JAKE
About 4
p.m. Saturday I walked into the LR and stood motionless and stared at the
floor. Melanie asked, “…what’s wrong?!;”
but, I just turned my head away and focused on the wall. “Are your o.k.?!” she quizzed as she leaned
forward anxiously. I grunted a “mphf”
which only heightened her concern.
“What’s going on?! Then I
swallowed hard and croaked out, “Jake’s dead…”
“I’m so sorry…” she consoled.
Jake, the whelp of Jax Von Der Iggelheim… King Von Der Tannenburg, had been my dog only about three
years. As in “The Call of the Wild,” I
was not his only owner. But, maybe, now
he is howling at the moon in another place!
His previous owner kept him on a chain for a couple of years, but wanted
me to have him and give him a better home.
Frankly, I was a little afraid of this hundred-pound
wolf-throwback. Fear was a natural
reaction to seeing him!
I loved
that old dog. I called him “old man” as
he ambled over to me at feeding time, waiting for his head-pats and his
feed. Then he would sprawl out with his front
feet on either side of the feed pan and stick his face down in his food! He was over 11 years old. But, in his time at my house he had sired two
litters of pups! We, thankfully, kept one
out of the last litter. She is only 8
months, but already larger than her dam, taking after her sire.
You
might well say, “…it’s just a dog…” but, in Jake, I could see a reminder of my
own mortality. Saturday morning, when I
went out to check on my dogs, Jake did not get up to greet me. I could see him under the edge of the deck,
breathing heavily, but he did not even perk up an ear. I thought to myself, “…goodbye, Old Man; you
won’t be here when I come back…” That
afternoon, 11/16/13, about 4 p.m. I walked back into the house. There was no response to my whistle, or
gentle kick. The game was over. Seeing Jake, I was reminded that I am in the “4th
quarter.” I would be wise to “number my
days” (Ps.90:12) You can learn something
from an old dog!
As a
footnote, what else? …enjoy life’s
little pleasures as they come… take your friends wherever you can get them…
ignore the rowdy crowd… do what you can and don’t worry about the rest… just be
yourself and see what happens… (I think I will go and re-read London’s book;
or, at least, re-watch the movie!)
