I know how) and elevate my food bowl, I do great. My rescue human mixed my food with water so that combined with gravity, my food goes down easier. Be sure to keep me sitting either with my head up, or you can sit in a chair and let me stand up and hug you after eating. I need lots of love, water, and exercise everyday. I'm playful with other puppies and I love kids.I have big floppy ears that love to be rubbed, oh and my long snout while you hold me. Don't be afraid if I take a running leap into your lap because we all know I'm a lap puppy 🙂 ... I'm ready for the next part of my life and can't wait to meet my new family Thank you for loving me enough to take me and I'll always do my best to be a loving part of your family. Love, Scout.'
His foster mom has found all this to be true. Scout has been totally sweet, crated trained, completely housebroken, and will run to his 'meal spot' and sit when the food bowls come out at meals. He gets tethered next to the breakfast table so that he stays focused on his post meal sit, and makes quick work of his watered down food, with it being important to keep hydrated in the heat of summer. He stays tethered while the slower eating resident dogs finish meals & his foster folks have their coffee in the morning, or eat dinner in the evening. Any remaining food in bowls is picked up before he's unclipped because he'll check every bowl in the house. In addition to morning and pm meals, he gets some watered down yogurt at lunch because he doesn't tend to drink plain water. When he happens by the resident dogs' water & laps from it, he'll get asked for remote 'sit' to make sure things stay down.
Enough dwelling on his 'little' issue. This is one great dog, polite, loving, always wagging. He crates quietly at night, loves to play fetch with his stuffed toys, has a soft mouth when playing chase with his foster hound sister. He might put a paw up to check a counter every so often, but he's not much of a counter surfer & ignores the regular covered trash can. He'll occasionally pull a plastic container out of recycling, but just to make sure it's good and clean. His leash manners are a work in progress, but then the whole world smells so nice. He comes when called, loves kind words & his red coat just glows. Fine in the car for rides, he charmed folks on his ride north to his A&B foster home. No aggression issues at all, hands can go in his food, all over his ears & feet, it's all fine with him.
Scout openly invites friendly play with other dogs & every human he meets. He plays the underdog, accepting 'go away, you silly pup!' from older dogs. He doesn't jump the 5' fence at his foster home, though he probably could. When his collar slipped outside the fenced yard, his foster mom dropped to the ground & said 'puppy, puppy, puppy' and he immediately ran back to her, not something she'd care to repeat. Long lining when outside a fence until he gets better focus would be essential. During the day while his foster mom works, she occasionally hear a soft thumbing behind her as he plays with his long rope toy upside down.
Ideally Scout would like a doggie playmate or a human willing to play toss the toy on a regular basis. He's a bright boy, and would learn quickly to do whatever his new people wanted. He can live a long and happy life with a few extra minutes at each mealtime, and attention to not letting him get into food without supervision. His wonderful outlook towards life, happy wagging tail and handsome looks make him a real star.