|
This
is a dog’s tale, 5 years in the making.
It is a tale of who saved who. First we
need to go back to June of 2007 when
Arizona Golden Retriever Connection took
in a 1 year old dog with severe hip
problems. Jackson was in so much pain
that he would have to lean against the
wall when he went to the bathroom.
Besides his physical pain, Jackson did
not do well with other dogs. For two
months, Jackson was in a home with other
dogs but Jackson’s aggressiveness toward
other dogs kept escalating. A new
foster home who was willing to work with
his physical needs and his behavioral
needs was going to be a hard bill to
fill. When Abby and Mark filled out an
application, they had lost their beloved
black lab and were preparing to cross
their 13 year old Golden, Sasha across
the Rainbow Bridge. In their application
they wrote
“We
want to foster a dog in medical need in
order to help facilitate a positive
adoption outcome. In the event that we
become "failed fosters" we have always
had dogs in our family and are willing
to rescue (adopt) the right dog.
“Mark
was suffering from a life threatening
disease so he would be home with Jackson
and was willing to help Jackson through
his hip surgeries and work on his
behavior. In April of 2008, Abby and
Mark made it official, Jackson had found
his forever home.
Through the years, Abby would bring
Jackson to AZGRC’s annual Gotcha Day
event. We would ask about how Mark was
feeling and in the first years, Abby
would always say, not really good but
Mark is hanging in there. Occasionally
Mark would try to make our Gotcha Day
event but it was a long walk down a hill
and tiring.
Fast
forward to Gotcha Day November 2012.
Mark, Abby and Jackson arrived early and
stayed the whole event. I was amazed at
how good Mark was looking. Mark
proceeded to thank us for saving his
life. He went on to say that when
Jackson came into their life, Mark was
so sad about losing their other dogs and
his health problems were so overwhelming
that he had given up. He truly saw no
reason to fight any more. Because of
Jackson, Mark found the strength to keep
going.
Jackson was saved by Mark and Abby. Mark
was saved by Jackson. Beyond a doubt
they saved each other. |
