From the Moment He was Born

He was forever faithful, always the gentleman; he carried himself with grace and dignity and he had the heart of a Champion

High Sierra's Jack-of-All-Trades
March 20, 2001 - July 6, 2008

From the moment he was born, I knew Jack was special. He was a gorgeous red merle, Australian Shepherd pup, when his eyes finally opened one was sky blue and the other was a beautiful amber color that matched his coat exactly. He had perfect conformation, what we call “type” in the Australian Shepherd breed. Jack was the seventh pup born in a litter of ten to our own Skye on March 20, 2001; it was the first day of spring and beautiful. During the first few weeks I was amazed at how this pup looked, from his beautiful broad, flat head with his perfect ears, right down to his square little box butt! All the pups in Skye's litter were beautiful but Jack stole my heart that day. I held and loved them all every night after work; but I held and loved Jack just a little bit longer. He was my boy from the moment he was born; he was Jack from the beginning "High Sierra's Jack-of-All-Trades."

Jack’s “perfect” conformation isn’t what made him special, it was his tremendous heart, his extreme intelligence, and he was loyal and gentle to a fault. He conducted himself with dignity and grace and he was always a Gentleman even as a pup. Jack had a wonderful sense of humor and he loved to make us laugh! Whether it was by playing tricks on the girls (his two sisters) or by just being the big clown that he was, as long as we laughed he was happy! Early on it was clear that Jack would rather goof off than work, although he did try at times. Jack let the girls handle the work while he acted as sentinel of the ranch; a feat he performed while lying under his tree overlooking the ranch. Later, he became the self pro-claimed "Protector" of all the babies that came to the ranch, be it children, puppies, kittens, chicks, or foals, they were his to guard and he did his job well.

Jack grew from an adorable pup into a beautiful dog inside and out. He had a gorgeous, shiny coat, beautiful bright eyes, and of course "perfect" conformation; not once in his seven years did Jack fight with another dog-it was beneath him, and everyone that met and truly got to know him, fell in love with his kind, gentle, soul, and comical antics.

Two years ago, when he was almost six years old my beautiful Jack, who'd never been sick a day in his life, suffered six "grand mal" seizures, the most violent of seizures, in one day. Epilepsy was ruled out because it shows up a lot earlier in a dog's life. The only other reason they gave us for such violent seizures was a brain tumor. For fifteen months Jack was on Phenobarbital to help control his seizures, it made him lethargic but the seizures were gone. Sadly, the tumor and the drugs took their toll on my gentle boy as he lost the luster in his coat and he developed a skin irritation, but his eyes still held their sparkle and love of life and he could still make us laugh, although he didn't try as often.

On July 6, 2008 between 1:00 a. m. and 8:00 a.m., my gallant, brave Aussie had five grand mal seizures; even his medication couldn’t help him. I stayed up with him through the night praying that he'd hang on until morning; thankfully I was able to talk him through each seizure. I whispered to him to "be easy" and he would relax, my voice calming him. Each seizure was worse than the previous and after the last one he looked into my eyes and I knew what he was asking me. His beautiful eyes were clouded with pain but the love he had for us, his people, was there too. His tremendous heart and spirit had again carried him through these horrible seizures. I gave him his favorite treat of tapioca pudding and when he was able I took him outside for a short walk so he could say good-bye to his ranch he loved so much. I rode with him in the back of the truck while my husband drove us to the vet, and at 9:25 a.m. while I held his beautiful head in my lap and whispered to him that he was such a good boy and that I loved him; my brave, wonderful friend went to the Rainbow Bridge to wait. I was with him on that beautiful first day of spring when he took his first breath and I was with him on that warm summer morning when he took his last. Jack is now sleeping under his tree, where I planted wildflowers for him.

For fifteen months Jack never complained and he met what life dealt him with a courageous heart, spirit, and tremendous dignity. I’ll always love him and be grateful to him for helping me to let him go when it was time.

Rest Easy My Sweet, Valiant Jack-of-All-Trades...

The following poem is for you, Jack, I know in my heart its what you asked of me that morning.

May I go now?

Do you think the time is right?

May I say goodbye to scary days and nights?

I've lived my life and I’ve done my best, a good example I’ve tried to be.

So can I take that step beyond and set my spirit free?

I didn't want to go at first; I fought with all my heart.

But something seems to draw me now to a warm and living light.

I want to go, I really do; it's difficult to stay.

But I will try as best I can to live just one more day,

To give you time to care for me and share your love and fears.

I know you're sad and afraid, because I see it in your tears.

I'll not be far away; I promise that, and I hope you'll always know,

That my spirit will be close to you wherever you may go.

Thank you for loving me, you know I love you too,

That's why it's hard to say goodbye and end this life with you.

So please hold me now just one more time and let me hear you say,

Because you love me so very much, you'll let me go today.


I'll see you in my dreams, my friend...