Jake

Jake in a box, originally uploaded by bfulgham.

Years ago, when the internet was largely unknown, USENET was king, and people still used America Online I was living in Virginia, near the headquarters of AOL. My wife and I were newlyweds, and decided to do some training for parenthood by getting a dog.

Answering an ad in the newspaper, we visited the cluttered basement of a home in nearby Vienna, VA. The room was filled with Cockatiel cages, and carpeted in old newspaper. The air was thick with dust, down, and the scent of air freshener that nearly masked the smell of wet dogs. This is where we first met Jake, who was to be our loyal companion for the next 15 and a half years.

Even then, Jake was his own person. He could have cared less about the two goofy visitors clamoring for his attention. He was focused on the lid from an air freshener spray, rolling it around the room and pouncing on it. I didn't think he was going to be people-focused enough, but my wife liked that he was tiny and I liked the fact that he was only $125 (a $25 savings!) because he was a runt. At six weeks of age he weighed only a pound and a half.

It turned out that he also came with a free case of Coccidia. Our new vet (Dr. Stork) prescribed a banana flavored medicine, which I would give to Jake each morning. I kept the fact that Jake loved the medicine a secret from my wife, hoping to get Jake to like me better (a plan which seemed to have largely worked.)

When he was very small, I could put him in the pocket of my coat, cinch the pocket loosely around his neck, and go to the grocery store. He greatly enjoyed visiting the deli department, as I recall.

Jake was wildly energetic, full of great humor, and always had a smile on his face. I remember when we got a second dog to be his playmate, Jake would climb on the couch and kick the throw pillows onto Dylan, who was too uncoordinated to climb up. I caught him doing this once, and I swear he winked at me while doing it.

Even in the most adverse conditions he maintained a positive attitude, and only ever presented signs of depression once when we lived with my parents for a number of months. Apparently he was fed up, and wanted his own house!

He was very friendly, and loved kids. When we finally brought a few home of our own, a new world was opened to him. He became adept at stealing food from the kids' high chairs, and soon grew fat (topping in at nearly 22 pounds at the high point.) He loved the chaos that two toddlers brings to a home.

As the kids and Jake grew older, he began to slow down. This was a great time for my wife and me, since he had never been capable of sitting still. At last we could hold him while watching TV or reading, and I soon learned that he had an almost magical power to put me to sleep if he sat in my lap.

Eventually his hearing faded, and then his eyes clouded over with cataracts. He stayed remarkably upbeat, memorizing the layout of the house, and never complaining about the fairly frequent knocks he took to the head from walking into furniture or walls. I took to carrying him outside to a safe spot in the yard, and switched him to a canned dog food when his normal dog food seemed to hurt his teeth. Even in his declining days he stayed a regal presence, barking to announce he was ready to be set on the couch, or ready to be put onto the bed, or ready to go outside.

Eventually he began to lose weight and became lethargic. He had a harder time finding his water, and seemed to frequently get lost in the house. The Vet was not sure what the problem was, aside from advanced age, and we did not wish to subject him to invasive testing that would likely be unhelpful, but would certainly cause pain.

This memorial weekend, we had to say farewell to Jake. He passed into the next life surrounded by his family (and Grandparents). He will be sorely missed.