Poor Jack
After my dad died, I had the brilliant idea of getting my mom a dog to keep her company.
My sister, my husband, and I took her to the dog shelter and she chose this guy.
A one-eyed dog with a sweet disposition.
My husband immediately expressed concern about the hair. Jack is (contrary to picture on left) a very fluffy, furry creature...even his feet are covered in thick "Grinchy feet" fur. Jack would be too much work for my elderly mother.
But my mom loved him. She swore he was meant for her. Like a kid angling for a pony, mom swore she'd keep him brushed and groomed. He wouldn't be a problem.
Besides, he was half blind, like my mother (she has macular degeneration).
And he passed the Hartman Quirky personality test. We're a strange family and our, umm, uniqueness isn't hidden, it's celebrated.
Jack was THE DOG, so I bought him and gave him to my mom.
Fast forward a few years. Mom got married, moved to Alaska...Jack went with her. A few years later, Mom came back to the lower 48 with a multitude of health problems, so I got Jack.
My husband did the usual spouse thing, "I knew we'd end up with the dog. I told you not to get a hairy one."
So, I got pet clippers. (For anyone who is about to suggest a professional groomer...you evidently do not know my husband. He doesn't even go to a barber for his own haircut, much less pay for a dog to get a haircut!)
I gave Jack his first hair cut.
I did a decent job. (See the picture up top...not the roof pic, the first one)
Then this weekend, my husband decided he would help me out and give Jack his haircut.
Poor Jack. He looks like a teddy bear from Goodwill. Missing eye...mangy-looking fur with bare spots. My husband tried to make him look cooler by adding our son's football number in his side.
All I can say is-- I appreciate my husband's effort to take a few jobs off my plate and I thank God poor old Jack has no self-awareness. I gave the poor pooch a slice of bacon and he went on with life like he was coiffed like a runway model.
Dogs are cool like that. To them, life is good if the treats are good. They don't even own mirrors.
The new puppy, Artemis, has gone weeks without an "accident" in the house...well, all but occasional dribbles when she's excited. I'm not sure what that's all about.
I totally forgot to do my monthly goal update for January, so I am getting that in toady. Since it's a new year. I decided to set new goals. From the specific to the general. Two goals that I can surely make concrete steps in finishing and two goals that are always ongoing and sort of limitless.
Congrats to PK! I read this book and it's original, fun, and entertaining.
IN THE GAMING WORLD YOU CAN ALWAYS POWER OFF. IN THE WORLD OF NIN, POWER IS FOREVER.
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Soon the be ninth grader, Xavier Dare, is convinced there is no video game he can’t master. When a mysterious tattooed man loans him an outdated gaming system, and game called, The Keys to Nin, he gives X real-time access to a world on the brink of turmoil. Nin’s Big Boss is like none X has ever encountered, with a secret that X will have to come to terms with if he wants to keep his own world safe. If X doesn’t level up inside the seven magical yet primitive realms of Nin, he may just find himself doomed to roam there forever–that is, if he can manage to stay alive.
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Sorry, some things I don't skimp on and I find much easier to pay a professional. Shaving a dog would be one of those.
ReplyDeleteI really, really want to hear the roof story!
Oh heck, I cut the kids' hair and Chad's too. Sacrifices must be made to feed them. LOL
DeleteYeah, I'm with Alex, much easier for a professional to do it. Like a cat on the roof haha mom has a nine year old dog that still dribbles when he gets excited.
ReplyDeleteOh no! I was hoping she'd grow out of it...the vet said she would, or did he say might? We've learned to greet her outside.
DeleteSO cute! Okay--you have to tell us how he ended up on the roof in that one picture. We get my dog a summer cut in the spring, summer, and fall--and when company visits at the holidays. I know people say it isn't really necessary because their fur has cooling properties, but I personally like the eight months or so of the year we have less fur to deal with on our clothes and such!
ReplyDeleteI cut his hair just so he's easier to groom. If not, he gets hair balls and knots, and like a cat, he'll hack and cough when he's too furry from licking his hair.
DeleteWhy he's up on the roof is simple...he loves my mother and hated her to leave him. We left, he found a screened window...went through the screen and was waiting on the roof when we returned. We put in a doggy door, so he could go out in the fenced yard and wait by the gate for her to come home.
I want to know how Jack ended up on the roof, too! And I love how he walks around as of coiffed like a model - too funny.
ReplyDeleteGlad your Mom's doing better!
I'm glad she's doing better too.
DeleteHe climbed out on the roof to wait for my mother to come home. He's a bit co-dependent.
While he obviously didn't know what he was doing I have to give him props for at least seeing the humor in it and making him look stylish with the numbers. Even if the dog doesn't appreciate the gesture I am sure your son did!
ReplyDeleteMy son was the first to point out that he obviously put the numbers in to try to distract me from the butcher job he did on the job and try to stay out of trouble. I will give him props for trying. His heart was in the right place.
DeleteI love a fluffy critter, so I'd probably would let the fur grow and grow. Unfortunately for our long-haired cat, this means a winter of uncomfortable mats all over his body. Come spring, he will peel back his fur from the neck all the way down to the tail--with his teeth. It's unbelievable. But then again, you can't shave a cat without resorting to anesthesia so we're sticking with his method.
ReplyDeleteI like the fluff too, but keeping him shaved was a compromise with my husband. He hates the fur balls he leaves behind when he's not groomed and he was willing to take in dog #3, so I'm willing to cut his hair. I must add, Jack LOVES a hair cut. He gets as excited as a chick headed to the day spa when the trimmers come out.
DeleteWe got my mom a similar pet when she got sick and was pretty much housebound. Really made a huge difference for her emotionally. Nver had any adventures like you did though...her dog was a chihuahua.
ReplyDeleteI wish my mom could keep him, but she's in an apartment and even if they did allow pets, she can take him in and out to let him do his business. He goes over for visits. She's only a block away from my house.
DeleteI think Jack looks great (maybe it's a guy thing)
ReplyDeleteAs my husband says...it grows back.
DeleteLol, I so read that as you gave your husband a slice of bacon :-D
ReplyDeleteYes, he gets bacon too. LOL
DeleteI'm glad your mom's doing better. I think Jack's lucky to be in such a caring home, despite your coiffure-challenged husband. Yay for your son coming home! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteYou always make good points, Lexa!
DeletePoor Jack? I don't think so! I think he's a pretty darned lucky dog to have a family that loves him. I used to groom our long-haired dog, too. He was a such a gentle soul, he didn't mind at all, and I did a better job than the pro did half the time. (The other half? Not so much, but he didn't mind.)
ReplyDeleteUm, I must confess. I dribble a little bit when I get excited, too. :)
Jack loves to get groomed. He'll lay there for the hour(s) it takes me. I'm not nearly a good as a pro, but the lat pro who did it told my mother they had to sedate him to groom him because he kept growling. Well, they must have deserved a growl because this dog is so sweet, he'd probably show burglars around the house rather than run them off.
DeleteI had 3 German Shepherds at one time and they shed hair badly. I still miss them though. I used to cut my own hair, Matt would never let me do his. Nowadays we go to a local hairdresser and it doesn't cost us too much. Matt goes more often than I do.
ReplyDeleteI love German Shepherds, such smart animals. I will cut my own hair if I forget to make an appointment in time, which reminds me...I need a hair cut! Chad lets me cut his hair without issue. He'd probably still let me even if I did as awful a job as he did on Jack.
DeleteAwwwwww Jack looks absolutely adorable!! What a life he's had, bless him. I couldn't believe his new haircut though lol. Your husband clearly enjoyed doing it ;)
ReplyDeleteSuzy xx
I think he thought it would be easy. And it's not hard, it just takes a good bit of time.
DeleteHe's a cutie with a great gambler's name: One-Eyed Jack. Any chance of him ever meeting a Queen of Hearts?
ReplyDelete~ D-FensDogG
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My mother does enjoy gambling! Not much chance for a Queen of Hearts-- he never gets to leave the yard unleashed.
DeleteSneak poor Jack out to the groomer.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
LOL. I had to sneak Grizzly out to the vet for a neutering. For some inane reason, my husband thought he should let him be a stud. No dice.
DeleteLooks cute though :)
ReplyDeleteYes, he does. He has a natural beauty that overcomes the worst haircut.
DeleteI couldn't help but giggle. Ah, to be able to go through life and not even care about a bad grooming!
ReplyDeleteI'm almost there. LOL
DeleteDoes he hang out on the roof often? I'm still chuckling over the story and Jack's new style. lol Glad your mom is doing better and that your boy is coming home.
ReplyDeleteNope, he can't get out on any roofs any more. My house has a sharp peaked roof, he'd slide right off!
DeleteOh my goodness. It's a good thing he can't see himself. :P
ReplyDeleteYep, he's blissfully unaware!
DeleteOh no, poor Jack. One time my husband had our golden retriever shaved and she got so depressed. We kept reassuring her that she was still beautiful, but it took her some time to pull out of it. It sounds like Jack is more resilient. Good for him!
ReplyDeleteMaybe guys take bad haircuts better than girls. :)
Delete