Farewell to a friend

Monday morning at 11:30 a.m., we said goodbye to a beloved pet and friend.  

Jack, a Lab/Golden Retriever mix was 13 years, 7 1/2 months old.  He came to live with us early in 2001 thru a "Free to good home" ad.  He was the first of what we would later call The Painter Pack.

Jack wasn't loving all the time.  In fact, he was downright grouchy and mean at times.  But, we loved him.  Early on, he had a seething hatred for cats.  So, it was surprising when in 2010, we actually adopted our first cat, Sophia Belle, and Jack completely ignored her.  I suppose it was because he was already up in age and perhaps had the beginning stages of cancer.  He was diagnosed at the end of last year.

 You wouldn't know it to look at his pictures, but he was a fierce guard dog.  NO ONE dared to come to our door, much less inside.  If Jack liked you, it meant you were worthy of his presence.  This didn't happen often.

 Below is Jack with our girl CoCo and one of Mya's puppies, Oreo.  Oreo was later adopted out to a wonderful man in East Tennessee, whom I still keep in touch.

 Just like an old man, Jack liked his ugly sweaters!  He wore them with pride when the winter air was frigid.

 But, as you can see here, he also loved his summer shades!  Jack loved to ride in the car.  We used to have a car with a sunroof and Jack would stick his snooter out and ride that way for miles and miles.

During the past 3 years, Jack had really slowed down.  He liked to sleep in odd places, as seen here in my laundry basket.  I think this was during one of our moves.

 In this last pic, you can see the grey on his snooter and the age in his face.

This sadness has hit my son extremely hard.  In May, we rehomed Bella and Jedi, and this past Friday T-Bone.  So, it is as if we've lost 4 in a matter of weeks.  Of course, Bella, Jedi and T-Bone are alive and in wonderful homes.  

Jack is just, gone.

He was a fighter until the very end.  Even though his physical body is gone, his larger than life presence and the memories of the past 13 years live on in our day to day lives.  

So, here is to Samurai Jackson (aka Jack, Moose, Dork, Old Man)....You were loved and you will be missed.

November 1, 2000 to June 23, 2014

Until we meet again.

The Painter Pack