This is Jack. I wasn’t looking for a dog, or so I told everyone. I’d lost my best four-legged friend, McKinna, a few months before and I really wasn’t looking for another dog. Or so I kept telling myself every day when I would look at the Tri-County Humane Society Website. And then I saw him, this solemn looking boy who’d been found by a wayside rest. I went to visit right away. I couldn’t take him out of his kennel because he’d just arrived, but we talked through the wire and he kept turning his head as if he were listening to me..
I’d found the dog I wasn’t looking for.
The wait to take him home was longer than anticipated because of a two week quarantine due to a virus that had been found in one of the dogs brought in. So I waited. I was able to visit Jack on several occasions. One of the times I went to visit a volunteer had just given him a bath and was attempting to comb out dozens of cockoburs that were stuck in his long, beautiful fur.
Finally the day came to take Jack home. He just needed the final okay by one of the veterinarians who volunteers their time at the shelter. I waited anxiously for the exam to be over with collar and leash in hand. One of the staff came out and said they had some bad news. Jack, who they estimated was between 10 and 12 years old, had a crushed vertebra, had no feeling in one of his back legs, and would need to be on pain/anti-inflammatory medicine for the rest of his life. In addition, he needed 6 teeth pulled..
I remember the look of confusion on her face when I started to smile. I explained that I have two artificial knees and two artificial ankles so Jack and I seemed like the perfect pair. I fostered Jack until his teeth were extracted and then we went back to the Humane Society a few weeks later for the official adoption. The staff at Tri-County Humane Society were so wonderful to work with. They truly care about all of the animals at the shelter.
I don’t know what Jack’s life was like before the shelter, but here’s Jack’s current life: He’s a work dog. Jack comes to work with me two to three days a week at Engel Metallurgical. He ‘guards’ the hallway and greets visitors as they come in. Everyone loves him and often co-workers will be found giving him belly scratches. When he’s not at work Jack sometimes spends a day with his four-legged friends at La Dee Dogs. His gentle temperament and ready smile have made everyone in the neighborhood fall in love with him. When people notice his wobbly, sometimes drooping back end I always say, “Droopy back, happy front.” And it’s true. Jack is the happiest dog! He never lets his disability get in the way of being a dog. I have so much respect and love for this animal. I’m so lucky to have found him!