�Thank you again for tasking such good care of our boy Jake. He is a true love and joy! He has been a really attentive guy since our return. He had a great day on Saturday. We filled the pool for him and he played fetch with dives into the pool every now and then. We have had several long walks since our return and he seems to be back into his old routine with the collar. He has been busy re-marking his territory after the week off. He is enjoying his Fourth of July present from you.
Glad that Jake and Keelie were good for each other. I think Jake is incredible with other animals. He seems to have a strong sense of his territory but does not seem to need to defend it with aggressive behaviors.�
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
�Jake has been such a love since he has been home. We have been experimenting with some off-lead time and he is doing great. Yesterday and today he finished the last several hundred yards of his morning walk without his lead. He wanders out about twenty to thirty feet but comes back to heel when I give him the �come� instruction. Then he walks with me for a bit and then wanders out no further than the prior distance. I can see that he would take for the hills if I did not press the distance with a return call but he is responding wonderfully well to the call. He actually spent about a half hour yesterday afternoon off lead in the front yard while we watered. He came to me on every call. Seems a week with you is the cure-all.�
Thursday, July 6, 2006
�When I came home after work the night I dropped Jake at your place it was pretty late (9:30pm) and I still had to pack for the trip the next morning. I kept noticing the space created by Jake not being there. It was an odd balance of missing Jake and recognizing that other quiet as my life before Jake. It is truly amazing how much one dog can fill up your life.�
Saturday, July 8, 2006
�Jake was at the vets yesterday for his annual check-up and vaccinations. Vet says he is doing great. Also said he appears to be somebody's 'baby'. We are off to the farmers market. Jake insists we go. He gets petted alot and gets to socialize with a lot of other lucky dogs. Right now he is here by the computer with his tennis ball collection.�
�Jake is doing well although he started scratching at his ears and shaking his head a bunch about a week after our return from our trip. I took him to the vet after his routine ear cleaning showed some discolored wax. We started him right away on ear drops twice a day and he has been doing that for a week yesterday. He seems all but cured (ears appear clean, scratching finished, and only an occasional head shaking episode. I am going to keep him on the medication a few more days at once a day. He is due back at the vet on Friday for a re-check.
Otherwise, our boy Jake is just wonderful. We had a training session with Terry last Friday and we did a full session of off-lead work here in the neighborhood. Jake was near letter-perfect. He interrupted his routing about in the woods and field at the end of the street when called and came back (well, after a short delay - and a bit of chicken hot dog). But he did interrupt and come back. We are walking the last portion of every morning walk off-lead back to the house. Jake is so funny. He wanders up ahead, checks in pretty good until we get about 50 yards or so from the house and then he makes this bee-line for the front door where he plops his butt on the porch and looks back over his shoulder waiting for me to catch up and open the door to the Air Conditioning and his water bowl. I think we have totally acclimatized this guy.
We went to the farmer�s market this morning and Jake got lots of petting and a hug from a very sweet 3 year old by the name of Shelby. One woman approached me and said that Jake was without a doubt the most gorgeous dog she had ever laid her eyes on. Good thing Jake�s vocabulary is limited. His ego is already big enough.
Our work days have seemed very full since we have been back. We are still struggling a lot with our little cat, Rocket�s, health. Seems his early life without a mom and mother�s food may have irreparably damaged his immune function. We just keep tossing a lot of love, good food, and supportive vet care his way hoping he�ll turn a corner somewhere and get better. He is the sweetest little kitty. It is hard to watch his suffering with the skin condition and other allergy like problems.
Sham is still the man of the neighborhood. Seems like whatever Rocket didn�t get in the way of natural resilience Sham got an abundance. He isn�t the most physically affectionate guy but he has a way of loving that is evident none the less.�
Thursday, August 10, 2006
John and Kate had asked me several times to bring Tara to visit them and for me to visit Jake again. After we set up for us to come on August 20th, I told Millie about it, and she was interested in coming to the visit too, and also for Tara and Freckles to meet again, to see how they interact, so Millie can determine if she would be able to dog-sit Tara for two weeks in October. Today Millie emailed and said that they are having a moving away party for Patty (Jeremy and Buckley�s foster mom), who is moving to Mobile. And the only time Patty could come is August 20th also. Millie planned the party at her lakehouse. Even when I took Keely to meet her family a month ago at the lakehouse, I knew Jake would love the pool and the lake, so I ask John and Kate if they could bring Jake to the lakehouse instead, and I also asked Millie if it�s okay for them to come to the party too. Everybody agreed.
Sunday, August 20, 2005
Millie�s pool party started out inside. But everybody started going outside when Jake seemed to have a lot of fun circling the pool. I had to keep Keely on leash to make sure she didn�t scratch her injured ear, but I let Tara walk around without a leash when she seemed to be getting along with the other dogs. Here�s a picture of Lucy fetching a tennis ball from the pool. Lucy is Patty and David�s five-year-old dog, and Millie has dog-sit for Lucy several times before. Lucy loves tennis balls and swimming too.
