Rescuing dogs is hard, but letting them go, is sometimes harder for us at 12 Hills Dog Rescue. Case in point: Jason the beautiful black Lab. Jason came to us over 3 years ago, as an underweight sad looking 4 or 5 year old. He had some of his teeth broken off trying to chew through a wire fence. He roamed the streets, and he was in need of some good Vet care and a stable home. He quickly bonded to us and put his big paw print on our hearts, right away. He was especially fond of Brenda, and vice versa. She saw right away, just how special Jason was. He was especially grateful to Brenda, for rescuing him, and followed her everywhere in the days and weeks after he first arrived. Of course he was always waiting for her to walk through the door every day when she arrived at the rescue.
Jason stayed in the bottom kennel for awhile, and then was out and about on the farm. He gradually pushed his way onto the porch and then into our big dining room. There he found a special hiding place under Chuck’s big desk. No amount of coaxing would move that dog, when he was ready for his nap, or bedtime. As Jason gained some weight we begin to notice an odd sway to his back, which gradually developed into arthritis, when it was rainy or we had a sudden change in weather. Jason was given medication and joint minerals, and we made the decision to take him off the adoption list. Numerous times we had people that had come to adopt another dog, ask if they could adopt Jason, but each time we said no. We just weren’t sure if the owner would go the course with a dog with Jason’s hip problems.
Then, along came Emily—a nice gal, and not only knowledgeable about dog care and on a long road to becoming a Doctor.
The odd thing was, she didn’t ask for a senior dog at the beginning, but brought her senior golden with her to meet another one of our dogs. Somehow, Brenda just knew she should ask Emily if she wanted to meet a wonderful senior boy named Jason. Well, it was love at first sight. We had someone who loved senior dogs, who knew the right medication that he would need for his health problems, and we were faced with the decision. Everything felt right, and we told Emily, that we would allow her to adopt our Jason–health problems and all.
He would have a nice bed of his own, and guess what? There is even a place under her desk for him to lay and warm keep her feet, just like Chuck. I wish that I could say it was easy to say goodbye, but it was a rough week waiting for her return. Jason became suspicious during the week and didn’t want to leave Chuck’s side, and when Emily filled out the papers, he got cold feet. In the end, I had to go in the house and do some crying myself. It was tough.
Well, we got him in the truck and he is at his new home tonight. Emily said the children next door were excited and can’t wait to meet another loving dog. I imagine that Jason received a wonderful brushing and hugs from young and old alike when he arrived at his new home.
Yes, this was a hard one—to say good-bye to a good friend and one of the family. Emily promised to bring him down one of these days for a visit in between her exams.
So good luck–Jason–you are loved and we wish you much happiness and good health for your remaining years.
AND THANKS TO EMILY for caring about the senior dogs. Not enough people do, and they can give you so much joy and comfort.