04/12/2025
I know JB has a lot of people on my old business page who really loved him, so I wanted to share this with you guys too.
Every once in a while, if you are very fortunate, a dog comes into your life and becomes much, much more than a dog. JB was such a dog. He saved me. He helped me through the toughest times of my life, from a serious heart condition, to a divorce after 27 years and moving out of state and away from all my family and friends, to starting and running my own business, and much, much more. He loved big. He loved everyone. He helped the elderly and their caregivers through Covid and isolation from their loved ones. He helped his sister Shiloh through her final days. He bonded with Rowdie and she didn’t bond with any dog! He taught Rooster how to be a dog because he was never allowed to be one. He tolerated General’s antics even though he was scared of him! And he loved Bryan as if he had known him his whole life. Mostly, he loved me. I got him when he was 4 years old (we think), even after I told Adam NO…ABSOLUTELY NOT!! WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER DOG!! On Monday, he went to the pharmacy with me and he always gets several treats. Then we came home and went for a walk like we always do. He was snooping around a yard in between their house and an old shed like he always does. I didn’t give it much thought. I noticed him eating grass and thought “too many treats at the pharmacy and it upset his stomach”. I yelled at him to come on and we finished our walk. He was sluggish Monday night but I didn’t think much about it. Tuesday evening he wouldn’t eat (JB loved two things, me and food). Then I noticed he was breathing funny so I called the vet and she met me at her clinic at about 8pm (Berryville Vet, Dr. Sarah Buchanan, nobody better). He pooped on the floor! She tested it and didn’t find much…a little blood and one worm egg. His temp was normal. He wasn’t wheezing and she listened too his lungs for a long time. She sent us home with antibiotics, a pain killer and a wormer that I was to give after he eats. He coughed half of the night Tuesday night, but was sleeping soundly when I got up for work. He drank, he pee’d, then laid on his bed. Bryan text me about an hour after I went to work saying he wasn’t doing well. I called Sarah and she said bring him in. Bryan took him in and she remembered me talking about how he ate EVERYTHING. She found fluid around his lungs…blood. She tested for rat poison and that was it. She gave him coagulant to try and stop the bleeding. She told me to plan on taking him home for the night because there is nobody at the clinic overnight to watch him. She text me at about 3:50pm Wednesday and said “JB collapsed. We are transfusing. Please come ASAP.” I rushed to Berryville from Holiday Island and got to the clinic just in time to be there for his last breath. I am devastated. I am heartbroken. I am greatful for the 7 years I had with him. But I wanted more. He was healthy, strong, vibrant. PLEASE people if you have a rodent issue, put the poison where there is no chance that domestic animals or non-invasive wildlife can get to it. This was 100% preventable. If only I would have had him on a leash. If only…
Here are some of my favorite pictures and memories of him. The last picture is of him on his last healthy day.
I miss my boy. 💔
