Today's day isn't special. It's just another day in the life of the Painter Pack. But there has been something on my mind...someone...for the last few days.
Our old man...Jack.
It has been 8 months since he crossed the bridge at the age of 13 1/2. He was our "starter kit"...My son's first real dog. My first read dog since I was a child.
Jack could be a handful at times...he wasn't the kind of dog you took to a dog park. He was very dominate...well, until he met Miss CoCo Bean, our little shepherd mix. She taught him that it was HER job to be top dog. And I guess he was ok with that.
Sometimes we called him Moose...because he was so big and always "there"...everywhere! These pics are from a time before the dreaded cancer began to ravage his body.
Jack was the greatest guard dog ever...No one...and I mean no one got past him.
Truthfully, no one dared to try!
And Jack loved the snow. This was the last snow he got to see, just a couple of years ago.
I know that a lot of people do not have the time to read blogs anymore...us included. But I want to share Jack's gotcha story.
My son was 8...and he wanted a dog. So his grandpa found a "free to a good home" ad. Now, I had explained that we were not ready for a dog just yet...maybe in about 3 months or so. We had just moved and money was tight. But, I told my son we would go "look"...just "look". We pulled up to a house that had Jack and another dog (a husky) on chains in the yard. It was a fenced yard so I'm not sure why they were on chains. My son jumps out of the car and runs to the dogs. Being mom, I jumped out of the car to make sure he would be safe...and I left my car door open.
Soon as the owner let Jack off his chain, that dog, 6 months old, ran out the gate and jumped into my car. That was it. He was ours. He refused to get out of the car. It all happened so fast, I really didn't have a choice! And that dog rode to his new home in the floorboard, under my son's feet.
He was my baby for 13 years.
We had our beloved Jack longer than the doctors thought...but it will never be long enough. In the end, it was difficult to help him keep his dignity. So we knew it was time.
There have been many days recently that both my son and I have thought we saw Jack out of the corner of our eye. Sometimes it was nothing...or a pillow...or even our Reesie Cup just curled up. Reesie reminds us of Jack...the same Labradork traits! But she isn't Jack. There will never be another. And I guess that is ok...he was one of a kind.
So today, we are remember our Moose...the huge, goofy, and sometimes ornery, dorky lab boy that jumped into my car and found his forever home.
We miss and love you sweet boy.
Mama
CoCo
Mya
Reesie
(And the cats!)
Our old man...Jack. It has been 8 months since he crossed the bridge at the age of 13 1/2. He was our "starter kit"...My son's first real dog. My first read dog since I was a child.
My son was 8...and he wanted a dog. So his grandpa found a "free to a good home" ad. Now, I had explained that we were not ready for a dog just yet...maybe in about 3 months or so. We had just moved and money was tight. But, I told my son we would go "look"...just "look". We pulled up to a house that had Jack and another dog (a husky) on chains in the yard. It was a fenced yard so I'm not sure why they were on chains. My son jumps out of the car and runs to the dogs. Being mom, I jumped out of the car to make sure he would be safe...and I left my car door open.
Soon as the owner let Jack off his chain, that dog, 6 months old, ran out the gate and jumped into my car. That was it. He was ours. He refused to get out of the car. It all happened so fast, I really didn't have a choice! And that dog rode to his new home in the floorboard, under my son's feet.
He was my baby for 13 years.
We had our beloved Jack longer than the doctors thought...but it will never be long enough. In the end, it was difficult to help him keep his dignity. So we knew it was time. There have been many days recently that both my son and I have thought we saw Jack out of the corner of our eye. Sometimes it was nothing...or a pillow...or even our Reesie Cup just curled up. Reesie reminds us of Jack...the same Labradork traits! But she isn't Jack. There will never be another. And I guess that is ok...he was one of a kind.
So today, we are remember our Moose...the huge, goofy, and sometimes ornery, dorky lab boy that jumped into my car and found his forever home.
We miss and love you sweet boy.
Mama
CoCo
Mya
Reesie
(And the cats!)
