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Jake |
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John and Kate said they think Jake might not think of himself as a dog, because even though he gets along with other dogs, he doesn't really play with them (anymore). They think maybe he thinks himself as a person (now). |
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Jake pretty much looks the same as he did when he got adopted 2 years ago, same amount of energy and zeal and affection. He doesn't even look older in appearance. I told John and Kate that and they think so too. |
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After about 5 minutes, Jake decided to come back inside and joined us for breakfast. John said that he gives a little bit of the scone to Jake, it's just one bite, and it's all healthy ingredients anyways. He said they get the scones from the farmer's market in Birmingham and that they go to the farmer's market with Jake often (it's open May to October). When they went back the first time this year, when Jake got to the scone stand, Jake remembered the smell and immediately sat in front of it. I asked Kate if the owner of the stand remembers Jake, and Kate said no, because there are so many dogs there, but she said that Jake remembered some of his dog buddies. |
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Then we went inside for breakfast. As Kate was sitting up the table, John threw the tennis ball back into the yard. Jake saw that and wanted to go after the ball, so John let him out. John also opened Jake's Christmas present I brought, it's a gift certificate for Up Country brand collar and leash. Up Country is a maker of high quality collars and leashes in Rhode Island, where Kate is from and where her dad and stepmom still live, so I thought it would be perfect for them. John and Kate said actually they are going to RI for Christmas, and they were just going to ask me if I would like to dog-sit Jake for that week. I was a little hesitant about it. I mean I would LOVE to spend Christmas with Jake, but I wondered how he would react to Tara's blindness. I think one of the main reason that Samson the Basset has gotten along well with Tara is because he quickly realized that she's blind (one of his owner's daughter's dogs has limited eyesight also), but I also remembered that when Maggie (Traci Manuels' Springer) thought it was very strange that Tara paced in the livingroom and walked into walls. If Jake accepts Tara for who she is and leaves her alone, I think it would be okay. I told John and Kate that I would think about it more and let them know, and thanked them for the opportunity. They said they found a new dog boarding place, and the woman there insisted on meeting the dog at their home first and even said she would pick the dog up from their house, and she allows the owners to visit her property also. So if I can't dog-sit Jake, they will probably use that boarding place (not sure if it's a kennel, it might be a cage-free facility). |
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They said that every morning, Jake's "job" is to fetch the newspaper. After his walk with John, Jake would pick up the newspaper from the front porch, and carry it into the house. Because Kate gives Jake his breakfast in exchange for the paper, Jake would always carry the paper around to find Kate after he gets it into the house (even though originally I think they just taught him to drop it on the dinning room floor). They said that yesterday, the bundle of paper was so heavy because of all the Christmas shopping ads, that Jake had a harder time carrying the paper to Kate, but he did not drop it until he found her. And she gave him his breakfast. So really he's earning his kibbles. |
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John said that in the mornings, when Jake gets up, he would come up to nudge him and John would give him a pat. But when Jake sees Kate stirring even slightly and waking up, Jake would go over to Kate. Kate said that when John gets up, Jake would jump up into the bed with her, and they would snuggle. They said that Kate lets Jake on the bed but John does not, however Jake is welcome to sleep on it when they are not at home. They said when they come home from work, they often find Jake sleeping on the bed with Sham Kitty. They said that usually John is the disciplinarian, but one time Kate caught Jake in the middle of eating the cats' food on the kitchen counter. Kate yelled at him, and Jake immediately got off and cowered down, peering up at Kate. Kate and John never hit Jake of course, but Jake just couldn't believe it that his mom would do anything to him other than giving him affection. Kate and John said they walked away and then later they saw Jake peering from the door, to see if everything's okay now. |
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John still trims Jake's hair himself, so Jake has never been to the beauty salon that we know of. John says that he grooms Jake twice a year, once right at the beginning of the summer, then once again around this time of the year. Jake's furcoat is beautiful, gorgeous feathering, no mats, and John did a wonderful job with the grooming. John and Kate said that Jake does not like being brushed, and would actually run away to the other room and would not come when called when they take out his hairbrush or toothbrush, but they still do it regularly. They are thinking about having Jake's teeth professionally cleaned. |
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John and Kate said that they had a terrible time with fleas on Jake this year. John said that he saw Jake scratching his head a lot and checked his ears and did not find anything wrong. But when Jake rolled over to show his belly, it was covered with fleas. So they had to get him 3 doses of Capstar and put Frontline on him again and gave him an extra bath. Kate said that she loves Buddy Wash shampoo and they even got the conditioner for Jake, and that's why his fur is so soft. Kate likes it so much that she uses it on her own hair too (it's high quality all natural ingredient, the label on the bottle says it can be shared with human too). |
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