Jackson Johnson is his name,
but he is known to his family and to all who love him as Jack.

We got him when I was in first grade,
as a quasi-birthday present for my dad.
We lived in Nashville, TN and traveled about an hour away
to find this special puppy.

When we got to the litter there were ten puppies left,
so I threw the ball to entertain myself and the dogs.
Most of them followed the ball with their eyes,
as it made a parabola towards the ground,
then happily grinned at me, wagging their tails.

That is, all but one puppy.

Jack ran after the ball and immediately dropped it at my feet.
I knew he was the one.

Fast forward 18 months later,
when I was getting home from my Grandparents' house.

I would always greet Jack and our other dog, Boomer, at the door when I arrived, but this time, Boomer was the only one there to give me a kiss.

I asked my mom where Jack was,
and I could tell she was hesitant to come up with an answer.

That's when she told me "Jack had an accident."

I was a curious second grader at this time,
so I had no idea what she meant, and I wanted to know.

She explained that Jack had been sitting on the side of the driveway
when the trash company came to load up the trash.

She watched as the man driving the truck
deliberatly ran off the drive way, and hit Jack.

He only wimpered once.

She ran out and grabbed Jack, and rushed him to the emergency vet.
Later that day I came to see him,
and he had only three legs left, and no tail.

Today, Jack is still the outstanding dog that he always was.

When he was growing up, he could do the 5.8 miles in the park with my mom, which impressed all passersby.

He can catch any treat shown at him,
and his smile lights up any room.

I know everything about Jack.

I know that if you scratch his belly, he sneezes three times,
because his shedding hair gets in his nose.

I know the spot on his ear that if you scratch, makes his nub start moving.

I know that he hates leashes, and will hold it in his own mouth and walk himself.

I know that he can swim like a fish, and he loves to wear bandanas.

I know that he loves to eat human food, but will never even touch an apple.

I know that Jack loves to be pet right on his nose.

I am now 16, and Jack is 10 and is stil the most wonderful pet that anyone could ever ask for.

Saxby Wiles
Saturday November 29, 2008

I met Brody almost a year ago at the Maricopa County Animal Shelter. I took him out of the kennel to go outside and noticed he was limping. When I asked one of the employees about it, she pulled his file and said he had a foot wound that still needed to heal.

It seemed like more than that, but he was just so cute and I just loved him right away, so I adopted him.

I took him to the vet that same day and the vet told me his leg was clearly broken and would need surgery right away. So I brought him in for surgery two days later.

I remember sitting at work and getting a call from the surgeon telling me the break was worse than originally thought. Not only did it appear he was probably hit by a car, because the area close to his hip was badly fragmented, but the injury seemed to be a month old already and there was so much scar tissue built up around major nerves that he would never have use of his leg again.

The surgeon told me if I wanted to keep the dog, I'd have to amputate his back leg. Tearfully, I told him I would go ahead with the amputation. When I first brought him home, I was overwhelmed. His stump was shaved and dripping blood and I didn't know how I was going to be able to handle this unexpected event.

But we made it through, and today he's happy and healthy and doesn't even realize he's missing a leg. We still go on runs and play, and he can even jump up on the couch and bed. In fact, he even swims! We got him a life jacket, for the longer laps around the pool :-)

Everyone loves him and I'm so happy I was able to help get him to the point that he is now!

Saturday December 13, 2008