Why rescue? Ask Jack!

By the fall of 2006 I realized that I had been without a dog of my own for FAR too long. I was living in the Chicago suburbs, not far from my parents, and they had a Silky Terrier named Marçel. I'd worked with him a fair amount (he's a smart pooch!) and spent a LOT of time with him - but I definitely wanted MORE.

Having previously been a Beagle owner, I was a HUGE fan of that breed (WARNING: Beagles are NOT for everyone) so I started doing research on Beagle rescue organizations in the region and put the feelers out for my next best friend.
After a number of emails and photos back and forth, one of the people working on locating a rescue dog for me sent a photo of this absolutely terrified Beagle/Springer mix who had just been rescued in Ohio, not a week prior.

His story was absolutely heart-breaking. His previous owner had tied him to a tree and abandoned him. They just left him tied to that tree to die. By the time I found out about him, he was a pitiful 17lb. - far from his healthy normal weight of around 50lb. - and his time was running out. Sadly, he was being held in a kill shelter with less than 24 hours to either get transported to another shelter, rescued, or put down. I had to help this dog. There just simply were no other options!
One day later in the parking lot of the Buca di Beppo in Lombard, IL, Jack and I met face-to-face for the first time. And I absolutely fell in love with him!

Now it's probably no surprise that Jack's previous owner had completely neglected his health. He was a full-grown dog that had never been neutered. He had three different parasites. And probably worst of all was the fact that in an effort to escape the tree that he was tied to, he'd worn his five front teeth down to nubs trying to chew his way out. These teeth eventually (not surprisingly) had to be pulled.

Health and vet care aside, it wouldn't take too long for me to realize just how much they had neglected him on EVERY level. He had no idea how to act around other dogs. No concept of "play." In fact, it would take months for him to realize what the purpose of toys were, and how to play with them (something he still hasn't fully grasped).

Fast-forward to today.

Jack is in his "golden" years and enjoying his days sleeping in his own bean bag chair. He has a best friend in our Dutch Shepherd, Mulan. His hearing is going and his vision is rapidly worsening (apparently he sees everything as shadows), but he is a (relatively) healthy and happy boy, slightly on the chubby side - and VERY much deserving all of the love, play, and rest that he gets every day.

I'm writing this for one reason: I consider myself to have been absolutely blessed and lucky to find Jack when I did, and can't imagine the last nearly five years of my life without him. He was an absolute mess when I rescued him, and odds are that anyone strolling through a shelter in the market for a dog would overlook a dog like Jack because it just seems like "too much work." And I won't lie - it's taken a lot of work to get where we are now. But I would do it all over again without hesitation.

So if you you ever find yourself thinking that it's time for a new addition to the family, think of Jack and how much of an impact he's made on me and my family. And if you ever come across someone thinking of a new dog, make sure you talk to them about a rescue dog. There simply are way too many GREAT dogs who need homes, and unfortunately some of them just won't get a second chance.