ME SN AN NN NHD PTE Jake’s on FIRE! CGC NJP RN BN TD (AMBOR) TKP ETD
Crossed the Rainbow Bridge June 5, 2019 surrounded by love
This dog forever changed the course of my life. Little did I know that when I rescued him in August of 2007. This whip-smart, wily little puppy became my heart dog, my training partner, my comfort, and my muse.
Many of you do not know this, but he is the sole reason 4 Paws DogWorks exists today. But I get ahead of myself…
This dog was a bit of a hellion in the beginning…mouthy, independent, and scary-smart. Much smarter than me. And he let me know it.
Enter Columbia Basin Dog Training Club…where we started our career. Puppy, CGC, OB, Agility…he could do it all. All the training was keeping his mind active…which was good because we would find out at age 3 that he was dysplastic in both hips. The left would be replaced twice at WSU…and the recoveries were grueling. During the first recovery, I lost my dad. I was gone a couple of weeks, and when I returned, I was sobbing on my couch. This dog, who had not really been terribly affectionate before, jumped in my lap, put one paw on each shoulder, and held me until I stopped sobbing. It was at that moment our definition of “team” would begin. This was in 2010.
I handled all his Physical Therapy. And the bond grew stronger by the day. Our agility career ended before it really had a chance to start. I thought that all my agility friends would “abandon” me because I couldn’t compete. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Jake helped make us a family of people who, while not related by blood, were meant to be in our lives – friends that we have to this day. True. Friends. True family in every other sense of the word.
We began to look for another sport…and we found tracking. This dog was a natural at using his nose…and, he loved it because he led the parade. I was his dope-on-a-rope, as the lingo goes. He loved to train, and when he was younger and fit, he easily could have tracked all damn day. And the hell of it – he was spot on 90% of the time. Ok, sometimes he cut corners during the tests (which is a no-no) but in his mind, expediency overruled “correctness.” And he brought yet MORE people into our Framily. Yep, I just made up that word. Feel free to use it.
As my interest in all things dog grew, Mollie joined our family after the death of my soul dog, Cammie. She was the other driving force behind 4 Paws. I knew Mollie was the one for us when Jake met her, sniffed her, poked her, and walked beside her.
When Jake was hurting, he was pretty snarly to other dogs from the pain. There were two dogs that stole his heart: SweetPea and Smoochie. Another, Sophie, once grabbed a bone, jumped into our rig and left it for him in his crate. He had himself quite an adoring girl-dog public.
As for people, he also has had many fans. More on that in a moment.
We discovered another outlet for his nose with NoseWork. He was AMAZING and he loved it. As he matured in the sport, he would signal to find the odor by barking or WOOWOOing. You always knew when Jake was working – it reverberated throughout the building or area. Again, even more, Framily has been gained. I’d like to say it was me, but more likely it’s been him. And I’m ok with that.
He was also a ham…he loved the attention and he seemed to innately know how to garner it. He was famous for “muzzle-punching” his friends in the treat pocket (or near it) as a greeting. Of course, he generally was rewarded for the behavior so…
In the last year or so, he began to slow down. Unfortunately for him, his mind was still razor-sharp but his body continued to fail him. The hip was good, but the arthritis was a bitch. He always wanted to work, even on days when he was sore. I kept him as active as I could. It was evident, however, that in his last NoseWork trial, he wanted…no, NEEDED, to retire. And so we did.
I will never forget the many kind words from people that I didn’t know, and those I did. More than once, it was said that they had never seen such actual teamwork in every sense of the word. On his last Elite exterior search, he found two of the three odors but needed to lie down several times. I did what I could to support him – hugged him, stroked him, and told him he was the best…in turn, he would continue to search. My God, what a heart in that dog. I wish I had half of what he had.
As we exited from our last official search, he greeted damn near everyone on his way out. And folks obliged him…petting, treats, kisses. I couldn’t have scripted a better end to a career.
He still wanted to walk most mornings. It wasn’t the 2.5 miles that we used to do every day. They were short and slow, and I began to enjoy them in a different way. And on his last full day on this earth, we walked to the park by our home. We went to work, where he was full of life. We came home and before I left for the afternoon, he was outside, fence running, telling the lawn service guys where they could go. I hadn’t seen him do that in a long time.
I’ll spare you the details about his last evening, but suffice to say that it was spent with all the love I could give him, whispering in his ear about all the reasons I loved him; what we had accomplished together; what he taught me; and about how I would do my level best to carry on without him.
Although at this moment, I have no idea how.
Run Free, Jake. Until we meet again…with all my love
