Jackson

Jackson, a 3 year old black male, is a child of divorce from MD. While a very nice family pet, he was a bigger black male - not what everyone is looking for, but what seems to be needing rescue. He enjoyed playing with the other dogs, but he did seem to miss his kids. A family in PA had always wanted a Labrador, but had rescued a 10 year old cocker when his family moved to Florida without him. With Muffy turning 13, the family decided it was time to get a transition dog and were hoping to finally get their lab.

They first went to the pound and were talked into getting the "dog from hell." They tried to make it work, but this dog bit the kids and was aggressive in general. Reluctantly, they returned the dog, and now decided they needed to work with a group that truly knew their dogs (especially since they have foster children.) They happened upon our website, and begged for us to work with them (even though they were 5 hours away.) We were able to do so, and once approved they were willing to load up their van with parents, kids and Muffy and make the trip to us to find their dog. We were almost certain they would choose Millie because of her size and spunk, but we wanted them to see several labbies to be sure. Almost as an afterthought, since they did not want a large dog, we brought in Jackson. As so often happens, there was an instant bond, and it was Jackson they chose. He gets up early in the morning for a walk with Dad before work; he helps get the older kids off to school; he spends the day playing gently with the younger kids; he gets a rousing game of ball in the park with the older kids after school; and he takes turns sleeping with the kids each night. He even lets Muffy continue to be top dog! The dog nobody wanted in divorce is now overwhelmed with attention and love and has had an enjoyable winter with his new family according to this email:

Jackson is still doing fine and getting all the attention and activity he can handle. He's every-one's favorite playmate. His only bad habit is still jumping up, but we are working on that. You should have seen him sledding with the kids. I don't know how he had the energy to keep going. He'd run down the hill with one kid, then run back up the hill, to run down the hill with the next kid, and with 4 of us going at once, he was in constant motion. He didn't try to catch us, but seemed to be running for the sheer joy of it. He kept this up steadily for 2 hours and seemed to have as much fun as we did. This weekend, we (parents, kids and dogs) were invited by friends of ours to their cabin in Northern PA. Their young yellow lab will be going along as well. He is about a year old and very much the large puppy. It's going to be fun seeing Jackson playing with a pup that can keep up with him. So far, the only dog playing that he gets is with annoying old Muffy which is hilarious to watch. Thanks again for all the work you do.

Update, March 2003

Hello,

Just thought you'd enjoy an update on Jackson. We adopted him in 1994, when he was about 3. So he's about 12 now and still doing fine. Living the life of luxury. Aside from some gray on his chin, you'd never guess he's as old as he is. No hip problems, or health problems at all. Attached is a picture of him with my 2 year old niece.

Update, November 2003

Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that Jackson is still doing fine. He's about 12 now, and getting a bit elderly. Old age has finally cured him of his habit of jumping up on people. But he doesn't have any other problems, except he starts to limp a bit after walking for 1/4 mile. It was about 8 years ago that we adopted him, with your help. Attached is a picture of him dressed with his Thanksgiving bandana.