Jack-Jack wishes you a happy belated Easter!
How did you get involved with animal rescue?
I got involved with the rescue Jack is from through a friend
who was adopting through them. I drove
the 3 hours to the rescue coordinator's, Jo's, house with her to pick up her
dog. I hit it off with the rescue
coordinator, and she asked me if I would foster. A few days later she told me she had a dog
named Pedro from a puppy mill that really needed a foster home. I agreed, and picked him up the next
day. Jack was that dog named Pedro. I knew he had a spot on his right eye, and my
Mom re-named him Jack (after 'one eyed Jack'). Jack had never really been
outside or experienced life outside of a tiny cage in a puppy mill. I bonded with him immediately. He sat on my couch and just stared at
everything going on. Three days later Jo
called and said she had a possible application on him, but had seen the instant
bond we had and I had first rights on him.
It also happened to be my 24th birthday.
Without hesitation I said 'He's mine!'
He was the first- and last- dog I fostered. I knew I wouldn't be able to continue
fostering unless I ultimately wanted to keep the dog. Instead I work on fund raising for a few
different organizations. I also own a
pet supply store in Chicago called Parker's, and we hold adoption events and
foster cats for a local cat rescue. We
also do a lot of fundraising for a local pet food pantry and recently donated
almost 5k lbs of food to them.
What made you decide to adopt Jack-Jack rather than
purchasing a dog from a breeder?
I decided to rescue after I got my first Pom, Parker. I did all of the things you're supposed to do
to find a reputable breeder- went through the breed's parent club, spoke
extensively to the breeder... There were definitely some red flags, but they
were easy to ignore when she was sending me super cute pictures of my tiny
puppy! Parker has had extensive health
problems since he was a puppy. When I
emailed her to ask if he had been having constant bouts of diarrhea with her
and to tell her I was working with the great vets at Purdue to figure out what
was wrong with him, she never emailed me back.
I never heard from her after that!
(Note: Poor Parker :( This is a sad but true consequence
that can happen when purchasing a dog from breeders. Many breeders can seem very trustworthy,
while they are actually just trying to get you to buy a dog from them. If you want to go through a breeder for a
puppy, make sure you physically see the living conditions in which the dogs are
kept, and ask if you can meet the puppy's parents as well. A reputable breeder should let you do this
with no problems.)
Jack-Jack with his siblings Parker (left), Bebe (right), and a stuffed Pom friend!
Jack has an amazing personality. He is absolutely bombproof- you can do
anything to him and he would never think of getting upset. You can take him anywhere and he's well behaved. His medical team at Purdue LOVES when he
comes because he's such a good patient.
He "works" at my store every day greeting customers and
stealing treats and chews. He's really a
dream and absolutely the dog of a lifetime.
Jack is my heart dog, no doubt.
He survived distemper at a puppy mill, he survived a puppy mill, then
started going blind, survived cancer... And he still has an amazing
attitude.
There definitely were challenges with both him and Bebe
coming from a puppy mill. He was
actually the easier of my 2 mill rescues.
Jack pretty much lived on my couch for 6 months. He just watched everything going on, took it
all in. I even fed him on the
couch! I learned early on with him to
just let him do what he's comfortable with.
Eventually he decided that the world wasn't a scary place, and he should
come off of the couch!
One of the amazing things about Jack is how well he adapted
to going blind. He has Progressive
Retinal Atrophy. My mom first noticed
his sight issues a year or so into me owning him. Since then his retinas are completely
degenerated. He copes so well with being
blind even this ophthalmologists at Purdue don't understand how he does so
well! Every once in a while he bumps
into things, and he does have a higher gait when he's in an unfamiliar
place. He still goes up and down stairs,
though! Unless you tell someone it's
VERY difficult to tell he's blind. He
still goes to daycare once a week, too.
He wears a soft cone in unfamiliar places so that he doesn't hit his
head, but he rarely even does that. It's
pretty amazing.
Yet another inspiring story about how special-needs pets can endure and thrive when given a wonderful home! Katie and Jack's story definitely makes me want to get out there and rescue a puppy-mill survivor. Puppy mill dogs have often never even set foot on grass before - they have been kept in a small cage for the entirety of their life. These tossed-aside, neglected animals all deserve a second chance at having a happy life, and it seems like rescuing one and seeing it adjust and improve day by day would be extremely rewarding. A huge thanks to Katie and Jack for sharing their story! If you'd like to read more about Jack-Jack and the journey he has had since living in a puppy mill, I encourage you to check out his website, Instagram, or Facebook page.
If you'd like to be included on the blog or have a success story to share, please feel free to contact me! Thanks for reading! <3
xoxochelsea
He is so adorable!! What a great story. I love hearing inspiring stories about special-needs animals and how they have triumphed over their disabilities. So wonderful. Thanks for sharing, Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteI agree; these are my favorite kinds of adoption success stories! Thanks for reading :)
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