We are getting lots of people sending messages about Jak and you may not know his story and why we went into fund raising. Jak was found on the streets in a sorry state, he was taken to the pound and thought to be around 14 years old (we found out he was 2 years older recently). Luckily when his time was nearly up a rescue took him in and as he was old he was fostered by a lovely family until someone would take him. His left eye was in a bad state and unfortunately he lost the sight in it but he was still a little beauty. I was looking to foster another older dog but after my previous one Maxie I only wanted short term until a new home could be found for the dog. I was asked if I would take Jack so agreed, but I didnt want to get close to him. He was brought to my home November 2012, I had a bed ready for him by the fire, food and water in the kitchen and a cuddly toy. The dog waddled in, had a good sniff around and settled down. Helen told me he liked to sleep in the bedroom but spent around half an hour throwing his bedding around - yes he did this much to my amusement. I was asked to let everyone know how this dog settled and I said I would put photos on my FB page. Within hours of putting photos on he was getting a lot of messages and likes, totally blocking my FB page. I thought it might be easier if he had his own page and soon he had hundreds of friends. I decided to change his name to Jak - he went global. Jak loved his walks even though he had short fat legs. He got so settled I was asked if I would keep him - Jak wasnt going anywhere, we were a team. We wanted to give something back to dog rescue so started fund raising. At first we helped various charities and raised lots of money. Then we met Bella, a lovely bundle of fun who has severe hip dysplasia and at the time needed a big operation, this would cost thousands. We decided this would be the campaign for Jak & me to raise funds for. We have had various events and have an on line shop to raise funds. Bella was responding so well to medication it was decided to keep her on medication and monitor her - we then found out 2 more of our rescue dogs also need expensive medication - we took them on too. Jak began to find longer walks difficult. His best friends came out with me to take Jak to visit his adopted Granddad and was struggling to walk -, he was heavy to carry so we put him in my shopper - Jak in the bag went global ,a local friend saw it and gave him a buggy, lovely to go around town but we couldnt get it in the car, his friends from FB heard about it and within days a fold up buggy arrived with his personalised number plate. We could go all over the place fund raising. Everywhere Jak went people fell in love with him, donations came in too. Our boy was now shared all over the world, locally he went out for lunch, became popular in all the local pubs and restaurants, he loved the Wine Bar as he sat in the window watching the world go by. Everywhere Jak went was amazing, he was like the Pied Piper. I was so pleased Jak got to meet so many of his friends in his sort time with us, but people wanted to come and meet him. His health started to deteriorate in the last few months, a vet said he needed the rest of his teeth out which would cost £400 - within hours his FB friends raised the money. We eventually decided against it as the anaesthetic could kill him. The money was used for his vet fees. He saw his regular vet who put him on tablets which would keep him pain free and prolong his life. He then got an ulcer in his bad eye so had to have drops. This was getting so much better so he was able to go to SYD Christmas Fair with his charity stall and meet Santa Paws. We had an early Christmas here and a friend did the same, Jak enjoyed them. I took him for a walk to see Granddad on Christmas morning but he didnt really want to go out with me for Christmas dinner as it was a long walk in the cold, so he stayed with Benji and kept warm by the fire. I rushed home so he could be in his own bed. He didnt want any of his dinner and went to sleep. I took him outside at bedtime and he was very distressed so rang the vet, I was starting with this virus and couldnt drive, but I cuddled him all night. The next morning I demanded the vet come out, Graddad came to stay with us and cuddled Jak. He had suffered a massive stroke the previous night - our boy ws now pain free and at peace. His Legacy will live on and his fund raising in his memory will continue to help Bella, Honey & Bobby- his 3 Jewels.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 07:54:22 +0000