About Jack
How do dogs know who “their person” is? I’ll never fully understand. But, when Jack became “my” dog, he fully understood that he was now mine. And, under the circumstances, it could have been confusing for him! My brother and sister-in-law bought him as a puppy. They named him Jackson Marco, but he’s always been called Jack in honor of my grandpa. Jack Leininger was what we call a dog whisperer. All dogs loved him! And many dogs through the years would leave their homes and masters to make their way over to my grandpa’s house. Grandpa was strict with dogs. He’d give them his stern voice and correct them if they were out of line (barking too much or jumping up on people). And they would obey because they respected and loved him. So, “Jack” was a perfect name for this family dog. It only became confusing when the two Jacks were in the same room together and Grandma called Grandpa by name.
Fast forward 6 years. My brother and sister-in-law had many transitions going on all at the same time and needed a new home for their precious puppy dog. Everyone knows Jack and several offered to take him. I too offered. However, my brother thought I was offering “just to be nice,” so they planned for Jack to go to a young family with kids. The night before this exchange was to take place, Jack was at my house. I was in tears. I really loved this dog! Of course, when my brother and sister-in-law realized how serious I was, they let me keep him! They called their friends and explained the situation. Then I sat on the floor, tears still running down my cheeks, and Jack came over face-to-face with me, nuzzled me, and I hugged his sweet head. I told him he was going to be my dog now, and he understood. I was his new person.
We know he understood because my parents actually kept Jack for the next several months at their house. (My brother and sister-in-law were living with me with a toddler and newborn whilst selling their townhouse and buying a new house. Having a barky dog in that mix would have been too much!) I would go to my parents’ house to walk him, play with him, heft another 40 lb bag of dogfood. And Jack waited at the door for me. He was still fond of my brother and sister-in-law. However, he acted from that day forward as though I were “his person.”
I’ve had Jack for 7 years now! He’s 13 and still leaps and bounds like a puppy on walks or around the back yard. People see him and think he’s half his actual age. I’m hoping that means he’ll be around for a couple more years. Jack loves rolling: in snow; in grass; in mulch. I avoid using mulch in my yards for that reason. He rolls and rolls and comes up looking like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. Jack loves toys! The older he gets, the longer his toys last. Since he has a doting grandmother (my mom), he has a vast array and knows them all by name: Mallard, Hedgehog, Manta Ray, Alligator, Long Alligator, Lizard, Dragon, Lute…the list goes on. He must greet you at the door with a toy in mouth. If surprised by a doorbell ring, he rushes around looking for one to bring and greet you. (Once, my toddler niece was surprised that he grabbed her Lamby out of her arms because he couldn’t find one of his toys at that moment with which to greet people.) However, he doesn’t bring you the toy for you to throw it. Fetching is something he’ll only do indoors and when full of energy (because he hasn’t had his walk). So, if he greets you and you take the toy from his mouth and throw it, he’ll look at you like, “Why did you do that!? Now I have to go find another one to greet you with!”
Jack is an easy-going dog. But every once in a while he insists on attention. His favorite spot is on his sheet, next to me on the couch. Too big to be a lap dog, he’ll lay next to me and push my hand up with his nose any time I stop petting him. Sometimes, if he feels he hasn’t had enough attention for the day, he pulls out Lizard while I’m watching a movie. Lizard has the biggest and easiest squeaker of all his toys. Then he’ll walk around sounding like a bike-horn, “honka, honka, honka” at the saddest or most serious parts of the movie.
Nonverbal communication is his specialty. He’s a dog of few words yet always manages to get his point across. If left outside in the backyard, he has two barks. One is his declaration bark. It’s joyful and possessive and aimed away from the house to tell other dogs or random passersby that this is HIS yard and he owns it. The other is his desperation bark. It is an insistent though terse “Woof!” aimed at the back door when he wants to come in and fears I’ve forgotten him. Inside, he rarely barks at all (which is great)! There is of course the intruder alert bark when someone comes to the door, though the sound of that bark changes pitch if he realizes it’s Grandma or other family/friends. When he’s hungry he actually won’t bark. At my house, his food is down all the time, but he may need to tell me when he’s out of water. At my mom’s house Pippin prowls and pounces on any chance to eat Jack’s food. So, his food bowl sits up on the coffee table until Jack comes and looks hard at my mom. (He won’t tell me, he tells her.) Then we know that he’s hungry and will put the bowl down and coax him to eat. For water or needing to go out, he paces, coming up to you, then walking away, then repeating until you get the message.
Though perfect in most ways, he is by nature a retriever. So, I find bunny nests with baby bunnies strewn around in the back yard. And one time he caught a chipmunk on the sidewalk during a walk! I had been pulling my parents’ dog, Pippin, away from the struggling chipmunk (who seemed to think he should dig a hole to get away rather than simply running to a nearby tree) when Jack leapt at the rodent and retrieved it for me. His mouth is gentle, but I think the little guy died of a heart attack. I told Jack to drop it, which he did. The chipmunk didn’t move any more after that. Sorry to say with 2 dogs in tow, I couldn’t do anything about the body. I left it there and moved on. (Chip & Dale were my favorite Disney characters growing up. So, the chipmunk incident was a sad moment for me.)
Of course, 13 years has a lot of stories! I’ll stop now. Hopefully, if you’ve gotten this far, you’re a dog-lover yourself and can relate to similar memories with your pets. I know Jack won’t always be around. But I am ever thankful for the time I’ve had with him! Just last evening I was working on illustrations upstairs in a spare bedroom at my parents’ house. He decided I’d been out of sight for too long. So, I heard the tippy-tappy toenails coming up their wooden staircase. His nose pushed the bedroom door open, and he came to lean up against my chair and insist on a good scratch. Then he lay down next to me and waited until I was ready to stop work and head downstairs. He’s a good old man, and I love him!
About the Artwork
I haven’t completed a digital painting in many years!…possibly ever! This one was started as a demonstration for my Computer Graphics & Animation class this fall. Typically, you work with a Wacom Tablet and pen for digital illustration. The pens are pressure-sensitive, which gives more of a natural stroke to the brush work. However, my new school doesn’t have tablets and pens yet. So, all the fur texture was tediously completed by changing brush sizes and using a smudge tool to taper lines. Not a fun process!! Started as a demonstration, I finished the painting in my spare time. Truly, stubbornness is the only thing that kept me going. I knew that if I could make it to the end, the result would be worth the pain/effort. And I could use it as my Christmas card this year. Thus I finished the mammoth (or Mallard) task. I’m very glad I did! I wanted to tribute Jack now while he’s still alive and healthy. Because I know when it’s time to say goodbye the words won’t come so easily.
molliebozarth 