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Tribute to Jack

It has taken me a long time to be able to write this tribute for Jack. It has been nearly 10 months since we lost him, and to be totally honest, I am still struggling even now. I realise part of the problem is that I will simply never be able to capture all that he meant to me in words alone. But I do feel the need to try and convey at least a small part of that, whilst the rest will simply have to remain with me.

To be honest when I first met Jack I didn’t particularly like him. He was skinny and withdrawn, and was adopted out of a mixture of pity and panic. Pity because he had been in so many homes and was the poster child for unwanted dogs, and panic because I knew my partner (now husband) was already uncertain about the whole idea of dog adoption, and Jack was hardly the adorable dog I needed to convince him.

And so it was that I came to own a very highly-strung and deeply confused greyhound, who desperately needed a home, and even more desperately needed an experienced and competent owner. Sadly he got me instead. I had no idea what I was doing, and a combination of this, and his various problems, meant the early months with him were a total nightmare, just as much for him as they were for me, I’m sure.

But although I didn’t realise it at the time, Jack was born to be a teacher, and as soon as I stopped and listened to him, I started to learn. The first big lesson Jack taught me was that rescuing him did not automatically entitle me to his eternal devotion, or indeed even a modicum of obedience! Those gifts had to be worked for and earned, and like any good teacher, he rewarded every small step I made towards being a better and more understanding owner.

Soon his real personality began to emerge, and he taught me that time and patience truly are rewarded with great things. He taught me that even a crushed spirit can be mended, and showed me the gentle and genuinely forgiving nature of the breed.

And over time Jack blossomed into one of the happiest and most confident dogs I have ever met. It took years, but he died knowing what it is to be totally content just to be yourself. Jack knew for certain that he was the most handsome, talented, and special greyhound ever to prance (pointlessly barking), across the face of this planet. And sometimes I think he may just have been right.

Jack enjoyed being part of a pack with a strong leader. He was fickle in his affections with people, preferring to reserve his adoration for a few specially chosen friends. He was an implicit judge of character – both human and canine. He loved food and his walks, and in his younger days he lived to run. As he got older and less able to sprint through the woods or across fields I wondered how he would adapt. But I shouldn’t have worried. Just as he had adapted when he came into our home years before, he found new ways to make himself happy.

He loved to be the ‘special’ one, and would revel in the glory of being allowed to leave the garden and walk across to the rabbits with me while the other dogs remained behind the gate. He loved sitting on a blanket on the hillside in the sun, or laying next to me when I ate my lunch in the garden, ‘accidentally’ dropping bits for him. He loved to sneak into the vegetable garden and pick cherry tomatoes right off the bush.

Jack left us on a beautiful, sunny Monday morning. We chose to let him go when it became clear that his heart condition was no longer responding well to medication. We stopped on the way to the vet for a short amble along the lakeside, just Jack and I together as it had been so often over the years, while Nigel and Sofie waited on a bench in the sun. Even on that last morning he was thrilled to be out somewhere new, smelling new smells and once more being the ‘special’ one. Jack died surrounded by his family, with his head in my lap, and wrapped in his special red blanket.

So to my beautiful dark brindle boy, thank you for starting me on a journey that would change my life forever, for paving the way for so many others, and for showing me that even the most troubled soul always retains a capacity for happiness. In view of all that you gave to me in the seven years we spent together, I am glad that I was the one able to give true joy back to you.

Fiona. 27 May, 2006.

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