Photos – sweetlittlescottie

Memories of a Scottie Dog

Driving to work, the memories came flooding back. Then the tears, two years later and still tears, missing my little girl. What triggered the thoughts? I do not remember, maybe something I heard on the radio, something I saw as I was driving by, or was it Callie reminding me that part of her remains with me. I like to think it is the latter.

My precious little Callie. — My precious Scottie dog, Callie

They hit when I least expect them, thoughts of Callie and what a wonderful, little dog she was.

I thought of how smart she was. She knew routine, if we came home at the same time everyday, she would be at the door waiting. Somehow she knew when it was evening and sometimes I would give her ice cream as a treat. How did she know, I would often wonder. There was no mention of ice cream or a treat. As I was sitting on the couch, I would realize that she was staring at me, then realized why, ice cream.

Diabetes diagnosis

After her diabetes diagnosis, as I was giving her the insulin shots, she knew what times of the day she would get them. Morning was easy, after I would get up, I would give her the shot. The first day of insulin, I made her a scrambled egg. I wanted to make sure she ate, she was not eating prior to the diagnosis and I did not want her blood sugar to go too low. Then every morning it started the routine, a scrambled egg and her shot. She was so patient with it, I would pinch her skin and administer it. Callie would stop eating and stand still until I was done and continue eating. Never snipping at me, only occasionally she would yip, I must have hit a tender spot.

Night was different, sometimes I would give her a treat, some fruit or canned food, then her shot. I would call her to the kitchen, she would come out and patiently waited until I drew it up and gave her the insulin. Do you think she knew that what I was doing was helping her? Sometimes she would try to hide. Maybe tired of the shots and the illness. I think they know, she knew she did not feel well at times. She knew we were doing what we could to make her better and to feel better.

Scottie dog puppy, Callie. Playing with a ball. — Puppy Callie, miss this little girl.

Love for a Scottie

I wanted her to stay with me as long as possible, acting silly, with the puppy personality that she had. Enjoying her walks, sitting outside with her nose twitching, smelling everything on the wind. Having a treat of ice cream and a ride in the car. I so enjoyed her sitting on the couch with me, and snuggled up to my back as I slept. I miss those things, I miss her. The memories flood back with no warning, sometimes I smile, sometimes I laugh. Some days, like this morning, the memories overwhelm me and the tears flow. I miss my little girl, that little scottie dog.

Scottie Adventures Begin

It was 2006 and my Mom was in treatment for breast cancer. She had days when she was down and depressed. My sister had a brilliant idea to get her a puppy for Christmas to cheer her up and asked our step-father if that would be ok. He agreed, so the search began…..she found a scottie at a breeder in Lorain, OH.

He was a wheaten colored scottie about 4 months old and his name was Simon, given by the breeder. They picked him up about 2 weeks before Christmas and kept the puppy are her house until we gave him to my Mom on Christmas day.

A week later, I get a call, “do you think Mom would prefer a traditional black scottie and a female since we always had female dogs growing up”? I asked why the change of heart. It seems her whole family became attached to this little wheaten colored pup.

So they searched and found another puppy, a black, female scottie. They went to pick her up with the instructions that she was coming to my house until Christmas.

This little black, floppy-eared, puppy was so cute. My daughter became the mother hen, carrying her around, sleeping with her. She became completely attached to her, knowing we were giving her to Grandma.

Christmas Scottie

Christmas day came, we took the wee one to Christmas dinner and presented her to my Mom. Tears ran down my Mom’s face as she saw the pup and we told her that is was hers. We picked a name for her, although we told Mom she could change it. We named her Callie. The middle part of our Scottish family name, MacCallum, with the added ie. She kept it and the puppy. Tears for my daughter, attached to the puppy but happy for Grandma.

About a week later, I get a call from Mom, “you know, this puppy is a lot of work, I forgot how much work a puppy is” and “you know, George’s back is bad and bending over all the time picking her up to take her out is getting hard on him”. “I am not sure we can keep her, I asked everyone and no one wants her”.

Mom, you should have called me first, I will take her. Megan is attached to her. I’ll come and get her tomorrow, if that is ok. Mom agreed and I went to get the pup the next day.

She came to my house, we bought a crate, food and water bowls. A new collar, leash and of course, toys. Megan took over mother hen duties until school started back up. I was going to school at the time also, to be a Paramedic. Adding a puppy to our house was not what I thought about doing just yet.

I wanted a Scottish terrier since I was little. I was excited, and loved this little girl. She was full of energy, stubborn and strong willed. She lived up to the scottitude that many owners of Scottish terriers refer to when describing their pets.

Smart, funny, caring, loyal, and so much personality in a little dog. My Callie, the sweet little scottie that I will never forget.

Share the story of your Scottie in the comments. Share what you would like to hear in my blog. I look forward to hearing your Scottie’s gotcha day.