Wag Monthly caught up with John Grisham and his wife, Renee, on their farm in central Virginia.
How would you describe your dog?
JOHN GRISHAM: He’s not my dog. He owns the porch, demands a morning walk, expects a bowl full of food throughout the day, growls at me when I enter my own bedroom, and sleeps on my side. But he’s not my dog.
Okay, perhaps we should talk to Renee.
JG: Good idea.
Okay, Renee, tell us about your dog.
RENEE GRISHAM: His name is Scout, and he’s mostly black with a smudge of white on his lower lip, like he just had a slurp of milk. His chest is white. When looking online for a dog to rescue, I hoped to find a flat-coated retriever, and Scout may have a drop of that, but otherwise, he’s just Scout. He came from a rescue facility in Greenville, North Carolina, and was considered threatening. We soon learned it was just food insecurity.
The moment I met him, he rubbed against my legs like a cat and was immediately friendly. He growled once when I lifted him into a soft crate in the back of the SUV. It was unbearably hot that day, so I left the crate partially open. As I drove away from the shelter, I saw a nose ease out of the top of the crate, and the next minute, his paws were on the front console, ready to help me navigate. He was ready to go home to Virginia.
JG: May I interrupt?
Sure, jump right in.
JG: Not too many years ago, when the kids were small, we had five dogs, two or three cats, a gerbil, a rabbit, an albino pigeon, plus at least a dozen horses, not to mention squirrels, skunks, possums, and countless other critters. Renee does not allow hunting around here, and all the animals know it. We live on a game preserve. The deer have taken over.
That’s nice. We were talking about Scout.
RG: I was told that Scout did not like men, but John was waiting on the porch with dog biscuits. The rest is history. Scout tolerates John. He takes him on long walks and allows him to fill his bowl each morning. Otherwise, he growls when startled. He is my dog for sure.
JG: May I interrupt again?
RG: No.
[Ignoring JG] Why do you like rescues?
RG: I adore rescues because they love you like no other creatures. They are beyond happy to have a home. Our first one was Jett, a dog who will always be near and dear to our hearts. He rescued us and showed us who was in charge.
And now Scout rules the Grisham game preserve.
