She’s even cuter than Mary Badham.

When I was seven years old, my family went to the Humane Society where we adopted a puppy named Thumper. We presented it to my mom as a Mother’s Day present, and she really couldn’t have been less thrilled. (Mom is not a fan of dogs. I’m not sure she ever touched Thumper.) For the past thirty three years, my mom has joked that 1978 goes down as The Worst Mother’s Day Ever.

As you know, two weeks ago we adopted Beezus, but then had to return her to the Humane Society. I’m still not over it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be over it. (Confession: There’s a pair of socks under my bed that Beezus slept on while she was here. Because the socks still smell like her, I haven’t had the heart to wash them. Is that weird? I’m not planning on hanging them in a shadow box or anything. I just want to occasionally smell them. Okay. Let’s change the subject.)

Last week I spent some time searching through the Stray Rescue of St. Louis website. So many dogs in need of homes. So many dogs with heartbreaking stories who need to be nursed back to health before they can find a forever home. After talking with Jeff and the girls, I left a message to ask some questions about this puppy, who is currently in foster care. I then went to the Event calendar and noticed that an Adoption Event was scheduled at a PetSmart near our house yesterday afternoon. We decided to go.

After spending nearly fifteen minutes admiring all of the dogs that Stray Rescue had brought to PetSmart, we decided to spend a little time with a black lab who didn’t really want to spend much time with us. One of the women who brought a few of her foster dogs in asked, “Do you know what you’re looking for in a dog?” I told her that I need to be 100% sure that the dog we adopt will be good with kids and cats, and although we were hoping for a puppy, we are also pretty flexible.

She then told me that she had something she was keeping hidden for Just The Right Family. She led us over to a small crate underneath a table, and when she reached in, she pulled this out:

Scout

It’s a ten week old female Shih Tzu/Yorkie mix who has been in foster care since the day she was born. Because she hasn’t yet been spayed, she cannot be adopted. HOWEVER, she can be fostered until after her surgery and can THEN be adopted by her foster family.

Foster Mom: Do you think you might be interested in fostering her?

The Pudding Family gushed and melted, and a PetSmart employee had to come over and scrape us off of the floor.

Me: Yes. I think we might be interested.

Internet Friends, please meet Scout.

Scout in Motion

We’ll be fostering her until she is spayed, and then she’ll become an official member of The Pudding Family. Best Mother’s Day Ever.
——————————————————
It’s the final day for this giveaway! It takes less than a minute to enter!
The Puddings are eating vegetables and giving away a $100 Visa Gift Card! Leave a comment for your chance to win! ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>

31 thoughts on “She’s even cuter than Mary Badham.”

  1. Soooo cute! If you didn’t take her I’d be asking for the address.

    Best wishes for a happy kitty/puppy family life.

  3. Congratulations!! We just adopted a dog from a shelter too. It’s wonderful.

  5. Aaaaaack she is just perfect!!! I love the name Scout, did you guys pick it out? Congratulations!

  6. Shih tzus are sassy, sweet and very smart in my experience and, obviously, cute as heck. Good luck with Scout!

  7. She’s SO SWEET! I adopted a Shih tzu/King Charles Cavalier cross fin November and she’s my favorite. :)

  8. I am living vicariously through you today, my fourth mother’s day as a mother.

    The first one, I was JUST barely a mother, and we were still zombies and I was recovering from a very scary c-section. So, there was no real celebration.

    The second one, my husband did nothing. We had a chat about how though he’d ALSO done nothing for my birthday that year, Mother’s Day was a day that required a card, a present, and recognition.

    The third one, I think he got me card from our son, then two.

    He forgot that today is Mother’s Day. We had another baby boy eight weeks ago. He watched me push it out, in what was probably the bravest thing I’ve ever done. And I’m having a hard time holding back tears today.

    So, hooray for your puppy! And for my recovering vagina! And for being a mom to two great boys!!

  10. She is a cutie -we got a puppy at Christmas – she is now almost 7 months. It is ALOT of work but worth it. It felt like I lost my freedom for a few months, you know with house training and chew-stopping, but she is such a good puppy now! Scout is a dolly!

  11. She is gorgeous. I’m having a little smile here because our family has just got a dog too. An eight week old shih-tzu/poodle cross. How’s your toilet-training going?

  12. Great Scott – that is one cute dog! We also adopted from stray rescue in March. Bella is a dream dog. (once known as Mandalay Bay – brother is Cesar’s palace and is still available)
    AND we got a one-eyed cat (herpes infection, now healed from her mom) that sneezes when stressed. Cue Rod Serling…

  14. Yay! We got our dog from the pound and he’s the best $40 we’ve ever spent.

  16. So, so, so cute! ANd I am totally not a dog person!

    Love the giving-your-mom-a-dog story. We did that to my mom with a cat for Christmas one year. It was a fake gift, though, the cat was just a friend’s and we thought it would be funny to see my mom’s reaction. (Turns out, she most certainly did not want a pet.) Good times! Enjoy the puppy – can’t wait to hear more about her!

  17. Happy Mother’s Day, Stephanie. I hope that you son smothered you with little boy kisses and your new baby sleeps through the night tonight!

  18. She’s SUPER-cute! Shih Tzu/Yorkie is a great mix. If she’s food motivated at all, check out the Kong Genius toys – they helped distract my dog from chewing blinds, books, paper, tissue paper, etc. when she was a puppy.

  21. Look at her run! I love her. And I’ll tell you a secret – I once adopted a dog from the PetSmart shelter day and I had to return her the next day. I lived in an apartment, she had kennel cough, and we were both miserable. I cried for days afterward, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I still have pictures of her but I don’t show anyone. All that to say, now we have Gracie and she is the perfect dog for us. Scout? The perfect dog for you.

  24. This makes me so happy I’m about to cry while I’m sitting at my desk at work. She’s absolutely adorable!

  25. Good news! Welcome Scout Pudding! Someone recently said they thought George Lucas must have had a ShiTzu because Ewoks must surely have been modeled upon them. The cuteness with the running makes me want to laugh out loud.

  26. I love her. She looks like the dog my grandma had when I was a little girl. That dog HATED me, but I sure loved him.

  27. Oh what a precious puppy! Congratulations and Happy Mother’s Day to you!

  30. I have come back to FP about 5 times this morning just to bask in the adorableness. More, please!

    We just got a chihuahua mix 3 weeks ago and omg the PEEING. What are you doing aout the peeing?

Comments are closed.