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Jax the Brave

Jump’n Jax Flash

Three years ago, our beautiful boy Harry was diagnosed with cancer and passed from this world a few days later. As a family our devastation was all encompassing leading my husband Mike to announce, “No more dogs.” Broken hearted, I agreed, but as months turned to years and the grieving period passed my heart could not deny the hole Harry had left. Attempting to fill it, during walks I’d greet as many neighborhood dogs as possible. Meeting so many wonderful dogs only fed my desire for a companion of my own. Casually surfing rescue sites on the web, I told myself, I would just look. 

Each day I found myself drawn away from my work and onto the NDR site. Taking note of my pining, my daughter planted the seed to move forward stating, “Dad will get over it. Besides, you know whoever we adopt, our dog will love Dad the most.”  Jumping on board, my son suggested we look for a husky. Having grown up around shepherds I was leaning in that direction. Before long, I gathered my supporters and together we presented our case for welcoming a special addition to our family again. Realizing he was outnumbered Mike conceded. When asked what breed he liked he simply stated in his logical fashion, “Whatever he/she is we will love him.” 

Entering the NDR site each morning I searched the multiple photographs of dogs looking for their forever homes. My heart melted as photo after photo presented another homeless dog. It didn’t take long before I spotted a petite husky pup by the name of Miki. His early profile pictures showed him to be as small as the tiny stuffed monkey awarded to him by his rescuers. Moreover, his large caramel ears, much too big for the rest of his body, framed an elongated heart shaped diamond in the center of his forehead. My heart melted and straightway I applied to adopt this teensy gem. Receiving confirmation of my application, for weeks after I heard nothing more and with a heavy heart assumed Miki had been homed. A decision to look elsewhere landed me in a collection of unresolved interviews followed by mountains of paperwork associated with another rescue site. As the days marched on I reconsidered this decision of mine. I was beginning to wonder if adoption was in the cards for us when the phone rang. On the other end was a voice querying if I was still interested in interviewing for Miki. My heart leaped. “Yes,” I told her making no attempt to hide my excitement. 

In the interview Karen from NDR informed my family that Miki was a rescue from Northern Manitoba, who during his early foster period had taken a serious fall. The resulting injury effectively put his adoption status on hold. Furthermore, we were advised that Miki could have ongoing neurological issues as well as difficulty with one of his hind legs due primarily to the way he landed.  Were we still interested? Pushing forward, from that point on everything moved fast, and by the weekend we were driving to St. Catharines to bring home our boy. 

That hole in my heart filled the second I saw him. Though we nearly renamed him Jester, on account of his big floppy ears and comical ways, he eventually came to be called simply Jax. Despite his reported injuries Jax quickly earned himself the nicknames “Jump’n Jax Flash” after his energetic nature, and “Apple Jax” due to his loves of apples. Three months after joining our family Jax runs the show. Despite his typically energetic nature, the issues discussed during that initial intake continue to plague our sweet pup. As predicted by my daughter Katie, this eager boy sets his pain aside each day in order to join Daddy in his computer shop. As a working dog, he brings smiles to everyone he meets. Once at home he greets his feline and human companions with zoomies around the kitchen, and by evening it’s time for a walk to see his neighborhood friends. After that its tummy rubs and a chewy treat before snuggling down for a well-deserved rest between me and who else, but his favorite human of them all, my husband Mike. 

As an aside, Jax began Aquatic and Massage Therapy today. Though typically afraid of water, after multiple treats plus another fifteen minutes to get familiarized with the pool, Jax began to paddle. Mike and I couldn’t have been prouder when our sweet little boy swam to us from the other side of the pool! By the end of the 45 minute session our amazing pup had earned himself a new name. According to his therapist he is now Jax the Brave.