Jake (October 8, 1998 - July 13, 2009)

[LisainCAN]

Jake was our Husky-Greyhound. We got him at 9 months of age and he had been beaten. He never really got over his past. Thanks to that and his breed, he was a chronic runner. He was also an escape artist and an athlete. He could get out of any enclosure and is the only dog I have ever seen who could get out of a steel cage. 6 foot fences? No problem. Our backyard looked like a cross between a junkyard and Fort Knox with all the reinforcing of the fence and the barricades. We tried for ten years to manage his anxiety and his running. Now that we moved to the country, it was too much. We realized very quickly that our plan to keep him contained in a special area would not work. He was also dog-aggressive and all the neighbouring farms had loose dogs on their properties. We were sick with worry that he would run and get into a fight or get hit by a car (like he did when he was 2). He also looked incredibly like a coyote and around where we are there was a good chance he would be shot if he were seen at a distance roaming around on someone's property. He was facing a life on a chain or a leash every time he went outside and he would freak out whenever he was contained in any way. We had him at our new place for three days and we had to make sure to leash him very carefully every time a door opened or he would run off. He wouldn't even potty and did not "go" for the three days as he refused to do it on leash. He was anxious and nervous and was losing weight. We were facing meds again, which he had been on for six years, and which we had stopped because it made him drugged and just not himself. So we decided to let him run with the angels. He just wasn't happy. If I had known a move to the country would have been a death sentence for him, I never would have done it. I blame myself. I feel too that we took the easy way out but my husband said that it was time and that it was kinder to do this. After all, Jake had been HIS dog for ten years. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and I feel sick about it.
My husband couldn't go. He is heartbroken and is still heavily grieving.

RIP Jake. I am sorry we failed you buddy.

If you are so inclined, please say a prayer for Jake that his spirit is running free now.

[Caroline]

Wow,...
It sounds like it was very hard.
I hope you an your husband feel a bit better as time goes by.
I am so very sorry for your loss.

Caroline

[CarolC]

It is very hard when you have to make a joint decision and both live with it. I can really see all the fine points and how it would feel to be in that situation. I am sorry, Lisa.

[LisainCAN]

Thank you everyone.

We miss him fiercely and I am still not sure we did the right thing but it is too late now. I saw a majestic hawk soaring in the sky right after he died and I believe it was his spirit telling me that he was running free.

I just hope I do a better job with the creatures I have left.