My German Shepherd dog, Jake, is the happiest, silliest dog I have ever had.
I’ve always had dogs; my entire life. And, Jake takes the cake. Rick and I adopted him in March of last year. We were ready to bring a newbee into the family. We felt our other German Shepherd male, Bruder, was ready for a “sibling” having lost our Heidi about 9 months prior. We’ve always been a multi-dog family. I’m a proponent of dogs having companions.
When we were looking and meeting potential dogs to adopt, Rick came across a photo on the rescue site. He insisted, “we have to go see this boy.” There was some kind of immediate psychic connection there. Listen, my husband has never been the crazy dog person that I have always been. So, when he makes a statement like that, I listen. Rick, Bruder and I make the hour long trip to Richmond, Texas to go meet “Flop.” His name was changed quickly, by the way. The rescue named him that because of his adorable lazy ear.
The introduction was a success! Rick and I both fell in love at first sight. And, Bruder seemed to approve. We drive to Richmond as a family of 3 and we drive back a family of 4.
We don’t know how old Jake is. But, it doesn’t really matter. When we brought him home from his foster family, it didn’t take him long to fit right in. And, his demeanor was very puppy like; still is. Happy, happy. His muzzle is a bit gray so, we guessed he was about 5 or so. We knew he had some health issues before we adopted him. He was treated for heartworms while he was in rescue and foster care. He has a weak backend and I wasn’t sure if it was because he spent a lot of time in a kennel with little to no exercise for about a year or if he had hip issues which are common in German Shepherds. So, first thing, we take him for a vet check up. We had the vet do x-rays which revealed a moderate amount of arthritis along his spine and his knees, but not in his hips, nor any sign of dysplasia, which is very good. But with the amount of arthritis, the vet estimated his age between 6 and 8 years old.
The adoption timing was perfect for him because he had just reached the very end of his treatment and was ready to get back to normal exercise when he came home with us. I’ve never had a dog that had been treated for heartworms, but he was negative then and he is negative now. The key is prevention. Anyway, we live on an acre and a half, so just walking around the property exploring was a great introduction back into activity. And, of course, we were doing bonding/training exercises. Dogs love doing obedience training when it’s made fun. Making a game out of sits, downs, stays, recalls is big fun, especially when treats and toys are the prizes. Plus, dogs want to please us, naturally, so when they make us happy with performing commands, this makes them extremely happy. We were also doing some strength exercises for his weak back end. Walking the neighborhood with Bruder is excellent not only for strengthening his muscles but group walking with your pack (family) forms a strong bond. That’s a twofer.
Jake is my husband’s dog, in truth. Those two have some kind of lovely connection that evidently started before we even met him in person. His identification tag reads “Daddy’s Boy.” I love the bond those two have. Sometimes, I think that his previous owner/favorite human might have been male. Who knows. In fact, the only thing we do know is that he was found stray in Pasadena. Someone picked him up and he stayed in rescue and foster care for about a year. It saddens me that he somehow got separated from his original family and that there may be people out there who miss him.
Don’t worry former family, he is loved. He is safe and grateful. He is happy and silly. He is home.