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 7th pup born in a litter of 10 to our own Skye on March 20, 2001, it was the first day of Spring and beautiful. His beauty amazed me during the next few weeks, from his beautiful broad, flat head with his perfect ears, right down to his square little box butt! All the pups were beautiful but Jack stole my heart that day. I held them every night after work; but I held Jack 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.”



But his “perfect” conformation isn’t what made Jack 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 matured into a beautiful dog with a thick, soft shiny coat, and the most expressive eyes. He had a wonderful sense of humor; he loved to make us laugh! Either by playing tricks on the girls (his two sisters) or just being the big clown that he was; Jack decided to let the girls handle the work, while he acted as protector on the ranch. This was done as he was lying under his Tree that over looks the ranch. Jack never in his 7yrs fought with another dog-it was beneath him.



17 months ago my beautiful boy, never sick a day in his life, suffered 6 grand mal seizures, the most violent of seizures-in one day. Epilepsy was ruled out-it shows up much earlier in a dog’s life. The only other reason for such violent seizures was a brain tumor. Jack was treated with Phenobarbital to control his seizures but it made him lethargic. The tumor and drugs had taken their toll on him though, he lost the luster in his coat and he developed a skin irritation last spring. He was still beautiful, his eyes still held their sparkle and love of life; he still loved to make us laugh, although he didn't try as often.



For 15 months Jack never complained and he met what life dealt him with a courageous spirit. On July 6, 2008, between 1:00 and 8:00 a.m. my gallant, brave Aussie had 5 grand mal seizures; 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-my voice calming him and as I whispered to him to be easy he would relax. Each seizure was worse than the previous and after the last one, he looked into my eyes and I knew what he was asking. His beautiful eyes were clouded with pain but the love he had for us, his people, was there too. His tremendous heart & spirit had again carried him through these horrible seizures. 



I gave him his favorite treat-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 on the way 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 so much, my brave, wonderful friend went to the Rainbow Bridge to wait. I was with him 7yrs and 3 months before, on that beautiful first day of Spring when he took his first breath and I was with him 2 months ago, on a warm July morning when he took his last.  Jack is now sleeping under his Tree where I planted wildflowers for him. 



We'll always love you and we were so lucky to have you as a part of our lives even if it was for such a short time.

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