Scout...

remember that night we brought you home as a puppy? you wouldn't stop crying all night, so i laid by your cage in mom and dad's bathroom and sang you "I am a child of God".

Thank you for always eating the rest of my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that my mom made me for school when I didn't finish them myself. That way I didn't need to feel bad about wasting anything.
Thank you for walking quickly down the hall when I snuck you through the house. The faster you walked, the less likely mom was to see.
i still can't believe that Sunday night when you raced into the house, jumped up on the dining room table, ate a chunk of butter, and then ran back outside.
one night i went out to visit you in the garage. i was sad. i sat petting you on the step, and you came up and put your head on my shoulder and kept it there for a long time. i needed that.
i never could beat you in keep away.
you are the most beautiful dog i have ever seen.
thank you for always remembering me when i came home. i always knew i was loved by you.

you are an old man now. but it has been a good run. thank you for being in our family. i have no doubt that we picked the right puppy when we had to choose. maybe you and blacky can be friends now.
home won't be the same without you.


i love you forever.