Jake 06-321

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7/29/06: Jake arrived this evening from Rapid City, SD, thanks to some incredible RAGOM volunteers driving many hours in their cars to get him here. Jake and his mother, Topeka (the Shepherd mix in the pictures) were turned into the Humane Society because their owner, who was elderly, had to enter a nursing home so could no longer care for them. She was very, very sad about this and I'm sure Jake and Topeka are missing the only family they have ever known.

The Humane Society was overflowing with dogs and Jake and his mother were at risk of being euthanized, but a wonderful RAGOM volunteer alerted us of their plight so we could bring them to the Twin Cities. Jake's mother, Topeka, a German Shepherd mix, is being fostered by Lucky Dog Rescue in the Twin Cities, and Jake will be staying with us until he finds a loving home to spend the rest of his life.

Here are the things we know about Jake so far: He is about 3-4 years old, very sweet, a little timid right now (but who wouldn't be after all he's been through), great with kids, cats, and other dogs. I walked him tonight and he didn't pull a bit on the leash, and I brushed matts out of his fur for 40 minutes and he didn't flinch or try to leave once. Wish my dogs could take a few lessons on sitting STILL while you're being brushed...! Jake rode well in the cars for 8 hours today also.

The pictures I have right now are from the Humane Society and his arrival today, so all include his mother Topeka. Jake is the Golden Retriever, long furred dog. If you notice in the picture taken after they arrived tonight, Jake was resting his head on his mother's back for comfort.

Topeka's foster mom and I are hoping to find a home that wants 2 dogs, where Topeka and Jake can be reunited again. This person(s) would adopt Jake from RAGOM and Topeka from Lucky Dog Rescue (copy and paste this link into your browser: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6745030). If you would like to meet Jake, email placement and come and meet this sweet, mellow boy. More to come tomorrow as we get to know him better!

JakeJake

At a Glance #06-321

Breed not specified Born: March 2003
Male Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

7/29/06: Jake arrived this evening from Rapid City, SD, thanks to some incredible RAGOM volunteers driving many hours in their cars to get him here. Jake and his mother, Topeka (the Shepherd mix in the pictures) were turned into the Humane Society because their owner, who was elderly, had to enter a nursing home so could no longer care for them. She was very, very sad about this and I'm sure Jake and Topeka are missing the only family they have ever known.

The Humane Society was overflowing with dogs and Jake and his mother were at risk of being euthanized, but a wonderful RAGOM volunteer alerted us of their plight so we could bring them to the Twin Cities. Jake's mother, Topeka, a German Shepherd mix, is being fostered by Lucky Dog Rescue in the Twin Cities, and Jake will be staying with us until he finds a loving home to spend the rest of his life.

Here are the things we know about Jake so far: He is about 3-4 years old, very sweet, a little timid right now (but who wouldn't be after all he's been through), great with kids, cats, and other dogs. I walked him tonight and he didn't pull a bit on the leash, and I brushed matts out of his fur for 40 minutes and he didn't flinch or try to leave once. Wish my dogs could take a few lessons on sitting STILL while you're being brushed...! Jake rode well in the cars for 8 hours today also.

The pictures I have right now are from the Humane Society and his arrival today, so all include his mother Topeka. Jake is the Golden Retriever, long furred dog. If you notice in the picture taken after they arrived tonight, Jake was resting his head on his mother's back for comfort.

Topeka's foster mom and I are hoping to find a home that wants 2 dogs, where Topeka and Jake can be reunited again. This person(s) would adopt Jake from RAGOM and Topeka from Lucky Dog Rescue (copy and paste this link into your browser: http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6745030). If you would like to meet Jake, email placement and come and meet this sweet, mellow boy. More to come tomorrow as we get to know him better!

JakeJake

Updates

Saturday, August 5, 2006

Boy, what a week it has been for Jake. First he got to have playtime with his mom Topeka, and they ran and ran and ran! Then, a few days later, Jake got to go visit a family who wanted to meet both him & Topeka. At our visit (and in the time each dog has been in foster care) we learned a lot about what the perfect home for each dog needs to have. The key issue we learned is that Jake luuuuuuvs homes that have kids, the activity brings him out of his shell and he is in his element when surrounded by them and being lathered with attention. Topeka is a mature mom who has "been there done that" and is happiest in a home with grownups and quiet loving. So, it was decided to find separate homes for Jake and Topeka.

The family Jake met fell head over heels in love with him, and Jake with them, so last night Jake left for his forever home with the M's! He will be going to work with his new mom a couple times a week, and be trained for agility by their 9 year old daughter. The kids were already working out a schedule for who gets to have Jake sleep with them when, and I know Jake will be loved more than he could have ever imagined with this family. Congratulations Jake, you found a great home!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Boy, is Jake ever coming out of his shell. He has decided that stairs, although a little scary still, really aren't that bad. Two nights ago he refused to go up, it was just too much for him to handle. Last night he made it halfway up twice, then ran back down. Then something just "clicked." I stayed halfway up and nonchalantly said "come on back up!" and he snuck all the way back to the halfway point, then on a hunch I stood up and walked up the rest of the way talking to him and vroom - up he came! After that, it was UP the stairs, DOWN the stairs, UP the stairs...you get the picture. He's gotta do it fast so nothing bad can happen when he's on those scary stair thingies, but it's totally worth all the pats he gets going from bedroom to bedroom.

Yesterday he also rolled over for a tummy rub not once, but twice! And, started running over when called with that excited happy look in his eyes. These are all things a normal Golden does, but Jake has been walking around here with his tail down and his head sunk down, not getting excited about much of anything. Now he even puts his nose under your elbow once in awhile and gives it a lift to get some attention!

Jake is very, very attached to kids. Today he laid down on a pillow with my daughter (see the picture below) in total heaven. Later, when she had gone outside with the neighbor girl (who also had lathered him with attention), I found him on his hind legs looking for them out the front window!

More updates soon, so stay tuned!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Jake had a good day today - we are still learning about this sweet guy. Last night we learned that either he has never seen stairs before or is terrified of them for some unknown reason. It took me 10 minutes to get him up the stairs to my bedroom. I sat on the bottom and loved him up, then moved up one step and held out my hands one step up from where he was at. After we made it halfway up, he decided it was just too darn scary and went back down to the bottom. We started over, and each step he would look longingly at my hands wanting to be petted, then look down, then would take a shaky step up to the next step. Once he finally made it to the top he was fine, and when he came down this morning he did fine too, but tonight he is scared to go up again. We'll take a late potty break and then do our stair therapy session again!

Jake seems sad today - most likely is missing his mom, Topeka. He wouldn't eat much last night or this morning, but tonight finally had some dried kibble with some canned pumpkin and ate it all up. He retreated to the mudroom for much of the day, but towards the end started coming out to the family room to sit by my son, and tonight is out there sleeping again. Wait - he just now got up and is laying beside me as I type - yay Jake! It's so wonderful to watch a dog start to feel safe again.

Jake is a quiet, sweet boy, and loves when I come to pet him. He just is very subdued right now after losing his owner and his mom/companion, and being transported to this strange new house. If you are interested in having two dogs who are already best friends, email placementatragom [dot] org and come and meet this sweet little guy!