I Didn’t Want a Dog — But I Would Choose Him Every Time

He loved being at camp!

I didn’t want a dog. I knew the house would always be covered in dog hair, and the responsibility of training the dog would fall on me since I worked from home. I also just really wanted to have another baby, but my husband was done; so, a dog it was. I can laugh at this story now, and honestly, it’s one of my favorites to tell, but we knew nothing about having a dog and I was nervous.

Jacoby came from an interesting situation. His mom had complications during the birth of her litter and rejected the puppies. Thankfully our good friends at the time knew what they were doing and cared for the litter until it was time for the puppies to go to their forever home. They needed homes for all the puppies because their house could not fit one more person or animal, so we claimed one!

The first day we had him, I have a very vivid memory of my son, who was three at the time, just laying staring at him asleep in his kennel. So cute!

 Jacoby cried that first night, and if memory serves me well, only a few more nights before he settled in and started to not miss his siblings. We were so surprised it didn’t go on for longer as we were told that they could cry for a while at night. He was such a good boy!

The cutest puppy!

He also potty trained like a champ. I took that puppy and 6 kids outside every 20 minutes in April so he could learn to do his business outside. He picked it up so quickly! And I was proud of myself for figuring out how to do it not having any prior knowledge of how.

He lived the life of luxury. I was home every single day with him, and he always had my daycare kids here with him too. He went everywhere we did, and I have SO many pictures of him asleep at naptime on one of my children’s nap mats. He definitely was just one of the kids 🙂

One of his favorite things to do after fresh snow was to dart around the back yard in the snow. He would always get excited to see a pile of snow. And even in the summertime, he would get what we called the zoomies, and he would bolt around the perimeter of our yard for many laps. He loved being outside with us, especially at camp.

Another favorite thing he LOVED to do was bark incessantly at any person he could see outside the daycare room window! 🙃 It didn’t matter if they were really close to the house or really far, he was going to act like they were coming to hurt us. 😂 And if you were male and had to come into our house, forget it; he wouldn’t stop barking until you left, pretty much. It was the most annoying thing to deal with and something I could never break him of, but what I wouldn’t do to have him here doing it again.

He loved laying in the sun. You'd think being a black dog he would get too hot, but he loved it!

 He had his spot in our room where he slept at the foot of our bed, right under the window. Some nights he would wake me because he was having a bad dream, and I would go shake him awake. He was always grateful. I always wondered what he was dreaming about that would make him feel sad.

He was a part of my every day. Always near and always wanting to be close but not right on top of me. He just wanted to be where I was. He was a quiet steadiness, and I never realized how much comfort that brought me day in and day out until he was gone.

When we got him, my children were 11,3 and 9 months, so they all grew up together. He was a quiet steady presence for my children too. If they were sad or mad, feeling lonely or scared, they would seek out their Jacoby, and he always made them feel better.

He had gray hair very early on, so he looked like he was older but stayed spry for quite some time. But, like everything, wear and tear starts to become noticeable. His zoomies in the back year were less frequent; he couldn’t jump onto the couch anymore or sit down without looking like he was in pain. I didn’t even know the last times for these things would be the last time. The day the plumber came into the house and Jacoby didn't even acknowledge his presence was the day I knew we needed to do something. It’s heart breaking to see your sweet, lively dog wither away into a shell of what he used to be.

He always greeted us at the door whenever we got home until the day we came home without him.

Making the decision to put Jacoby to sleep was one of the hardest things to do. We knew it was time, but we selfishly didn’t want to let him go. He had become our 4^th child!! And losing him felt like we were losing a part of our family. He watched my children grow up, and then he watched their children come into this home too. It hurt more than I can describe in words.

He loved his people and we loved him. Our last picture together.

But he had all his people with him, and when I was petting his head, he looked straight into my eyes once we entered the waiting room and gave me a look that I will never forget. A look of, “It’s okay, I’m okay, and I’m ready.”  

It was so peaceful.

The house feels different now. Quieter.  And I have to sweep a million times a day after my grandkids have been here (I had NO IDEA how much he helped me keep the floors clean!), but this house knew what it was like to love a dog.

So no, I didn’t want a dog. But if I had it to do all over again, I would choose him every single time. He gave me unconditional love even when I didn’t know how much I needed it.

I can still hear him barking at the back door to be let in, his paws walking across the kitchen floor, and still expect him at the door when we get home. I still have his leashes and dog bowls...I just can't bear to part with them yet. I know these things will fade as time goes on. You don’t have something be a part of your life for 15 ½ years and just suddenly stop.

 RIP my sweet Jacoby puppy ❤️