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A
month after adopting Romeo, we were volunteering at a meet and greet.
One of the new Greyhounds coming into our group was a 5 year old,
freshly retired, petite, black brindle female named Jackie. All we
were warned about was her attitude. When you looked into this
little girl's extremely dark eyes, you felt them pierce right through
you. Her ears stood straight up like bat ears and she wouldn't let
another dog within 3 feet of her without showing her "attitude" either.
No one in our group wanted to foster her. Actually, they were
afraid of her. She didn't look like a Greyhound from a distance.
She looked more like a Doberman with her petite little face, bat ears
and piercing eyes. Most of our volunteers were new to Greyhounds
and so was I to a point. Everyone was afraid she would bite them
if they tried to pet her. Finally, at the end of the day, I
thought I would give it a try and foster this little girl with an
attitude.
We attended a few more meet and greets with Jackie to see if
we couldn't find someone to love her. I finally resigned to the
fact this little girl needed to be muzzled, tethered and away from the
crowd of dogs to protect them - not her - them! She was definitely
a challenge. However, at home was a different story. She
fell in love with Romeo. He was her Greyhound mentor and her first
love, too.
Finally, after 2 long grueling weeks trying to understand
Jackie and to find her a loving home, something told me that her home
wasn't anywhere else except with us. I picked up the phone, called
the group president and told her that Jackie was being adopted.
She hesitantly said "By who and do they know what she's REALLY like?"
I kind of laughed and said they were up for the challenge because the
family who was adopting Jackie aka Miss Jackie was our family. You
could tell the group president was relieved to hear that. After
all, Miss Jackie was not a good meet and greet dog at all. She
lacked the charisma most Greyhounds have towards getting a person hooked
on adopting a Greyhound. We discovered why Miss Jackie had an
attitude, too. She was an alpha! She was used to showing a
tough exterior until the day I finally told her we were adopting her.
That's when I looked into her eyes and finally saw the loving side of
Jackie and not the tough alpha side.
Romeo was happy that we adopted Jackie and Jackie was happy
that we adopted her, too. Those two never had unkind words to say
to each other. Jackie was space aggressive so Romeo tried not to
crowd her too much but there was a special bond between the two that was
incredible to watch. Although Jackie was definitely the alpha dog
of the two, she often allowed Romeo to be the first in many things.
Jackie displayed a special respect for those older than she and Romeo
was at least 4 years older than Jackie.
The night that Romeo died, something died inside Jackie, too.
Her spirit was broken. She wouldn't play with her toys. If
you knew Jackie, toys were her second love in life back then. She
would eat and still go for walks but her spark for life wasn't there.
Finally, when I looked down one day with her standing beside me, I saw
tears trickle down her cheeks and she let out a small quiet whimper.
Her heart was breaking and I knew we had to adopt another Greyhound
right then and there.
I checked with one group but Jackie decided no on every
single dog they had available. Then I received a call one day from
the track adoption kennel inquiring how Jackie and the rest of the
family were doing since Romeo had passed. I knew Jackie needed a
boost and made an appointment to let her have some Greyhound time.
Jackie is one smart little cookie. She knew who would
fit into our family and she wasn't going to stop looking until she found
the right one for us - all of us. She went through the whole
entire kennel full of dogs until the last one was let out of his crate.
Jackie let out her little snappy alpha bark through her hot pink muzzle
then tails started to wag. I saw the spark return to Jackie and I
knew right then she found who she was looking for.
We had Jackie for 7 years and she was the most incredible
little girl in the world. She knew exactly what I wanted her to do
without me ever speaking a word. She was my best friend, my
confidant, my heart and my soul all behind those dark, dark piercing
eyes. People were a little hesitant to pet her all because of the
way she looked but I can assure everyone Jackie's heart was pure gold
and her heart was my heart. She was my baby girl........
Unfortunately, our life with Miss Jackie unexpectedly ended
May 26, 2007 after 7 years of pure love. Suddenly, she took ill
late in the evening and by the time we got her to the ER vet, she was
labored in breathing and unable to stand on her own. To our horror
and shock, Jackie had lymphosarcoma of the heart. The tumor was
almost as big as her heart was. The vet didn't think she would
survive the night. She had a very irregular heartbeat and no pulse
in her hind legs. She was dying right before us. She left us
for the bridge in my arms with me whispering I love you in her ear.
She was 11 years, 11 months and 20 days old.
When we first adopted Jackie I made a promise to her.
That promise consisted of loving her, caring for her, spoiling her and
letting her go when the time came. Although that time came too
quickly for us, I know she is pain free and happy at the bridge waiting
patiently until we are together again.
Jackie was my heart, my soul, my world and my life has never
been the same since she left. I miss her dearly and although my
heart is still healing, the pain of losing her still hurts unbearably.
Jackie's Pedigree on Greyhound Data |
