Jaxx

In November of 2017 we sadly said good-bye to our 14 year old black Lab, Tyronne, the son of our previous Lab, Rudy.  Both Rudy and Ty were certified by Therapy Dogs International as well as being competitive Frisbee dogs.  We often performed Frisbee demos at animal shelter fund raisers, schools, camps and more.  We miss them both tremendously.  For the past year on work days, one of my daughters has been dropping Ollie, her 1 1/2 year old Golden Doodle, off and my son often brings Iowa, a Golden Retriever for my informal “doggie day care”.   However, in the evenings and most weekends we were dogless after everyone went home.  While we do have a Ragdoll cat (Gilbert) we missed having a dog for company.  We have continually had at least one (usually two or more) of our own dogs for decades and missed coming home to a house without a wagging tail greeting us at the door.  Hence, in January of this year, we decided it was time to bring a new member into our family, a Labrador Retriever of course.

Bev, my wife, thought we should adopt a rescue dog as she had been viewing them on-line.   I agreed!  In approximately 2006 and 2007 Rudy & Ty were invited to perform canine Frisbee demos for Brookline Labrador Rescue BLRR at their annual pet fair in Allentown, PA.   I was impressed with the folks I had met there.  We applied and were approved as potential BLRR adopters after a thorough vetting process which included 3 reference checks.  I explained to Sue, a Brookline volunteer who served as our liaison, that we needed an athletic dog who could get along well with our two granddogs and our large, dog-friendly cat.

Brookline has a very strict process and Sue provided us with significant documentation on each dog recommended to us.  For each dog we were interested in we were provided a 14 page Dog Evaluation Form completed by the Brookline volunteer who evaluated the dog before Brookline accepted it into their rescue.    Dogs are NOT put up for adoption until a Brookline volunteer has fostered the dog for enough time to ensure the dog is ready for adoption.  That includes bringing the dog to good health (this can take weeks or many months), understanding the dog’s personality and completing a 5 page Foster Dog Placement Questionnaire.  That questionnaire is also provided to the potential adopter.

We were considering a couple different Brookline dogs when Sue brought Jaxx, a less than 11 month old yellow Lab, to our attention.  Jaxx had been surrendered by a family with several young children who had trouble controling such a large, boisterous, active, and undisciplined dog.  After reading about Jaxx and speaking with Tom, his BLRR volunteer foster Dad, we agreed that Jaxx could be a good fit for us as we are experienced with the importance of exercise and training needs of a young Lab.   Tom and Sue felt we could provide Jaxx the discipline and training he needed.  We then agreed to meet in a location where we could bring Ollie to meet Jaxx and if they got along well we would bring Jaxx home with us for a 2 week pre adoption period.  All went well and Jaxx did indeed come home with us.  It became apparent on about the second day Jaxx was with us that an adoption was imminent as Jaxx fit in great!  Having spoken with Tom and reading his Foster Dog Placement Questionnaire, Jaxx was exactly as we expected.  Jaxx was and remains a diamond in the rough, he is VERY rough.  Jaxx is a very strong, 82 lb. guy, and while he does not have a mean bone in his body, he can play very roughly.  I can understand why his previous family, having small children, would be concerned someone could be hurt accidentally.   I’m sure it was a hard decision to let him go as Jaxx is also very loving.

Gilbert, our 4 year old cat, took a couple days to warm up to Jaxx and remained in hiding most all of the first day Jaxx was with us.  Gil has been brought up with dogs and is very dog friendly and once he realized Jaxx was not leaving he began to venture closer.  He is very adept at training dogs and before we knew it Jaxx and Gil were sniffing each other and getting along fine.  Jaxx will occasionally get a little too frisky with Gil who will reply with a smack in Jaxx’s face.  Gil keeps his claws retracted and no harm is done.  At other times they can be found sleeping next to each other.  They’re now buddies.

Ollie, Iowa and Jaxx get along great and Jaxx is happy to see Ollie each morning.  Iowa does not come by as often, but when he does, Jaxx is always happy to see him.  It’s fun to watch them all run around the yard together, taking turns doing the chasing.  It’s also good to see that they are burning off some extra energy so they will be calm when they come into the house.

Jaxx was officially adopted on March 16th which coincidentally was Jaxx’s first birthday!   My goal is to get Jaxx trained sufficiently to pass a therapy dog evaluation test and become a certified therapy dog in less than a year.

Hearing how Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue provides extensive medical care, training and companionship for less fortunate dogs is wonderful.  Every effort possible is made to ensure that the dogs they foster go to appropriate homes.  All of the volunteers I have met personally, via phone or only via e-mail have been knowledgeable, friendly and caring.   My wife and I both recommend Brookline unequivocally!

Thank you Brookline!

Bev and Bob W.