Jake came into my life three
days after losing my beloved Tyler
Dawg to
bone cancer. When Tyler
was sick I had told myself I didn't want to get
another dog when he was gone.
Simplify my life. Make it easier to find places to
rent. All those dog
walks and vet bills. But the day after Tyler was put to sleep
I knew that I was kidding
myself. I'd grown so used to tripping over a dog. To having
him bark when someone knocked
at the door. Being able to run errands with this dog
head hanging out the window
behind me. The big lump at the foot of my bed every night.
Alas, I had become a "dog
person".
And there was nothing I could
do about changing that.
So that Saturday my best friend
Michele and I went to the Broward Humane
Society to see what we might
find. I wanted a puppy because I wanted him/her
to grow up knowing the ferrets
and learn to be gentle. As we passed the cages we
came upon "Calvin" and "Klein"
both Newfoundland/Lab mixes from the same litter.
"Klein"'s tag said he was
adopted and "Calvin" was snoozing on the floor of the cage.
Neither would come over to
see us but I put in "Calvin's" name to check him out nevertheless.
Soon we were in this
"interview room" with this little black pup with the biggest paws
I had ever seen. He
was mostly black with white tips on all his toes and one leg white with
spots. White on his
chest and this small line of white hair going up his snout (which I later
found is a trait of the Landseer
Newfoundland breed) His coat was so plush he felt like a little lamb.
And he felt SO heavy - like
one of those huge bags of soil!
The shelter rep explained
he'd only been there two days and had just been neutered
that morning which explained
why he wasn't too responsive in the cage.
"But he's going to be so big."
I told my friend
"But he's so cute!" she replied.
"Oh I don't know." I said
back.
Well once the shelter
rep discovered I ,too, was a Humane Society volunteer
(Tyler had been a pet-facilitated
therapy dog with them for about six years) it was only a
quick call to my landlord
and the pup could be mine - he could go home NOW - no waiting.
And that's just what he did.
Now a year and half later Jake
has grown from a 10-week-old pup of 16 lbs to a year and eight months
dog/pup of 85 lbs. He's
a sweet, loveable and incredibly smart dog and adores the ferrets
and the cats. We recently
moved from Florida to Bellevue, WA, and he endured 10 hours in
a dog crate for the cross
country flight. He is loving the cooler weather and Marymoor
Park,
a 40 acre off-leash park just
minutes away. He's also discovered snow and LOVES it!
I recently realized that when I counted
ten weeks back from the day I adopted Jake to determine
his birthday that was the very same day I'd
been told that Tyler Dawg had cancer.
So I believe Jake was meant to be my
dog and fate brought me to the shelter that day.
(click on any image to see a larger image)
December 29, 2001 - adoption day
Jake meets Oliver Ferret - soon to be his best buddy
for more Jake and Oliver wrestling pics click on:
Hot summer days in Florida with my best buddy, Beebop
Christmas 2002
A moment of silence ,please,
for those we have lost in Jake's first year:
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
And kudos to Hartz for their even-Jake-proof rubber tug toy!
To view the Jake videos click
on the links below.
Allow the movie to upload,
then hit play, or save to your PC and then play.
Housework's more interesting with Jake's help
Marymoor Dog Park and it's
40 acre off-leash dog area!
Wow
this place is huge
Jake
getting wet
Jake
gets EVERYONE wet
Click for a picture story about
Jake, Ringo, Duncan and an octopus!
