Wednesday, June 22, 2011
It's been a long while since our last post, and so much as happened! We are happy to report that our sponsorship dog in New York, Star (picture below), was adopted to a loving home who appreciates older dogs. Congratulations Star! We wish you a long and happy life.
The Vet Aide Club at UC Davis, where Jack had some of his chemo treatments, sponsored a memorial brick for Jack at the Vet School. This is the same group of pre-vet college students who took Jack's picture in the Santa hat in December 2009, and put him in their fund-raiser calendar for December 2010. It was bittersweet to see his photo when we turned the page for December, only two weeks after he passed away. How happy he looked! We have no doubt he was proud to see his picture in the calendar. When the Vet Aide Club learned of his passing, they wanted to get him a memorial brick. We have a photo and will post it here in the next day or so... please check back. We are incredibly grateful to the Club and students who were touched by Jack's story.
And finally... drumroll, please... Jack sent us a new dog! One of the last things we asked of him before he left us was to help us find our next buddy, and Jenny's next best friend. To make a long story short, John ended up talking to a rescue coordinator for the Animal Friends Rescue Project (AFRP) in the Monterey Bay area of California back in April. She asked a lot of questions, looked over this website, and said she had a dog in mind for us who would be perfect. His name is Austin, he's around 2 years old, and is a sweet and sensitive Australian shepherd whose time was up at a local shelter. He had been a stray and no one came looking for him. Austin was in a foster home, so we ended up communicating with his foster mom, Coco. After a couple of meetings to make sure Jenny approved (and Coco approved of us), Austin came home on May 27!
We expected Jenny to be a bit cool to the idea of a new roommate at first, but eventually warm up to him. To our surprise and delight, she seemed to love him right from the start! Those two visits before he came home seemed to do the trick. They are fast friends and perfect companions. Jenny said the name Austin suits him, so we kept it, but he needed a middle name. His name is now Austin Wallace. She, of course, is Jenny Talkeetna Rose. Jack was Jack Francis (kudos to St. Francis who helped us care for him).
Before Austin came home, Linda asked John what Jack would think of this. John said "Are you kidding? Jack would be the first one down there to sign the adoption papers!" No doubt. Our only regret is that Jack is not here to be Austin's big brother. Jenny is teaching him well.
Jenny is happy. Austin is happy. John and Linda are happy. Jack did just as we asked of him... he sent us our next buddy.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
We posted a slide show tribute to Jack! John has been working on it for a couple of weeks. It truly is a labor of love. Please check it out—there is a tab on the left to watch it. Be sure to have your speakers on for the music.
The results came back on Star’s biopsy for her mammary tumors (Star is the beautiful Border collie we are sponsoring at Glen Highland Farm Border Collie Rescue in New York; her story is in the next post below). It was cancer but the vets think they got the whole tumor out so only time will tell if it spread. In the meantime, she is in a loving foster home and enjoying a terrific quality of life. We will keep her in our thoughts for a long and happy life.
Happy Valentines Day to you and your companion animals! We hope you enjoy every minute of the wonderful life you share.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It’s hard to believe that Jack’s been gone almost 3 months. We often reflect on our 10 years together and realize how many lessons he taught us. The main lesson is that Jack was happy until the very end, despite being sick and limited in his daily activities. He never complained and was always happy to see us. He seemed to wake up each morning, take stock of his situation, and simply make the most of it. He never lamented what he could no longer do and didn’t worry about tomorrow or next week. He lived in the “now.”
We try to honor him each day by remembering that simple lesson. He was a trooper through it all, and faced each chemo treatment, each vet visit, and each day with joy, grace, and strength. We hope to be like him when we grow up!
You may recall that in late December we sponsored an adorable 5-month old Border collie named Troy at Glen Highland Farm BC rescue in New York. Our sponsorship was in Jack’s memory. We are thrilled that Troy was adopted last month and appears to be over his mange. The pictures we received show a handsome and very happy boy with his new family!
Our angel sponsorship has now transferred to Star. She is 10 years old, loves people, has a wonderful temperament, and spent all 10 years of her life at the end of a chain until a neighbor stepped in and got her safely to rescue. Star recently had some mammary tumors removed and we await the results. Fingers and toes are crossed for good news.
Star is a perfect choice for our sponsorship. Her age, size, and demeanor remind us so much of our Jenny!
Meanwhile, Jenny is really enjoying Doggy Daycare (aka Play Group) two days a week. Although she’s been going since December, she has only started to engage other dogs in play in the last couple of weeks. She spends two more days a week with Grandma (Linda’s Mom), which both of them enjoy. Thursday is her “Me Day” at home alone, where she’s been nesting on the bed and our pillows (we don’t mind). She’s a very busy girl with a full schedule! Jenny seems very happy with her life. She is our sweetheart.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Although Jack left us six weeks ago, he remains part of us. We still talk about him, talk TO him, and miss him very much. We knew he had a big impact on our lives, but didn't fully appreciate how big until he was gone. There is little doubt that he'll always be with us.
Jack loved everyone. If he could have one wish, he'd probably wish for every dog to have a long and healthy life and a loving home like his. So in his honor and memory, we are sponsoring a very sweet puppy named Troy who just arrived at Glen Highland Farm Border collie rescue in New York (www.glenhighlandfarm.com). Troy is only 5 months old and suffering from mange... a condition his family was unable to treat, so he is now in rescue.
Hopefully Troy will heal quickly and be adopted by a lucky family in the coming months. We are excited to sponsor this lovely little boy! We think Jack would be very pleased.
Meanwhile, we took Jenny back to Monterey and Carmel (California) last weekend for a short winter vacation. We used to take the dogs there several times a year before Jack got sick, and always had a great time (see the tab for our Spring Vacation photos at left). Since Jack left us, Jenny has been going to Doggy Play Group (day care) a couple of times a week to make new friends and gain some confidence. After a few weeks of sadness, she's starting to find her way as "Top Dog" in the family. She really enjoyed our trip to the coast and especially running off-leash!
Merry Christmas to you and the pets in your life!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Jack has been gone for just over two weeks and we miss him every day. While Jack may have gone on ahead, his fame continues to grow. See, last year on one of our trips to Davis, the UC Davis Vet Aide Club was having a "Photos with Santa" event and Jack simply couldn't pass that up. One thing led to another and before we knew it, Jack was wearing a Santa hat and posing for pictures. A few days later we received an email asking for permission to use one of Jack's photos for December in their 2010 calendar.
We agreed of course, because that's exactly the kind of thing Jack would do...but with all he was going through we suspected he wouldn't make it to see his picture hanging on the wall. Well, he almost made it - just missed it by two weeks, and that's sure a lot more than we had dreamed of a year ago.
So, if you have one of the calendars - enjoy your photo of Jack... and if you think of it, lift a glass and drink a toast to all the great dogs young and old who bring so much love and joy into our lives.
Photograph by Anjolie Daryani, UC Davis Vet Aide Club, December 5, 2009