A good friend

Today I am writing about a good friend...Jack.  Jack, my German Sheppard, passed away this morning from an auto-immune disease.  It was sudden and unexpected, luckily he was not in pain.

We made sure there was plenty of room for "deposits"

Jack was an interesting, always excited dog.  He was 110lbs, not fat, but thought he was about 5 lbs.  If given the opportunity, he would crawl onto your lap.  He would bump into you, nearly making you fly across the room.  In the mornings, he would push Bella out of the way so that he could lay on the bathroom floor between her and the sink (I think he liked getting hair spray and make-up on him).  I often refer to Jack's tail as a lethal weapon, and we tried to keep everything higher than tail level for fear of his tail destroying any and all objects.

Jack loved to play, whether you wanted to or not.  I can remember a time when a neighbor walked into my house and Jack greeted him by practically swallow the neighbors arm.  We would often buy Jack the "indestructible" KONG toys.  They lasted about a month, but he sure had a good time playing fetch and just chewing.

Jack was the ultimate house dog.  There was no other place he would rather be, than with us and in the house.  I remember a time when we went down to a friends property.  They had 4 German Shepard's, and owned about 5 acres of forested land.  Jack played with the other dogs for about 2 minutes, and then sat at the window waiting to come in.  He could have run and play all day, but he just wanted to be inside.  Same thing would happen at our house.

Jack loved to do chores...well...he loved watching me do chores.  Jack would sit on the front porch making sure that I mowed the lawn correctly.  In case you are wondering how to mow a lawn correctly...Jack always wanted straight lines.  One week had to be up/down, then next left/right, and finally diagonal.  He truly believed this made for a pretty and healthy lawn.  Jack also enjoyed watching me wash the car, pull weeds, and last but not least pick up his deposits from the back.

Aside from me and Bella, Jack's best friend was Buster (our Fox Terrier).  Buster is 15 lbs, but totally rules the roost.  Jack would love to lay on the ground and play with buster.  Buster would use his short tail to hit jack in the face, Jack would use his paw (nearly the size of Buster's head) to push him around.  This would go on for hours, and Jack would be as happy as a mud lark.

One of Jack's favorite activities was watching me work on my bike.  No sooner than I would get my chain clean and re-lubed, he would brush against it and coat the chain in fur.  Jack also loved to try and bite my wheel as it spun...I am not sure why, as there is no reflector, but he loved it and I always had to watch out.  Tubeless tires are not cheap.

I really believe Jack loved cycling, or at least the end result of me cycling.  After a ride, Jack would run up, nearly knocking me to the ground, and then proceed to lick me.  I always told Bella he was just cleaning me so I could then give her a hug.  Bella is not a fan of stinky, sweaty hugs.  Jack was our intermediary.

Today on my ride to and from work, I thought of Jack.  I did not push it hard, rather I just took it casual and observed the scenery.  Both Bella and I will miss Jack and all his goofiness that I did not have time to describe.  A part of our family is gone, and we will miss him.