Happy #6, Jake Leg!

Jake

Coco was hard to give up. I know she'll have a good home with people who love her.

Jake was harder to part with. Much harder, Painfully hard. He was my first dog. No, he is my first dog. I guess in a way I'll never really give him up, not completely.

But I feel like I let him down. I promised him when I adopted him, after his hard life on the streets and having been hit by a car, that he would always be safe now. That he would always have a home with me.

And somehow life got in the way. I didn't hold up my end of the bargain.

I'm sorry Jake. I love you. I didn't realize how much until now.

I hope you'll forgive me.

Be good and don't forget me, please.

I will never forget you.

Furry Dates With Destiny

Both of our pups have appointments today. Appointments with destiny. Appointments with their (hopefully) new families. It's going to be a strange day for everyone.

I'll let you know how the whole thing goes down.

The First Sad Post Of 2009

It is a sad day for our family, we have decided that we must find new homes for our dogs Jake and Coco.

There are reasons, of course. The biggest is that we just don't have any extra minutes in our days to give them. And they deserve that. Also, Madison is unable to leave them alone and pulls their fur and chases them away constantly. Jake has taken to defending himself by nipping at her. I guess that makes us nervous, Jake's leg really hurts him and that kind of abuse could drive him to bite harder eventually.

We are looking into couple of options, we'll only contact the Humane Society as a last resort. We'd like to place them in good homes of people we know.

It's very difficult even writing this. Wish everyone luck, especially the furry ones.

Peanut Butter & Jake

Fuzzy Donut

Good news: Jake and Coco have both taken a liking to their new dog bed. In fact, they often squeeze into it together.

Here, Jake takes it for a spin.

Pokes & Probes

Today Jake goes to the vet for his yearly exam and booster shots. And since he lost his driver's license as a result of that nasty business with the sidewalk, the cat, and the old lady, I have to take him.

So, another journey to the unruly, strange-smelling, alien-dog waiting room, as Jake nervously smells everything he can reach on his short leash. Then the girl opens the door and shouts "Jake Wild", causing every mammal in the office to jump, and back to the shiny stainless steel room to shots and pokes and probes, followed by a huge bill and a quick exit.

If all goes well, Jake will be found to be free of all major parasites, worms, and bacteria. He'll go back home and rejoin his little pack with nary a thought of the event.

I, on the other hand, will have a large hole in my checking account to fill. Once again, the dog gets off easy.

Press Release

DOGGIE DOOR TRAINING REPORT, DAY FIVE

For Immediate Release

Troy. Troubles continued today in the debacle caused by the sudden appearance of a new portal leading to the dog run. This new door is covered with two flaps of a material that appear to all canines to be impenetrable.

An incident at the entrance involving Coco occurred at approximately 4:35 PM Sunday. A short but intense tussle was ignited and ended with urine being distributed on the walls of the garage, as well as hurt feelings all around.

In later news, Coco escaped the temporary prison compound at the side of the house and was seen running at full tilt across the lawn and through a gap in the neighbor's fence. Recovery operations took almost five minutes.

When all hope of teaching middle-aged dogs new tricks had nearly faded, Jake surprised everyone by coming in through the door by himself, walking into the house, and slurping water from his dish in the laundry room.

Coco has yet to fully grasp the concept.

More news to follow...

Jake On I-75

Do you know that feeling when you are very tired and you wake up and some bizarre thought you usually wouldn't think strikes you as belly-laughing funny?

I had one of those this morning.

I was struck by the overwhelming urge to put my pants on Jake and give him a coffee and send him to work in my place. I could then go back to sleep and Jake would design cars.

Then I remembered I would have to give him my car keys and the idea suddenly seemed like a bad one.

Addiction

Jake has a problem. He doesn't want to admit it, but he has an addiction that could spiral out of control and ruin his life, and possibly ours.

I am talking about, of course, pea pods. Jake is a pea pod freak of the highest magnitude. I think he likes them better than meat. The way he goes after them in mid air, you might as well be throwing him chunks of filet mignon. And he doesn't always wait for you to give them up...he eats them right off the vine!

During pea pod season we usually get over to Mom & Dad's pretty often so we can raid their explosive and bountiful garden. And when Jake comes along he expects to be showered in pea pods. It is what he lives for.

Well, that and sleeping.

Brushing Up

Heather brushed the carnivores yesterday. A deep, thorough brushing, the kind that brings up petrified M&M's and old license plates from ages long gone.

They look really good now, shiny and spunky, and they weigh less too. Coco made the biggest improvement, she literally shines! Of course, she had the most nasty fur balls to lose, and she still has a couple of feisty calcifications stubbornly clinging to her. They might require surgery.

The spot on the lawn where the brushing took place resembles the site of a large black bear explosion. Fur is everywhere, sprawled in great clumpy masses. It's a really nasty scene, the dogs don't even like going near it.

When Hairy Met Sassy

This is the fateful day Jake and Coco first met, a warm September afternoon in 2006.

The world would never be the same.

Near-Death Experience

This is what a dog looks like when he is about to be killed.

Anything

Young dog, open road. Anything can happen.

New Stuff

Jake has a rigid three-step process for dealing with new things that show up in our yard:

1) Sniff it.

2) Pee on it.

3) Ignore it.

Here he is deep into step 1 with our spring flowers.

Re-Hydrating Jake

Jake drank for about two minutes straight this morning, lapping up water like a sump pump. Not sure what is going on, perhaps he escaped last night, ran to a farm, and stumbled upon a salt lick?

Basking, Doglike In The Sun

Thirsty Dog

Jake eyes the wine lustfully.

Prelude To A Book Deal

I finally talked Jake into writing a guest post for me. Coco had done one before and I wanted Jake to tell his side of the story. It was like pulling teeth. I pleaded and begged and finally he relented. And I must say, it was worth the wait. What he has written is touching, tender, and well thought-out. He really exposes his soul for all to see. What an amazing dog Jake is.

Ok, ready? Here it is, I'm proud to present, finally, a guest post from Jake:

Hi. This is Jake. I don't like writing. It takes time away from sitting around nervously.

So, bye.

Jake.

2 And 5

We also managed to squeeze a belated birthday party for the jackals into the weekend. It would be irresponsible for me to say they merely enjoyed their birthday meat piles. They wouldn't have been any happier rolling in a poop field the size of Nebraska.