I first met Jak or “jakiboy” as he came to be known in Birmingham the week before Christmas in December 2001, he had been taken there to a half way house so that I could meet him and become his new dad. From the description on the NWESSR website I only knew that he was black and white 4 years old and that his owners wanted him to go to a new home with children, because they had moved to sheep country and that he had a habit of hopping the fences and taking off. As I sat in the chair in the house in Birmingham I didn’t know what to expect! Would he like me? Would he get on with the children? The door opened and Jak’ peered round to look at me without a word being uttered he calmly walked across the room .Wow! He was a handsome chap and big for a Springer he sat down in front of me, put his head in my lap and looked upwards to reveal the most gorgeous big brown eyes, the look on his face as if to say “me and you will get on fine”. The journey home took about an hour and Jak took it all in his stride he curled up on the back seat and went to sleep occasionally lifting his head to put his nose out the window ,driving along that morning I couldn’t believe how lucky I was this beautiful dog was ours. As we pulled onto the driveway the my wife Lisa and the children Sam .Joe and Ellie were all outside waiting for us. From the second the car door was opened Jak was bombarded with love, affection and toys I can honestly say that the children must have nearly worn him out ,but in true Springer style he played “fetch” hide and seek chased any thing the kids threw in the garden for him for hours. Jak truly did love kids and games. Jak settled in to his new home straight away at Christmas time he eagerly helped everyone unwrap there presents along with his own he would dive in and shred the wrapping paper all over the floor then roll in it with his feet in the air his cheeks flopping back over his face in a gravity style grin. The children would roll all over him and love him to death, he was a really contented dog. He loved his walks and never missed the opportunity to bring me a present whenever we went out, his favourite was hedgehogs he would carry them for hours never hurting them and would only surrender them to me when we got home in exchange for a biscuit. Then I would have to go back out and release the hedge hog in the fields at the end of the road. He would sit for ages by the garden pond patiently waiting for a frog to appear so that he could chase it once whilst we were out he even dived into the hedgerow and emerged with a pheasant I swear he could find anything. Time flew by and everybody that came to our house fell in love with Jak. Children grandparents and friends alike, and he loved them back he never let the chance go by of being fussed by someone new, whenever we went on holiday friends would argue as to whom would be looking after him ,sometimes he was shared by our relatives as literally everybody wanted him to come and stay with them, and when we returned they never wanted to give him back. Every year we would try and get away to Derbyshire in the winter time around new year where we would rent a cottage this was Jaks holiday and we would walk him over the dales for miles ,his favourite was along dovedale where he loved to chase the ducks along the river then back to the cottage and curl up in front of the fire and sleep having thoroughly worn both myself and lisa out. Sadly though after eight and a half years of absolute pleasure in February this year Jak was diagnosed with bone tumours in his shoulder at the age of 12 the vet explained that this condition is extremely painful His diagnosis was confirmed by xray and the extent of the cancer was quite severe his time with us would soon be at an end, all we could do was as the vet had advised to make him comfortable as possible and use tablets to suppress the pain an operation was impossible due to the location of the disease. We were devastated he still looked a strong healthy youthful lad and had endless energy but his condition worsened rapidly. He still wanted to go out and walk but struggled to use his front leg he bravely battled on for 12 weeks but after a restless and painful night for him on Sunday 30th may I picked up his lead to take him out he wanted to go but his body wouldn’t let him he looked at me the same way as he did when I first met him and I knew that our time together was at an end I had to make the phone call I had been dreading and with tears in my eyes made the arrangements with the vet. Jak went to sleep that morning, and we said goodbye to each other the same way as we said hello with his head in my lap and as I looked into those beautiful brown eyes. My wife stroked his head and Ellie rubbed his neck. In the time we had him not once did he ever growl bark bite or show any signs of aggression to any one he was truly a gentle giant with the biggest of hearts who gave more than he ever took. He is now resting peacefully, in a beautiful place beneath the apple and cherry trees on my fathers land free from pain at last. There is a massive hole in our lives that only Jak could fill and we miss him dearly. In the hope that his old mum and dad read this letter on the website the following sentence is taken from the note that came with him in 2001 to which I have added a few words. “Jak was born in Bristol on October 1st 1997. He was the smallest of the litter and only an extra pint of milk a day helped him to survive.” He grew into the handsome gentle giant that enriched our lives to the full it must have broken your hearts to part with him as it has done mine in saying goodbye. There is an enormous empty space in my house, my heart and by my side where jak used to be and when I go to sit and talk to him I can’t help but think how lucky we were and I thank him for choosing me. Goodnight “Jakiboy” and god bless you x Pete and Lisa Hammond |