For the Love of a Scottish Terrier

If you have ever been lucky enough to be loved by a Scottie Dog, you probably will not be too surprised by what you read in this article. But, if you have not had the opportunity and patience to share your life with a Scottish Terrier you may find the personality of the breed intriguing.

I adopted my first Scottie, Bashful, back in 1994. The first thing I remember about him was that he loved to lick my glasses. He also loved large play balls, the kind you see at the department stores displayed in the twelve foot high cages. Bashful loved to run after those balls, butting it with his head until he could pin it against a wall or fence. Once pinned, he would work to dig a tooth into it to pop it. The ball would deflate and he would shake it as if he had just made a kill. I can't help but smile as I write this, remembering the joy watching his antics. Bashful talked to, not talked like we do, but in a sort of arroooing sound. It was a strange thing to us at first but, after a while, we actually began to understand what he was asking for with each arrooo he sounded out. Bashful was also very stubborn, something common in Scotties and he hated when we watched Detroit Red Wing Hockey games. That quickly became evident when he decide to lift his leg on the TV each and every time we turned on a game. We had to learn to work around this issue. Unfortunately, Bashful lived only 6 short years. In December of 1996 he began to limp on a back leg. We had him through a battery of tests and it was determined he had some type of brain disorder that took his life 6 months later. During that 6 months, our Scottie taught us about unconditional love. We made sure he was as comfortable as possible, was able to go for his beloved car rides and play ball. He died in my sisters arms the night before we were scheduled to take him to have him put down. It was our Scottie, Bashful, that convinced us that we would never be without a Scottish Terrier in our lives.

Our only chance at moving through our grief was to adopt another Scottie. We located a breeder, made an appointment and came home with, not one, but two Scottish Terriers. Windsor and Ozzie, litter-mates, but as different from each other as they can be.

Ozzie is the eternal ball player. He wakes up in a joyfully, bouncy mood. Tail wagging and crying to play ball from the moment he opens his eyes. Windsor, on the other hand, is the lazy thinker. He appears to think about everything and he just loves to bark. Windsor wakes up and makes his way to the couch to nap, until he sees some sort of movement outside the window, then the barking begins! But the most amazing thing Windsor does is watch Television.

Before adding Windsor to our family, we would have never believed a dog would watch television. I didn't think dogs could focus their eyes on a TV screen. But, obviously, some can. Windsor is not interested in all television shows. He doesn't care for American Idol, Oprah or Dancing with the Stars. But he has been known to watch Rachel Ray and even the local TV newscast. His favorite shows, though, are what anyone's elementary school children probably enjoy. Cartoons, shows with dogs, cats or babies and small children. Funnier yet, he also has his favorite commercials. The Zoloft commercial, with the whistling bluebird, is among his favorite commercials. When he hears that whistling, he comes running from wherever he may be in the house and stands up in front of the TV to watch that bird move across the screen.

Scottie owners have said for years that life is merrier with a Scottish Terrier but I didn't always know what that meant, I do now.