HartBrothersHome  Asia New Zealand NEVOSH Art PapaFlew LeeHart.com BradyHart.com Who?

Goodbye, Jack.
Jack, our youngest, largest, and arguably most adorable dog, passed away today, June 23, 2005.
by Brady

I adopted Jack from a young woman named Sarah that I met at a Prince concert at the gorge in 1997.  Until I adopted him, Jack had lived the majority of his young life tied on a short chain to a large dog house on a concrete pad at Sarah's mom's house in Renton, a few blocks from Jimi Hendrix' resting place.  I had to insist that Sarah take me outside to meet Jack.  She was embarrassed that Jack barked all the time, and warned me that he would likely put his feces covered paws all over me if I got close enough.  His concrete pad had not been cleaned, and he had no other option than to walk in his own waste in his short circle of existence.  As he pawed me, I saw right away that Jack was a very sweet dog who only needed and wanted to be closer to his humans.  After talking it over a little with Sarah's mom, and with my brother and housemate Dave, I adopted Jack the next day. 

In the first week after I brought Jack home, we wondered if I had made a terrible mistake, as he was so excited to be inside with people that he was overbearing, jumping on us, knocking things off of tables with his tail, and being generally rambunctious.  He settled down nicely, presumably once he realized that we had no intention of ever tying him up outside alone again. He still would bark occasionally, but only when there was someone or something encroaching on the front yard of his humans.

Jack was allegedly a cross between a hound dog and a golden retriever, though he appears to be more of a hound dog / great dane mix.  He was unique and has no offspring.  Jack was not a perfect dog, as he would tend to monopolize bones and stuffed toys when they had been distributed among our three dogs.  He also enjoyed cuddling with humans so very much that he would often cuddle one right off the bed, which sometimes became an annoyance.  With that said, he was the most eager to please of any animal I have known. 

During the time we had Jack, he grew to over 150 pounds.  We did put him on a diet, and he lost weight and was looking just about right when we discovered he had cancer.  I had taken the dogs on an urban hike on the Bridle Crest Trail from 148th Ave to the west side of the Bridle Trails state park.  Even though I watered him thrice on the hike, Jack became dehydrated, and was drinking almost constantly.  That night, he stopped showing interest in food, and we took him to the vet the next morning.   X-rays of his chest were hard to read due to fluid around his lungs, but seemed to show several substantial growths in his lungs.  On his second day in the hospital, an ultrasound showed "thickening" of the intestines.  Intestinal surgery found more nodules, one of which was removed for biopsy.  It turns out that he had high grade carcinoma which was spreading rapidly.   After a few days of intensive chemotherapy and grueling forced feedings, Jack showed no real signs of improvement and was losing red blood cells to intestinal bleeding at an unsustainable rate.  We chose to have the vet put him down rather than watch him suffer terribly through his last few days.  He went without a whimper.

It's been said that if you want to find one true friend in Washington, DC, you need to get a dog.  Jack showed that this holds true in the Pacific Northwest as well.  He was as true as a friend could ever be and we shan't ever forget our noble hound. 

I am very thankful to Jack for showing me how faithful and affectionate a canine can be.  I am glad to have had the chance opportunity to rescue him from his squalid former surroundings.  I regret only that I did not take him to his favorite off leash area, Marymoor, on every day of his short life. 

Jack (Hart) March 14, 1997 - June 23, 2005.

Jack's last night:

HartBrothersHome  Asia New Zealand VOSH Amusements  Art PapaFlew LeeHart.com Rack Who?

© 1995 - 2008 HartBrothers.com or its suppliers, all rights reserved.  Please contact us for reproduction permission at webmaster@hartbrothers.com.  We respect intellectual property rights of others and use our own content as well as free/licensed/permitted/fair use content.