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| Name: |
Jake
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Age: |
Two and a half years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Australian Shepherd |
| Home: |
Lone Jack, Missouri, USA |
In
2008, I received an e-mail from a friend in Kansas. She is a breeder and
had a puppy that couldn't be shown because of his unusual markings. He looked
like a little polar bear, so cute with a round white face and a just a touch
of black on one ear. She was having trouble placing him and, although we
already had three other dogs, I couldn't get this one off my mind. I did
everything I could to find someone who might want him, hopefully close by so I
could visit and watch him grow. I was convinced I didn't need another dog,
but something about this little guy was too much for me to put aside.
We bought Jake and drove nearly 200 miles to pick him up. He was adorable and
so sweet, and seemed to take to our country acreage and our other dogs right
away. As Jake grew he began to fill out and his tan points became more
pronounced. He was becoming a beautiful, albeit still unusual Aussie that's
definitely one of a kind.
One day just before his first birthday, I came home and couldn't find him.
Our other dogs were there but there was no sign of Jake. I began searching
the surrounding area with no luck. For the next three days, I walked fields
and drove endlessly calling his name. I didn't know if he'd been taken or if
he was hurt somewhere and couldn't get home. There's no way to describe how
you feel when you've lost a pet. It was devastating. I posted on every
website I could find and made posters which we took to every surrounding
shelter, vet's office, feed store, restaurant - everywhere. On the afternoon
of the third day, we were canvassing the area handing out fliers when a
neighbor's daughter said she believed she'd seen him last evening at a
campground deep inside the horse park that borders our property.
We drove there and couldn't believe it when we saw his white head far in the
back of the campground. He was laying there by himself, waiting. He was
filthy, exhausted and frightened. The next several minutes were filled with
tears, shouts of joy and lots of sloppy hugs. Jake climbed into our car and
we took him home. He's never wandered since. Today, his job has become
watching the house to make sure there are no "invasions." He's a tremendous
guard dog and our very best friend. We were so fortunate to find him ... twice.
He's a very sweet, sensitive and loving boy who's even more special since we
were able to rescue him and bring him home. How I wish everyone faced with
the same loss could be as fortunate.
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