Our beloved 13 year-old Boston Terrier “JayJay” left our pack this week after a cascading set of medical issues finally got the best of him.
I am not a spiritual person, but if there is a Heaven for good dogs, I am sure chow hound Jay Jay is there now, enjoying an “endless buffet”.
Jay Jay was an exceptional dog.
Charlie and I “rescued” JayJay ten years ago. He was three years old back then and had been found abandoned in a house in the high desert with no food or water. In his desperation, he had been eating a sofa. (This traumatic experience left him with liver and kidney and eye problems that lasted the rest of his life.)
But, JayJay was saved, and Charlie and I promised him that we would be there for him thick or thin, no matter the cost if he would let us into his heart.
And, he did, in a big way.
For starters, JayJay and our 2 year-old Boston Terrier “Booger” bonded from the get-go. It was as if they were, in fact, siblings. Very different ones, I’ll grant you, but they always got along great.
Our 2 year-old Booger had been obedience trained, but we didn’t know what to expect from JayJay. I took him to formal obedience training where he got kicked out (when another dog attacked him!). However, he was able to learn the basics in our home quite well from watching Booger and seeing the tasty rewards and affection that a good dog earns with his owners. JayJay could learn anything, fast, if a treat was involved.
(That reminds me of a true story:
I had read an article about dog intelligence and how they manipulate humans to solve problems for them. Booger was not only an Olympic-class athlete (very quick and agile), but she was also super smart. JayJay was not very athletic (he ran like a steer), but could move when he wanted to, particularly if a tasty treat was involved. I did a little test one day and it worked. So, the next time my children visited I said, “If I toss this hot dog to the end of the room, who will get to it first?” The “obvious” answer was Booger, of course, and that’s who they picked. I then lined up the dogs and tossed the hot dog. JayJay took off at the speed of light and Booger just stood at the starting line. No contest. I believe we did it again, just to prove a point. Jay had sneaky speed, particularly when food was at stake. The moral: Booger knew that she would be rewarded anyway, win or lose, and she didn’t want to compete with “Jaws”. She just looked up at me with pleading eyes. She got her hot dog treat, and JayJay could brag that he beat his sister in a sprint.)
JayJay was a bit protective when we first adopted him, and was nervous/aggressive when we first took him on walks. However, once he got the message that we had his back and the other dogs were not a threat, he became a wonderful gentleman on walks around Bear Creek with Charlie and I.
His only flaw, if you could call it that, was that he felt compelled to pee on any and all trees, shrubs, and standing objects on said walks. So, a walk that might take Booger ten minutes would take JayJay twice as long…due to all of the urination opportunities.
For ten years, JayJay became Craig’s shadow. Everywhere Craig went, so did JayJay, whether it be on walks, drives in the car, or doing chores around the property. JayJay’s nickname was “The Sous Chef”, because he was always at Craig’s feet, looking upward as if to ask “Can I help?”, when meals were being prepared in the kitchen.
JayJay’s favorite pastime was “going for a ride in the car”. Initially, he hated cars, particularly after he jumped out of the window of a moving car and got scuffed up shortly after we adopted him. For about a year, JayJay would hide under a bed if the word “car” was mentioned. But, eventually, he shook off the fear and he became the first volunteer whenever Craig had some errands to run in the car. He loved riding around, usually sitting on the console next to Craig, acting like a big shot.
At our home in Bear Creek, Booger and JayJay lorded over the passerbys downslope from our fenced-in dog run. They had a doggie door, and would run out of the house and stand up against the low wall/fence to better see what was going on and, sometimes, if it was a noisy trash truck, give the offenders a piece of their mind. Generally speaking, though, JayJay didn’t bark unless provoked by noise or, perhaps, someone roughhousing with him.
He could be pretty playful, too, when he was in the mood. When they were young, Booger and JayJay used to wrestle on our bed; it was a delight to witness. Sometimes he would steal her favorite ball and make her chase him around the house.
Our man dog could mix it up with anyone who wanted to play rough. He loved to grapple with Craig and son Tim…anytime, anyplace. And, his favorite playmate at the Bear Creek dog park was “Thor”, a 160-pound Mastiff, who JayJay would tackle to the ground. It was quite the sight!
JayJay really loved the RV lifestyle. When we were cruising down the highway, he would sit in his window perch and watch America roll by. When we got to wherever we were going, he would want to be the first guy out of the rig to investigate the smells and, of course, put his pee marker on everything he could. “I own this place!”
JayJay particularly loved the Oregon coast beaches, where he could wander leash-free, pee on things, and dig up fermenting crab carcasses and such. What adventure! And, he loved to run into the surf at the beach, even though he could swim about as well as a brick.
Jay Jay had a massive tongue, which he used like a ladle to imbibe large quantities of water. He was very picky about his water; any impurities or slobber from his siblings would cause him to sniff it and walk away. He had his standards.
But, that massive tongue was quite useful to give tender licks and loving kisses.
JayJay slept by himself, in his own bed, while Booger (and, later, Baby) slept on our bed. JayJay liked to stretch out and not be jostled by us or by the other dogs, so his own bed worked well for everyone. He also snored very loudly, so the physical separation of him versus us was appreciated: a win-win, you might call it.
We bought our new property in Mesquite, Nevada last year with the dogs in mind. We chose a large corner lot so that our pack, which had never had much room to play in, would be able to roam far and wide in privacy. They also loved the doggie park just down the street:
JayJay used the doggie door more than any of the dogs. He liked being outside. And, he really liked all of the walking trails in his new community: lots of smells, new landscaping to christen, and other dogs to meet and greet. He was quite the gentleman.
As I have told numerous dog owners on my walks with JayJay, in response to their query “Is he friendly?”, I would always say, “JayJay is the mellowest dog in Mesquite, Nevada”.
And, God’s honest truth, he was.
It is hard, as a human dog owner, to explain how attached one can get to a life companion like a JayJay.
In the last three years of his life, Charlie and I spent well over $15,000 on JayJay’s medical issues, and we have no regrets, as our time with him was precious. He wasn’t a complainer, even though his eyesight and hearing failed him, and he had chronic pancreatitis that made his tummy hurt. He barked a bit at the end, in the later afternoon, when he couldn’t make sense of all the troubles wracking his body. It was heartbreaking to watch him try to understand this cruel part of the aging process.
JayJay’s love knew no bounds, he was always there for us, and he had a special vitality to him, expressed in those beautiful eyes. He was always up for a new adventure, and would cuddle with you when he felt you needed it.
I know he loved his sister, Booger, and she loved him. They “completed” each other: different dogs, for sure, but very complimentary. Booger has been very out of sorts during the past year when JayJay was struggling, health-wise. I think she knew that his health was failing him, and was broken-hearted like we were.
Baby will miss him, too. She became JayJay’s shadow, following him everywhere, learning from the Master. JayJay taught Baby how to beg for food: “Observe how I do this, Grasshopper. Patience is the key. You will be rewarded!”
After apprenticing at his knee, Baby will now assume both roles of “The Sous Chef” and Chief Beggar. Booger will assist.
Charlie, and I, and Booger and Baby are going to move on with our lives now, as best as possible, but we will never forget the wonderful adventures and intimate moments that we shared with our precious Man Dog.
