|
The second
anniversary is coming up, and already I am starting to dread
it. It seems the time has gone by fast, and yet it feels
like an eternity. Will I ever get past this? I??™m not sure
if I will, but I keep trying. I know I will never forget.
I have lost dogs before, but Jackson was different, he was
just a baby and it was my fault. Will the hurt ever go
away? I made a horrid, horrid error in judgment that day,
and it will haunt me always. Oh, if I could only live that
fateful day over again, but alas I cannot.
It was three
years ago when my husband, Jim, found an ad in the newspaper
for a litter of Giant schnauzers. We wanted another female
to go with our Giant, Katie. She was four years old and
needed a playmate. We already had the name picked out, and
we were ready. Shelby was a name the whole family agreed
on. And believe me, in this family we agree on few names
for our beloved pets. There was always someone who
would disagree, but this time Shelby was perfect. The name
comes from one of our favorite movies, Steel Magnolias.
Shelby was the main character played by Julia Roberts.
Jim called
the number to see if we could come look at the pups. The
lady on the other end assured us that would be fine. She
sounded so nice. The minute he hung up the phone, the three
of us were out the door, my husband Jim, our 10-year-old
son, Jeff, and myself. It took more than two hours to get
there, but we finally arrived and we were the first ones, so
we had pick of the litter. There were three females and
three males. All were so adorable, so playful, and so very
friendly. The mama dog laid in the warm sunshine watching
us carefully as we touched, talked, and played with her
black fuzzy little pups. One male stood out from the rest,
he was so much bigger than the others and the only one with
wavy hair. His paws were massive, and you could tell he was
going to be a very BIG boy. Jeff said, ???Mom, I like this
one."
I responded
with, "Me too!" Jeff and I had fallen head over heels in
love with him. Guess you could say that it was love at
first sight.
Jeff and I
both looked at Jim, who said with a grin, ???he is wonderful,
so if that is the one you all like best, let??™s go for it!???
We snatched him up to take home, even though we went for a
female. On our return drive, Jim came up with the name
Jackson. We loved it, so from that moment on it was his
name. The name Jackson was also from Steel Magnolias. He
was Shelby's husband.
Well,
Jackson was a handful to say the very least, into everything
from the moment that we brought him home. He grew, and
grew, and grew some more; until he made our female giant
look like a miniature. He was the most gorgeous dog I had
ever seen. When we walked him, people would stop to admire
him, as he was a beauty. He even pranced when he walked, as
if he knew he were something special. He was much more than
just a challenge though; he was one tough cookie. I knew
that he would eventually outgrow his puppy hood, but until
then, things were very chaotic. He was into absolutely
everything. His mouth was a giant magnet, and he was fast,
he could get into anything and everything faster than
lightening. We all tried to keep things put up, but that is
not always easy. He potty trained quickly and was very
smart, but he just could not help himself when it came to
getting into the garbage, Jeff's toys, or whatever happened
to be around at the time.
Jackson just
turned a year old, and he and Katie were great friends. I
was so proud of them both; they were outstanding together on
walks. Jackson was so affectionate too, just like Katie.
We were one lucky family. Then one week to the day after
his first birthday, I had left my embroidery thread out near
my chair where I love to sit and stitch every evening.
Jackson got into it and slurped it up; he swallowed two
skeins and a ball of twine before anyone knew it. The next
day he was in surgery to remove it, as it was tangled within
his intestines. He came through surgery fine, but was in a
great deal of pain. I went to visit him, told him how much
I loved him, and that I would be bringing him home soon. My
sweet, wonderful, beautiful Jackson died that night in the
vet??™s office. It broke my heart that he was alone, in pain,
and probably very scared. What a terrible waste and what a
stupid error in judgment on my part. I will never forgive
myself. He was a bright spot in my life and in the lives of
my family. They never blamed me, but that's okay, I blamed
myself. I knew his passion for getting into things, but I
just was not thinking when I left my sewing box open, and
within his reach.
After a week
had passed Jim said, ???I??™m going to call that lady where we
got Jackson and tell her our sad news.??? She was sad for us,
and sad for the pup she had entrusted to us. She
mentioned that she still had one male. It happened to be
Jackson's brother, and if we were interested, we should come
see him. I was unsure about it, but Jim insisted. We were
on the road within half an hour of the phone call.
When we
arrived, the nice lady, Jackson??™s mother, and his brother
greeted us. Yes, he had Jackson's nose and he was so very
sweet. The moment we sat down, he put his sweet little head
on my lap and looked up at me with his big beautiful brown
eyes. Well, that is all it took; I was hooked! He was much
calmer than Jackson, but at this point that was very
necessary. He was promptly named Andrew Jackson, Andy for
short. He does not replace Jackson by any means, but we
still have a part of Jackson with us. Andy is sweet and
loving and very well mannered. He has made a wonderful
companion for Katie, and he has helped fill an empty spot in
my heart. I love him dearly.
?©2005 Carol
Brosowske |
