Jackson
Jackson was oh so special. He seemed almost human in the things he did.
Our first chocolate Lab
He loved to retrieve anything – a ball, a bumper, a Frisbee, even a stick if that was all that was handy. His favorite game was to drop a ball at your feet then run off a little way and face away while waiting for you to throw it. He also loved to swim and could often be found in the pond in our backyard.
Jackson was also helpful around the house. He could open the refrigerator door and often turned off the dryer when the buzzer sounded. As a bed warmer, he excelled.
At 7 weeks old he already knew who was king of the castle and he wasn’t about to be kept waiting for his dinner.
Training was easy for Jackson. Show him something once or twice and he seemed to understand. Balance a cookie, sit up, play dead, you name it, he did it.
Food-based allergies
We learned the hard way not to feed crappy kibble. Jackson didn’t seem to care one way or another.
Then he started to get itchy. At first it was just his chest and belly. Then it spread and the vet thought it was mites. So Jackson got a Mitaban dip. Nasty stuff.
It didn’t help.
Jackson would scoot across the carpet on his belly trying to stop the itchiness. So we put a t-shirt on him. He didn’t mind, but it didn’t help.
Another trip to the vet and he said we should do a blood test to see what Jackson was allergic to. It turned out to be pretty much everything – grass, most trees, horse hair, carpet, beef, pork, etc.
Next the vet suggested injections that would help desensitize Jackson. A few weeks (and several hundred dollars) later we got a bottle of stuff and lots of syringes. We had to give him injections twice a day for the first week, then once a day, and so on. Jackson put up with it in the beginning, but then refused to come to me. He didn’t want any more.
That was when we finally put two and two together and changed his food. We were careful not to give him anything that was on his allergy list. And he started to improve. No more crappy kibble for any of my dogs.
This was also when we learned about Dynamite products. I’ve been a Dynamite distributor now for over 30 years.
Then we moved again
It was almost like moving from Heaven to well that not-so-nice place. We moved from a sunny place that was not too hot and not too cold to the rain belt. Everything was muddy. And one night my husband came up that muddy driveway and couldn’t stop in time.
Godspeed, Jackson.
I miss you so much.
