a REMEMBRANCE of Jake the Cattledog
Jake in Nantucket around 2006….
AUGUST 2015
Dear Jay Jat…. You are free and your body sits frozen in a freezer. I know you are not there anymore. So why do I want to see you one last time? I want to scratch your ears and tell you that I love you. I felt so bad for you these past couple of years while you deteriorated likely of cancer and the past couple months when what was obviously a cancerous tumor broke through your right shoulder. You smelled and you bleed, but you were brave. I am so glad that you got to meet Gigi and Gigi got to meet you. I know that the 2 you could not have direct interaction, but she so liked to get a carrot and take it to you and watch you gobble it down. She knows you are gone – she says that you went nite nite. She is going with us tomorrow to say our final farewell. I know tomorrow really is not for you, but it is for us. Somehow it allows us to say goodbye and know that your dog body has a final resting place.
I have been thinking a lot about the healthy and vibrant Jake and less and less about the sick Jake. I loved you from the time I first saw you at the Australian Shephard dog show with your little red bandanna. I also instantaneously knew the connection that Brian made with you on that day. I dragged him out to Western MA Jake. If we had not gone, we would have never met you. You were my first adult dog and my first cattle dog. Twenty years ago I said goodbye to my childhood dog Princess and now I am saying goodbye to my first adult dog. You played a huge role in this chapter of my life. I know you chose Brian over me – he had the truck and constant tasty treats. How could I compete?
You used to jump up and snatch a Frisbee out of the air…. You loved to go swimming and even dive into ponds given the right opportunity… You made many of trips back to PA with me as my co pilot. You loved those journeys. Last summer you went back with Brian, Gigi and I and you peacefully hung outside under the tree in my parents yard. You liked it there – you never even barked – so not like you….
There is the time that I took you up to Wingersheek beach – you were probably 1 years old – oh how you loved the ocean – when it was time to go you refused to go. You plopped yourself up on a sand dune starring at the ocean and you just did not want to go. You ignored me and looked the other way….
I just got paddle boards Jake – I have thought oh if Jake was 5 years old what fun you would have learning to ride on one out on the ocean. I guess you can come along for the rides. Hey join us in Hawaii this September.
How many dogs do you know have a stick rammed in their chest close to a main artery twice in there life requiring emergency surgery 2 different times?… There is the time I pulled you out of semi-frozen stream and I jumped in after you.
You were not afraid of any dogs. You would get yourself in trouble body blocking other dogs. You little control freak… I am trying to remember all the walks we took when you were younger…. I do remember the last time I took you for a walk by myself – you took off on me – you decided that you wanted to go find Brian – fortunately he was nearby and I called him and he found you making your way home – that was probably 10 years ago…. Do you remember Jake when you and Molly were in the back of my BMW station wagon with a standard transmission and I forgot to put it in gear? I helplessly had to watch you and Molly in the back looking at me as the car slowly went down the hill by the Waltham high school. Fortunately, the car was stopped by a guardrail prior to going over a smallish cliff.
Then there are those times we went to Nantucket on vacation and you got to go too. Oh how you loved that island. Brian and I are thinking about going over to the island to remember our times with you. I feel like you are hanging out at all your favorite spots. Sometimes I feel like you are outside in the yard just hanging. You loved Brian so much and he loved you. He is taking it hard – if you can, give him some signs that you are happy now.
So many memories Jake – I just hoped that you loved your life and you enjoyed your journey with us. I hope Aunt Ruby said hello to you – I asked her to help you out prior to her passing. I know Grandma Phyllis has her milk bones waiting for you and she is scratching your ears while you bark at her.
You were a huge chapter in each of our lives. 15 years is quite a good run. Run free Jake run free – go leap into the air and catch a Frisbee. I am sure you are finding new control jobs for yourself on this next journey to the Rainbow Bridge. Lately I feel like Molly will be joining you sooner than later. She is slowing down herself.
Love YOU! Love YOU! We will meet again when it is time.