Diaries of a Dog Mom: Introducing Jackson

 

This is my boy, Jackson.

   I've mentioned him a few times but he deserves way more than just a shout out, I mean look at that face!! This little goofball is the light of my life, we pretty much do everything together. We definitely share that 'Marley and Me' bond, he mirrors my personality so perfectly it's like we were made for each other. Do you ever think how weird it is that you ended up on the planet at the same time as another person or species? All by chance, like his ancestors led him to be on this earth at the same time that mine led me to be. I don't know if that makes sense written out, but it makes sense in my head and I think about it a lot.

   I absolutely love the story of this kid. I've never had my own dog, we have my family dog, Mallory, and I love her to bits. Other than her I've had cats of my own but never a pup. I wanted a pup soooo bad and I knew I didn't want some newborn purebred thing. I wanted a dog who really needed a second chance at a home. So I went online to the humane society and I found this dog named Finn. He was the cutest thing I'd ever seen, his little border collie face melted my heart. I asked my landlords at the time if I could get a dog and they said sure, so I went to meet him and he was the sweetest thing, a little standoffish at first but he came around quick. I was in love. The paperwork and everything was all done and it was set, he was good to go. However, my landlords wanted more info on him so they called the humane society and they found out that he had a bad history with other dogs and they had 3 little schnauzers so they were worried and rightfully so which I see now. They told the humane society that they changed their minds and didn't want me to adopt him. My heart shattered and I cried for about two days, no joke.

   A couple weeks go by and I get an email from the humane society about this dog that was brought in. I was still moping over Finn, I didn't really feel like looking at another one just to have my heart broken again. They said they've had this pup for a while and he wasn't up for adoption yet because he was healing, he'd been hit by a car and found on the side of the road by the lady who brought him in. So I worked up the courage and I went to see him.

   First of all look at those fricken ears. He's like the dumbo of dogs. They sat me down in one of the rooms and brought him in and he jumped right up on my lap. He would not get off and we just stayed like that and snuggled the entire visit.

   You can see his little cast on his foot there (that was the only injury he sustained from the car thank god) they named him Lefty at the humane society because that was his good foot. He had a cone of shame too but they took it off for the visit. He was so fricken sweet. The landlords gave the okay for me to take him home. I just had to bring him back in for check-ups on his foot and promise to keep his cone on. They gave me everything I would need for him so we were good to just go home and start our lives together. I got him out to my car but he would NOT get in, he was absolutely terrified, I had to pick him up and place him on the seat and then quickly shut the door. I felt like a villain. The second I sat down in the driver's seat, he crawled over to sit on my lap, he was shaking so bad I thought I bought a chihuahua. I tried and tried to get him to sit on the passenger seat but he just kept coming back. Now that I think about it I could've put him in his crate but that didn't occur to me at the time. So we drove home with him on my lap, luckily it was a short drive. 

   When we got home he got right to work smelling all the new smells and seemed to make himself at home rather quickly which I was grateful for. He also learned his name really fast. I didn't want to call him Lefty because I didn't want to be reminded that some jackass hit him with a car and left him there every time I called his name. 

  Since the day I brought him home he has been by my side, he is such a mommas boy. He's gotten waaaaay better with car rides, still shakes a little bit though, but he sits on the passenger's seat now and every once in a while he'll lift his head up to look out the window (which feels like such a dog-mom win!) One thing I cant figure out about him is that he hates old men and growls at them, he hasn't bitten anyone, knock on wood. I think that maybe his past owner was a nasty old fart or something. 

   The funniest part of this story is when I met my friend. We had been talking for a while and he sent a picture of this dog... And I was like I fricken know that dog. I loved that dog. That dog was Finn guys. Fricken Finn. What happened was a couple days after I adopted Jackson, his parents came in and adopted Finn. Let me tell you, he fits way better with them. My friend's dad is obsessed with that dog and they are just perfect for each other. The best part though is that Finn and Jackson are best friends!! They play, and fight, they chase each other and snuggle. It's the purest bond. It's fascinating too because I guess Finn really doesn't like very many dogs but him and Jackson get along just fine. Maybe they share memories from the humane society? I don't know. He loves my boyfriend and there's no doubt in my mind that he thinks that's his dad.

   Here we all are snuggled up in bed, It was winter and it snowed a bunch so that's why they're wearing their jackets. They make my heart happy!

   So that's the story of my boy, I hope you love it as much as I do!

    -Coco