When I called at 9:00 that morning, to check up on Jack, I was told, "Jack is in the backyard." Paw's Place always calls the owners of our newly-adopted dogs, to be sure that the dogs are doing well or to see if we can help solve problems. And this was a trial period for Jack and his new family to see if this adoption would work out for everyone. We found out much later in the day, that this was not the case: Jack had jumped the four-foot fence and was missing. The rest of the family was out looking for him. Jack was lost in the city; he knew nothing about cars, the highways or city life. He was running in a panic.
Jack's new family told us, over and over again, that Jack would NEVER be left alone out in the backyard with only a four-foot fence. They knew he would be frightened his first days in a new home, as any dog would be. They knew that Jack was a large dog and that he could easily scale that fence. They reassured us that Jack would be on a leash, every time he went outside.
The family did find Jack in the road after being t-boned by a car, but he was still alive. They picked Jack up and drove him to an animal hospital. There they dumped him, stating that Jack was not their dog and they were not paying for his care. They didn't tell the hospital that he belonged to Paw's Place and the family didn't call us to tell us about the accident.
Many hours later, the Paw's Place phone rang asking if Jack was our dog. The hospital had traced his rabies tag numbers to us. We were told Jack was on a morphine patch for pain, lying on a stretcher covered with blankets to keep him warm, but he was alive. The doctor's plan was to put him down by the end of the day if they couldn't find his owners. He had extensive internal damage to live too many more hours.
We ran to the hospital. Jack had been there all day on the morphine patch and was pain free. We looked at his x-rays, consulted with the professionals and decided Jack couldn't heal from the severe spinal cord injuries. So, the doctors carried Jack in to see us. He knew we were there. He responded every way he could to tell us he was happy to see us. We said our good-byes and I held him tight, telling him I loved him, as he faded away to a more comfortable place. I was so relieved we could be there for him until he passed on. He knew how much we loved him.
Many changes have been made in our adoption policy since this tragedy with Jack. We no longer permit people to adopt Paw's Place dogs based on promises made. Short fences are not acceptable for large dogs. All our dogs have on Paw's Place red bone ID tags imprinted with our cell phone number. We check and recheck on our dogs in their new homes. Jack was counting on us to give him a good life and to place him in a safe and responsible home, and we let him down.
Most people don't know that the volunteers at Paw's Place make a commitment to the dogs. We aren't just a shelter with lots of stray dogs that need homes. We all make a promise to very dog that comes in that they will have healthy, safe lives ahead of them. We nurse them back to health, we give them nutritious food, we train them, we take them home, we solve medical mysteries, we spay/neuter and we socialize them. But most of all we LOVE them; each dog is a part of us and we are part of them.
What was Jack like? He was a very kind-spirited dog, big and gentle. He ran like the wind, he was happy at Paw's Place. He liked the other dogs, but especially loved his roommate, Penny. When we arrived at Paw's Place, he would follow us with his eyes the entire time we worked there, hoping he would get some extra attention and play time. We taught Jack how to be brave when confronted with new situations, like going to PetSmart for adoption fairs, or to the beach or to Strut your Mutt. He showed us this courage, right to the last moment of his life. Jack knew how much we loved him and took that with him. And, in the last minutes of his life, he left us with all the love he could give.
Nancy Hahn, Volunteer
