Sunday, September 12, 2004
A DOG NAMED JAKE.....
January 1977 was miserable. We had 28-straight days of snow on the ground. Normally, in our area, if we get snow at all it is just several inches. A 4-inch snow is normal…….and burns off with the next sunny day. This year was much different. Our winters are cold, granted, but this year the temps stayed below zero or in the teens. It was horrible all over the country.
New England had 13-foot drifts and to watch those poor folks try to shovel out was unbelievable. Buffalo, NY. caught the worst of the snowfall with wind chill 40* below zero. Unthinkable!! How they managed to keep things going is beyond comprehension. I know the Northeast is used to handling winter weather but this was one year even they were ready to throw in the towel. It is reminiscent of the hurricanes poor Florida is experiencing at the moment. Just storm after storm after storm.
To make the economics worse California and Florida had massive crop failures. California was experiencing one of the worst draughts and had to ration water….while Florida’s crops froze out with temperatures way below normal. Here in our little area of the Ozarks, the lowest temperatures ever recorded took center stage. You can imagine what that did to the food production.
In May that year John asked if he could have a puppy. His best friend’s parent’s raised poodles and had a couple of “mistakes” they were going to have to get rid of. It seems a wily white Wire-Haired Terrier jumped their back fence and bred an Apricot Poodle of theirs. They couldn’t sell the two male pups so they needed to get rid of them. John took a liking to what became, Jake. John compared them to Jacob and Esau as one was fairer and the other more ruddy apricot. Since Jacob was the “good” brother…..he left the “bad” brother for someone else. Poor Esau came to a bad end. He had been tied to the clothesline while his new owners were away. They came home to find him strangled in the rope.
I would have to be honest to say that Warren wasn’t too delighted about having a puppy here. He only liked big dogs that were real dogs…..and got off the porch, so to speak, preferably a German Shepherd. House dogs never appealed to him and besides that…..John would be at school most of the time which meant we would be Jake’s “caretakers.” I had to sell him on the idea and on our next visit to Shawnee we dropped in on our friends to pick Jacob up. He was an adorable bunch of white fur with apricot spots on him and obviously loved anyone who picked him up. He suckered Warren in with his puppy kisses. The first day we laid eyes on Jakie was May 2nd.
We put Jake in the car and headed back home, stopping in Bolivar to show him to John. Jake was born on January 20th so by May when we got him he was 4-months old. Just the right age to bite everything in sight. Gnawing and chewing were his favorite things to do besides eating. I will have to say…….I never “house broke” a dog before so I don’t know how difficult it is, but I suspected Jake was just too easy. I set him out on the grass every hour or so and from the first introduction to the lawn he was “broke.” He never made a mess in the house.
So it was, that we were the caretakers of Jake, John was his master. He would run circles and bark excitedly when John came into view. He adored him. John spent his week-ends at home with Jake. He devised games to play with him and on him. One day while they were playing “sockie,” Jake lost all of his baby teeth. For those of you who are not acquainted with the game, John would play tug-of-war with an old sock. When Jake got a good hold, John would start raising the sock in the air and Jake not being willing to give up….came with it.
This would go on and on……they neither ever tired of it. This one day John had him in mid-air and suddenly Jake fell to the floor. On close examination John discovered all of Jake’s baby teeth stuck in the sock. The teeth just couldn’t take it anymore…. Jakie was a fun little dog and smart as a whip. He was eager to learn and it was easy to teach him tricks. He loved to show off his ability when company came and after the greeting and the seating……he would come sit in front of me and stare. That was my indication that it was time for his repertoire of tricks.
Jake taught me a lot about life. Watching him live out his days was a privilege that I benefited from. He always gave the best that he had and loved everyone….there are many stories of Jake’s time with us…he lived a good life for almost 13-years. He is buried in our back woods with a pile of Missouri rocks for a reminder that he was here and that he loved us…..and that we loved him………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
New England had 13-foot drifts and to watch those poor folks try to shovel out was unbelievable. Buffalo, NY. caught the worst of the snowfall with wind chill 40* below zero. Unthinkable!! How they managed to keep things going is beyond comprehension. I know the Northeast is used to handling winter weather but this was one year even they were ready to throw in the towel. It is reminiscent of the hurricanes poor Florida is experiencing at the moment. Just storm after storm after storm.
To make the economics worse California and Florida had massive crop failures. California was experiencing one of the worst draughts and had to ration water….while Florida’s crops froze out with temperatures way below normal. Here in our little area of the Ozarks, the lowest temperatures ever recorded took center stage. You can imagine what that did to the food production.
In May that year John asked if he could have a puppy. His best friend’s parent’s raised poodles and had a couple of “mistakes” they were going to have to get rid of. It seems a wily white Wire-Haired Terrier jumped their back fence and bred an Apricot Poodle of theirs. They couldn’t sell the two male pups so they needed to get rid of them. John took a liking to what became, Jake. John compared them to Jacob and Esau as one was fairer and the other more ruddy apricot. Since Jacob was the “good” brother…..he left the “bad” brother for someone else. Poor Esau came to a bad end. He had been tied to the clothesline while his new owners were away. They came home to find him strangled in the rope.
I would have to be honest to say that Warren wasn’t too delighted about having a puppy here. He only liked big dogs that were real dogs…..and got off the porch, so to speak, preferably a German Shepherd. House dogs never appealed to him and besides that…..John would be at school most of the time which meant we would be Jake’s “caretakers.” I had to sell him on the idea and on our next visit to Shawnee we dropped in on our friends to pick Jacob up. He was an adorable bunch of white fur with apricot spots on him and obviously loved anyone who picked him up. He suckered Warren in with his puppy kisses. The first day we laid eyes on Jakie was May 2nd.
We put Jake in the car and headed back home, stopping in Bolivar to show him to John. Jake was born on January 20th so by May when we got him he was 4-months old. Just the right age to bite everything in sight. Gnawing and chewing were his favorite things to do besides eating. I will have to say…….I never “house broke” a dog before so I don’t know how difficult it is, but I suspected Jake was just too easy. I set him out on the grass every hour or so and from the first introduction to the lawn he was “broke.” He never made a mess in the house.
So it was, that we were the caretakers of Jake, John was his master. He would run circles and bark excitedly when John came into view. He adored him. John spent his week-ends at home with Jake. He devised games to play with him and on him. One day while they were playing “sockie,” Jake lost all of his baby teeth. For those of you who are not acquainted with the game, John would play tug-of-war with an old sock. When Jake got a good hold, John would start raising the sock in the air and Jake not being willing to give up….came with it.
This would go on and on……they neither ever tired of it. This one day John had him in mid-air and suddenly Jake fell to the floor. On close examination John discovered all of Jake’s baby teeth stuck in the sock. The teeth just couldn’t take it anymore…. Jakie was a fun little dog and smart as a whip. He was eager to learn and it was easy to teach him tricks. He loved to show off his ability when company came and after the greeting and the seating……he would come sit in front of me and stare. That was my indication that it was time for his repertoire of tricks.
Jake taught me a lot about life. Watching him live out his days was a privilege that I benefited from. He always gave the best that he had and loved everyone….there are many stories of Jake’s time with us…he lived a good life for almost 13-years. He is buried in our back woods with a pile of Missouri rocks for a reminder that he was here and that he loved us…..and that we loved him………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
