Happy Birthday, Jake!!!  It’s funny that Jake is only eight because he has always come across as the oldest dude in the house. Melvin was exuberant and jolly and Jake is a little more ‘reserved’ and ‘grumpy’.  But in a way that I love.  Come as you are baby cakes!

Jake was turned into to rescue on his 5th birthday.  I always wonder if his first family knew it was his birthday. From what I was told, it didn’t sound like they celebrated Jake very much so I doubt they knew.  His life has changed a lot in three years.

When Jake was five, he really only knew existence.  He sat and waited a lot.  Affection was not something he wanted nor was it something that seemed  familiar to him. His behavior with Melvin was primarily to snarl and lunge at him. But as his life progressed in his forever home, he learned that life here was soft.  That we were kind, loving, wanting to be near him.  That five-year-old Jake seems like a distant memory now.

Also at five, his legs worked fine.  But here is how I know he knows that this is where he belongs… when his legs gave out that fate filled day in December, his first, terrified glance was to me and his second, ‘help me’ glance was to Melvin.  He’d found his family and we vowed to never let him struggle.

Eight looks good on Jake. Even though he can only see it through one eye.  He owns his life like a boss. He’s more confident with his mobility issues now, he just moves forward in any way possible.  He has experienced the greatest love. I don’t know that he will ever love another dog the way he did his brother, but I do know that their beautiful bond transformed Jake and I do believe that because of their great love, he can do it again if he chooses to.

Jake is funny, stubborn, vulnerable.  He will lean into you for snuggles but if you stop petting him, he will leave.  He is unhappy when I leave a room without him, but will leave me in a room alone any time he pleases.  He is noisy, he almost always smells like pee (even post bath), and if you are a creature that is smaller than him, he will hunt you and he will kill you. He is a lover AND a fighter. But when he loves you, it’s fierce and it’s deep. Same with his hunting style.

I never knew I wanted Jake.  He found me.  I never knew I’d be a dog clothes person or a woman who would order a dog stroller. We have grown together, we have suffered great loss together. No dog has ever made me laugh as much as Jake has. We have taught each other about perseverance. He is my baby, I love him and I know that he knows that I am his forever.  He no longer sits and waits, he is found.

Happy Birthday, nugget!