Jake's Story
On December 16, 1996 I visited our local Humane Society. I had recently lost my greyhound to lymphoma (rare, said the vet, not rare enough said I) and I went just to look. I saw this coal black lab mix sitting way at the back of his pen. He was not running to the front like the other dogs and when I stopped and looked at him, he barked at me. But would not budge from the back of the pen. He had just been put out for adoption that day and he seemed like he was confused and frightened about where he was. Who could blame him! I asked a volunteer if I could meet him - still with NO intention of adopting a dog that day (yeah right, huh?) and she brought him out. When she had gone in to get him, he had barked at her too. She brought him to the meet and greet area and he barked at me again. She told me to bend down and call him and when I did, he ran up to me and licked me on the cheek. He was a beautiful, all black lab/shep mix who clearly was not doing well in this environment. His name then was Thunder and according to his card, he was approx. 9 months old, and 58 lbs. I was renting half of a house at that time that had a nice covered deck, its own fenced yard (front and back), and pets allowed. I heard myself say "I'll take him". He was quite excited as he waited with me while they called my landlord for approval and we signed the paperwork. Finally, I put him in the back seat of my car and we headed home. At the first red light we stopped at, he came flying over the back seat right into my lap. At that moment, we bonded instantly and deeply for life. I knew this dog was like no other I have ever had. I have had a lot of pups and loved them all, but - just like with people - every once in while there comes along that special one that you know was meant for you. And that was my Jake.    
When we got back home, I gave him a bone I had purchased on the way to the shelter. (Even tho I was just going to look you know). I wanted to see if I was going to be able to take something away from him. He seemed so happy to be in a home and was so excited to get a big rawhide bone. He started chewing on it and I sat next to him and watched him. When he looked up and saw me watching him, he completely forgot about the bone and was just so excited I was looking at him, he dropped the bone and gazed at me with pure love in his eyes. Well I knew then and there, it would never be a problem to take anything from him. He was showing me I was his first priority and love and that never changed. Jake was a big boy and I was so excited to have him, we took him out walking all over the neighborhood that first evening. When I took him to my vet the next day just to have him checked, I thought his feet - especially the pads - looked really big and I was concerned we had walked him too long on pavement and maybe they were swollen. My vet checked him over thoroughly and took a good look at his feet when I mentioned it. He stood back up laughing. Nope, his feet are fine, he just has big feet, the vet said. At the checkup, he weighed in at 72 lbs (hmmm, just a touch more than the 58 lbs his card from the shelter said). We noticed from the beginning he favored his hips. It was very slight and the vet never did see it due to Jake not being comlpetely relaxed when he stood up from a sit when at the vets. But the vet took x-rays and said there was some hip arthritis but it was very mild. The good news was there no dysplasia. So the vet said the best way to control that was to keep him growing 'evenly'. In other words, keep his muscle and fat growing at the same rate. That summer I was in my last year as an engineering student but was not taking summer courses. I had finally quit my job as a waitress and had started a job as an intern and for the first time in 4 years, I had a regular schedule with week-ends off. Every week-end that summer we either went camping or took a day trip to a park. It was a wonderful time with Jake as we romped and played in the woods, on the beaches, and numerous boating trips in my ex boyfriend's little fishing boat. Jake loved the water and chasing balls and sticks, and nothing made my heart smile more than watching Jake have so much fun. He was a big, strong boy and proud of it and would fetch 6' fence poles and tear the small, dead trees in the mangroves right out of the ground as we watched. Life was great. Jake turned out to be the smartest dog I have ever known. He also turned out - unlike a lab, to be very protective of me. He was my big, beautiful boy and I knew we had been meant to be together. We also found out he was rather clumsy and seemed to not have the best balance. He broke a toe jumping out of the back of the truck in those early days and we had nick-named him Bozo because when you walked behind him, his feet were so big and he was rather un-coordinated. Jake had long legs and not being food motivated, he was a gangly youngster so I chalked it up to clumsy puppiness. Little did I know the real reason for his lack of cooridination. The next year I graduated, got a real job, and bought a property on 4.5 acres with a large fenced yard. I started working a lot and had broken up with the boyfriend (he always complained I loved my dog more than him - I was always honest and never denied that) and we didn't go out as much. But by then, I had aquired my neighbor's dog, Bobo (a labx who played with Jake) as Bobo wasn't the brightest guy and the neighbors didn't treat him too well because of that. But he still deserved to be loved and treated well so I took him. I had also gotten more involved in rescue and had a few foster dogs around the house, as well as adopted a couple more pups. So the dogs got plenty of exercise playing with each other and Jake was a strong alpha who helped keep order. I never realized until he was gone just how much he had helped me with all of them. It was becasue of my deep love for Jake that I wished to help other dogs. Though I was working a lot, I worked most of my overtime from home so I was at least home with the dogs. I would take frequent breaks and go out and throw a stick for Jake, keeping in mind what the vet had said about him getting exercise to help keep his hips doing well. My mom moved in with me and Jake became her protector as well and he loved her too. I was going in to work early those days and when I left I would open the door to my mom's bedroom and he would jump into bed with her. He loved that! Over the years, Jake's hips and rear end gradually became weaker. I did not find it surprising given his size and breed and that we had known early on, he favored his hips. By this time he was over 100 lbs and it was so common for large dogs to have trouble with their hips. At about the age of 6, we had to put a box next to my mom's bed as a step to help Jake get up on her bed. But he showed no signs of pain and x-rays revealed his hip arthritis was still mild and had not really advanced since his early x-rays. Part 2. |
