Jack 4

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Original: Jack is a very special boy who has seen much in his young life. Born without a left eye, Jack was found discarded on the side of the road in a bag. A Good Samaritan found Jack and took him to a local Springer breeder, who got Jack medical care and found him a new home.

Due to changes in his medical condition and financial means, Jack was surrendered to MAESSR. He is currently undergoing a battery of tests regarding diminished vision in his right eye. Jack is a major tail wagger, loves praise and has much spirit.

At his first trip to the vet. Jack was neutered, and his left eyelid was sewn shut to reduce the risk of infection and pain in the socket. We also discovered that Jack has mild hip dysplasia. He will not need surgery. Any home that adopts Jack will need to keep him well exercised and not permit him to get fat.

Keep watching this page as we will keep you updated on this special boy who has won hearts everywhere he goes. Once Jack gets well, we will be looking for a very special home for Jack to share his one of a kind love.

Update: 10-22-2002

Rescuers hate to lose. We fight the good fight and we win – often. We fix broken legs and broken hearts. We will throw all of our time and resources into saving a dog, using the well-known get it done attitude. Unfortunately, sadly, we don’t always win. We watched as Kelly slipped away after heartworm treatment. We had to release Spencer from his painful life. We had to love Remy enough to save him from his confusion and uncertainty.

Sadly, we’ve lost again. Dear, sweet Jack came into rescue sick and sore. He was missing one eye and had little or no vision in the other. More troublesome, he had no appetite and was slow and lethargic. We hustled him off to the veterinarian. The vet sewed the missing socket shut. Yes, that should relieve some of his pain. Along the way, we had him neutered and ran some bloodwork.

Jack did not bounce back from the anesthesia. Or at least, we thought that was the problem. After the first 24 hours our concern deepened. Jack didn’t want to eat and had to be convinced to take water. His foster mom was bringing him to her office with her in order to monitor him. The next day, he went back to the veterinarian. A few more tests were run and chest x-rays taken. The prognosis was not good. Jack either had fungal infection in his lungs or cancer. The white spots were ominous and did not bode well for our young boy. Samples were sent to Cornell for testing and now all we could do was wait.

As the days went by, Jack continued to fail. He refused food, refused water and became increasingly lethargic. His foster mom fed him with tubes to keep food in him. She gave him subcutaneous fluids. Nothing helped. Jack continued to fade. His last two days, Jack could not walk. Perfectly housebroken, Jack would be discovered, embarrassed, helpless, lying in his own urine.

Many conversations were held, people conferred, the vet’s advice and prognosis revisited. If it was cancer or a fungal infection, the reality really was that Jack was facing a long difficult fight. The truth was – Jack did not have the strength or will to fight.

We took Jack to the vet last night. His foster mom held him, let him know she loved him and then with the vet’s help, she let him go. As we bid farewell to Jack, we will try to learn something. Perhaps it is a reminder to us that with all our victories, we are only human and cannot control every thing. We also take the lesson to not hesitate about taking your pets to the vet. Perhaps if his family had taken him to the vet in May or June, he would have had a fighting chance. But, by the time we got him, it was just too late.

Goodbye Jack. We love you. We’ll see you at the Bridge.