Jakes training continued. He was taught to wait at doors and he was taught not to jump on anyone. By the time Jake was two we were able to answer the door without 33 kg black dog knocking guests over. He slept in the kitchen with Dawn without barking. He never chewed or destroyed anything, unless it was food. It was around this time I discovered he had an enlarged heart. The vet thought it may be genetic. It did mean we all had to be careful regarding his exercise regime. Fortunately he loved swimming and the river is within walking distance. Jake continued to steal food , I never solved that but at least we got to eat our dinner in peace. After Dawn died , We took in two more dogs. Another black labrador, a bitch and a lurcher 4/5month pup. She was a nightmare from day one. Poor Jake took it all in his stride. I never heard him growl at any of them. We were now a family with three dogs. The lurcher was a free to good home. Single pup and reared in a hut. Socialising none. She was scared from everything. Men , hats , thunder. Etc. To Jakes delight the youngster was a houdini. We crate trained her, she escaped on numerous occasions. Her party piece , was to open the freezer door and pull all food out. I only worked four hours and all three dogs woul be happily eating whatever meat , ice cream they could get. Can I clarify that when dogs have a choice between meat and veg, meat wins every time. Two child locks on the freezer and she broke both. We had to build a kennel for her outside. I would get home never knowing what destruction there was going to be , but Jake never seemed phased by any of it. He was scared from nothing. When we lost both bitches the same year, Jake had me all to himself. He was 11 years old and I had started calling him my wee collie dug. He followed me everywhere. The following year while playing in the field Jake hurt his back, I thought we were going to lose him then. The vet wasn't keen on putting him under to do exrays etc , so dosed on painkillers we went home and had a slow partial recovery. Cassie came to stay that year. Cassie and Jake got on great , he never minded when she crawled into bed with him. I started both dogs on raw food . Jake was on metacam now and I started doing more reading on back injuries and pain management in dogs. One of the things that was brought up was the anecdotal stories of dogs who are raw fed. I had a friend who could get me a regular supply of grey squirrels. I dutifully chopped their heads off along with their feet and tails. I gutted them , I honestly hated doing it. Both dogs had been introduced to raw and had taken to it wonderfully, in fact I couldn't stop with the raw feeding as Jake literally shook and his teeth chattered as he drooled everywhere. In fact if his back had been ok he would have been on two legs. That is until he was given a squirrel. He looked at it. He poked it with his nose. He pawed it , then looked some more. I swear at one point I think he expected it to move. There was no way he was eating it. I fed him chicken instead. Cassie got all the squirrels. I was glad when that supply stopped, especially when at the back end of summer the squirrels were so fresh , the fleas were jumping of them. Now it was at the same time I had decided I wanted the dogs on the sofa with me. After all dogs really aren't trying to dominate us. So Jake at the age of 11 years old got to lie beside me on the sofa. He had trouble with his ears all his life , they were the bain of mine. But the soul stood ever so still to let me clean and put drops in them. His hearing was deteriorating. His sight was bad as well. He was nearly 13 years at this point. A nice cottage owned by the national trust was booked, it was right on the beach. My OH and I do this every year for our anniversary. So I've cooked a chicken , a gammon joint as well as a chocolate cake. There all in a big bag. Jake hasn't managed to counter cruise the same as he did as a youngster. On arrival we start to empty the car when the neighbour calls over. I really must have been in holiday mode, I left the dogs unattended and the food .Jakes missing. I panicked. Oh how could I have been so stupid. It's getting dark, the hedge has a gap down to the beach. I run inside to find Jake in the kitchen and a piece of tinfoil on the floor and the gammon joint gone. He had eaten a whole gammon joint. This was the holiday when I noticed a big difference in his sight and hearing. He was getting more and more reliant on me than he had ever been. For the first time ever he never left my side. By 2013 Jakes health was getting worse. He was incontinant and his anal glands needed cleaning, that's another job I hated, but the vet taught me as it was easier than my poor boy getting lifted into the car. I knew the time was coming when a decision had to be made. In August of 2013 I made that decision. The beautiful black labrador that has touched all my family's lives was brought home and buried in our back garden. My boy started his life with a family of young children and came through the turbulence of teenagers and then saw my four gorgeous grandchildren come into his life. He saw five dogs come and go through his life and he took it all in his stride. He was Fun , tolerant, forgiving, brave and the most loving of my dogs and did I say fun. Right up to the end he would still have played with a ball.
Re: Jake ...........third and final part Oh my goodness, what a wonderful story. You clearly adored him, and he was a great character...
Re: Jake ...........third and final part What a great dog, who got the most out of life (with your help). Thank you for telling Jake's story.
Re: Jake ...........third and final part That is beautiful and so sad. How many tissues did you take to write this. He was so lucky to have such a caring family xx
