Then there were three...

...and now there are two. Two remain of the original Scrup'l Pack.

Those of you who have been around long enough to remember the debut of what started as a running joke back in 2003 ("Of course, we have scruples here. Safely locked away in the basement") probably remember when the scruples actually *did* make an appearance -- and if you don't, well, here's your introduction. For a while, the place was overrun with scrup'ls and bedoodlewhoopies, then things quieted down a bit. They made infrequent appearances through the years, mostly because I wasn't around all that much to invent mischief for them to get into.

Here's the original Gang of Four --





Scout's in the front, and from left to right in the background, Muffy the Maleficent, Jake, and KC.

KC was the matriarch, and, at fifteen, was first to take the trail to Piddler's Green. For reasons both quirky and entirely too coincidental, Gabby arrived and became the fourth in the foursome.





That;s Gabby in front, doing what dogs do because they can, it's just that she isn't, because she doesn't, even though she could if she did.

Fifteen seems to be the number.

Scout's dead. Or, at least the body she inhabited for the past fifteen years is...

The guy who taught me dog whispering once said, "Big dogs don't live long lives, but God makes it up to them by letting them stay puppies longer." Scout was romping outside with Gabby just before her heart said, "It's time."

Poor Gabby. She sat down next to Scout and screamed her lungs out.

There's a shady corner in the garden Scout used to flop down in when the weather was hot. The ground was frozen, but -- funny thing, I didn't want to stop digging her grave because I knew that when I stopped, I'd have to put her in it. Finally, a voice whispered, "Are you gonna plant me in China?"

I curled her up on her favorite carpet remnant...