Saying Goodbye To Jack

Our life has changed quite a bit in the last three years.  Three years ago, we were just getting ready to move to California and start our life there.  We got there, moved into the cutest little country house with a ton of land around us, and we just had our two little girls.  The perfect time in our life to get the world's coolest dog.  We figured we were going to be in that house in Cali for years and years.  We didn't even see on our most distant horizon a move back home to Utah.

Yet, as it is with this thing we call "life", here we are back home in Utah!  Not only are we back home, but since we brought Jack into our family, we now have two more kids.  We're no longer in our country home, with our country lifestyle.  And as the months have gone by, we've noticed that our life with Jack just wasn't working very well.  We had to make a really hard decision.

Maybe it's just to assuage my own guilt, but I feel it necessary to document what went into the decision we felt we had to make.  First, Danny was becoming acutely aware that Jack was not a happy dog.  For nine months, he's been cooped up in the back yard.  Jack was accustomed to running around the 18 acres of our property til his heart was content, chasing bunnies and squirrels and the like.  He wasn't getting the exercise he needs, or the attention from us that he craved.  We tried to take him out on walks...when we got out.  And the problem wasn't that we didn't want to walk him.  It's just that we couldn't seem to find the time!  Really not too surprising when you look at our life right now.

Second, we have seen just how hard Jack is on a yard.  We didn't have a yard in California, so it didn't matter when Jack ran tracks into the dirt.  But let me tell you, a 90 lb. dog is hard on the grass!  Don't get me wrong, Jack was in no way intentionally destructive.  He's just a big dog.

And then, it's our new house.  See, our new back yard butts up against the 5th hole of a golf course.  It's a gorgeous view, unobstructed by the 3 ft. fence.  Jack would be over that in a heart beat!  And I just don't know what we'd do about him startling golfers or chasing cats.  

So, after a few weeks of crying about it, I realized that Danny was right.  Jack needed a better home so he could be a happier dog.  And, as Danny put it, we're not in dog mode right now...we're having babies.  Danny's got an awesome cousin, Lark, who lives on an amazing piece of property in eastern Idaho.  She's got 5 fun kids, with the energy to keep up with a big dog.  Lark and her daughter Kaitlyn had met Jack when they came here to visit a few months back, and they were super excited about the prospect of having Jack come live with them.  So it was decided.  And not without many tears.

The morning came to say goodbye, and I was choked up all morning.  I cried gathering up his leash and papers.  I couldn't even look at him as he gazed at me through the kitchen window.  Before I took the kids to school, I had them gather for some quick pictures.

I know the kids are going to miss Jack.  Though they were surprisingly (at least to me) unemotional when they said goodbye.  They seemed to know that he'd be happier where he was going to live.  And they know that we'll visit him when we make it up to the cabin.  Me?  I cried almost uncontrollably.  What can I say?  He's my dog!  I remember getting him as a scared little puppy, and doing my best to make him feel at home with our family.  And I'm a post-partum Mom.  The hormones are still killing me. :)

By about lunch time I got my emotions under control and quit crying.  But I still missed him.  Then Lark posted this picture on Facebook with the following caption:

"Sam has a new best friend named Jack. Danny and Katie, my kids LOVE him! He has spent the day running every where, walking the kids :), and swimming in the creek."

She also responded to my sad status that day:

 "Sorry Katie!! He will be here and you can stop anytime. My kids are so excited and Sam told me today that Jack is his blessing for being good this week."

I have to admit, I was comforted by the picture and Lark's posts, while at the same time feeling like my heart was being crushed!  But, now that a few days have passed, I'm feeling much better.  I do believe we made the right decision, for Jack as well as for us.  

Jack, you were a great dog and a wonderful member of our family!  Thank you for always being such a good friend to the kids, and letting them be so rough with you.  I know that Johnny will miss his time just hanging in the back yard with you.  Thank you for keeping us safe, and helping me to feel safer on those nights when we were home alone while Danny traveled.  We'll never have another dog quite like you!  And we'll always miss you. 

We love you, Jack!  We'll see you soon!