He really was Mr. Wonderful. Probably every minute of his life. He was always just so content with his life. Every moment it was something new, something new and exciting to explore, weather it was hunting crumbs in the kitchen, or going to Dog Beach in San Diego.
Jakie was adopted in the year of 1992, the year I was born. He was adopted from the pound. My dad found him there, my mom and him were looking for a dog and he thought my mom would like a French Bulldog mix, because she grew up with Boxers. Anyways, that’s besides the point. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain how wonderful Jakie was, because he wasn’t just an ordinary dog.
He was my mom’s best friend, and probably mine too. It’s because Jakie didn’t care what we wore everyday to work or school, he didn’t care that we might not be the richest family in the world, he didn’t care that we might be abnormal compared to other humans. All he cared about was that we were kind to him and that he got fed and loved. Jakie chased a burglar out of the yard, earning himself the name “Mr. Wonderful”.
After that, he withstood about 10 other dogs passing and going, him surviving out of all of them. Jakie escaped from the yard and got reported by the Pima Animal Control, ended up making my mom go to court. She bailed him out, though, because he was so wonderful. Jakie fell in the washing machine (not when it was on, mind you), jumped off the roof (loooooong story), got mauled twice by the same dog (stupid Gracie) and he was still with us.
He rode with my mom on an attachment on her bike. He loved following my mom around and was such a great dog. One day, though, when my sister and I were stopping at my mom’s house to get sneakers so that we could go tubbing with our friend Jessica, Jakie started acting funny. His eyes started bulging from their sockets, and spinning every which way. He could barely walk, he was tilting to the side. My mom thought he’d had a stroke. But he still tried to follow my mom around, no matter that he was swaying and faltering and tripping and stumbling.
At this point, Jakie was 12&1/2 years old. We took him to the vet (at least I did, Lily decided to go tubbing anyways) and the vet said he had a really bad ear infection, and cushings disease. The ear disease was the cause of the tilting and the eye drama, but cushings disease would kill him if it were not cured. Cushings would result in a tumor in his stomach, and perhaps liver disease. We couldn’t afford to cure Jakie, so we had to let him die. It was very sad, everyone grouped around Jakie watching the vet putting him to sleep. One second he was there, and the next, his once wide, curious eyes were hollow and empty.
I cried so hard, and I am now.
I will never forget Jakie, never. He’s been such a great friend, such a great dog. He’ll always be in my heart, always!
Love,
| Jakie |
| Stella |