Jack Allpress
FAREWELL OLD FRIEND (24th May 2019)
Jack was healthy for most of his life but, after an accident, which he was lucky to survive, his movement became very restricted. It was a traumatic time as, just before Christmas 2018, he lost Poppy, his very best friend.
Our darling Poppy had to be put to sleep at the grand old age of 16 years 6 months.
JACK with POPPY
After an accident, Jack had a professional massage once a week and then hydrotherapy but, by this time, he didn’t have much strength in his rear legs either. Then, a few weeks ago, one of the ladies who was about to give him hydrotherapy discovered a lump on a rear leg. It turned out to be advanced bone cancer. He was put, peacefully, to sleep two days later on 24/ 5 / 2019.
We both miss Jack terribly but he and Poppy will always be in our hearts. We have had a Golden Retriever in the house since we came here in 1997 – two GRs for most of that time.
Now reunited with Poppy forever. Fly high our dearest Golden angels
SLEEP PEACEFULLY JACK
HISTORY
In 2011, a just under 2yrs old Jock entered IRR care after a phonecall from a behaviourist who had been called out to him after he growled at the owner’s baby. Apparently, he had always been possessive of his loot and food and then in their wisdom, they sat the baby on him and were surprised when he growled!!!
JOCK AT LYNN’S
He went into foster with Lynn in Bristol where he met a lot of other dogs and did well. He was, however, very wary of Lynn’s grown up son and, on first meeting, he froze in terror. As dogs, normally, adore him, we decided Jock had probably been bullied by the male owner.
Jock had travelled well and walked fine on his lead for the short distances Lynn did in the wee, small hours. She planned to take him out with the girls later but he was keen to play with Rosie and Tia at 3.30am when he arrived at Lynn’s house!!!!!!!!!!! She managed to get a couple of hours sleep and Jock settled down quietly behind the baby gate with the girls for comfort on the other side. There was not a peep out of him.
He was very friendly and was happy for her to gently smooth him. Everyone thought Jock was lovely and very handsome. He was a small Retriever of similar size to Lynn’s Rosie and Tia.
The only problem he had there was a fairly normal guarding of things but he was never challenged so it didn’t escalate. He was in foster there for a couple of months.
Alan and Sue went to visit him and it was love at first sight.
Alan remembered “We re-homed our Irish Retriever Rescue dog, Jack, in 2011 when he was two years old and he settled down well with our other rescue, Golden Retriever, Poppy, who was six years older”.
JACK NEWLY ADOPTED
Alan continued “He got on very well with our other dog, Poppy, but took a long time to settle.
Also, Jack had a seriously unfortunate character trait – occasionally he would bite people – badly! This happened mostly over food but he also had a fetish for dirty paper tissues and wrappers dropped on the floor. It had all started quite badly. “.
Jack’s story reminded Pauline of her infamous but much loved foster dog, Louis the Labrador, who also had a chequered early life and was exactly the same. He would wrestle anyone for a tissue and the snottier the better!!!!
We all believe that Jack may well have originated in an Irish puppy farm and was, almost certainly, removed from the litter far too early. We suspected that, because he didn’t get bitten back when he bit one of their siblings or their mother, he had no idea of how hard he could bite without doing damage. In total he caused three people to have to go to hospital, including Alan but, despite this, he was adored especially by Alan. It just meant a lot of care had to be taken to avoid the situations with which poor Jack couldn’t cope.
POPPY TOOK CHARGE
Thinking back, Alan told us “I had taken the two dogs for a walk in the woods late one Autumn afternoon and Jack disappeared. He didn’t come back for quite a long time. Eventually he appeared carrying a dead pheasant that had probably been shot some distance away. He was obviously very proud and pleased with his trophy.
I put him on the lead with him still carrying the pheasant – so far so good! But then I thought that having two dogs and a dead pheasant in the car together might have been dangerous, so I decided to separate him from his beloved pheasant.
With him still on the lead, I threw a dog biscuit a few yards away. He went for the biscuit, dropping the pheasant. Unfortunately, I tightened the lead and, as soon as he realised that I had tricked him, he became very angry and he attacked me, biting my hand badly.
Poppy’s reaction was interesting. She really growled – snarled even at Jack, obviously telling him that this was not the way to behave to your owner.
Nevertheless, I was in hospital for several days and had to have an operation under full anaesthetic. I realised it was as much my fault as Jack’s so, of course, I forgave him for biting me and I think he forgave me for taking away his pheasant.
With Poppy overseeing, in the last few years, we had no more biting incidents.
A REFORMED CHARACTER
Alan told us “I need to find one or two more pictures of Jack as a reformed character One is of the lady who got bitten in the early days when she dropped a tissue and she and Jack went to retriever it at the same time. Forgiven she is cuddling up to Jack,
Another one is of my wife’s two grandchildren also cuddling up to Jack. One of them had been previously been scared of dogs.
Yet another is of Jack snuggling up on the sofa with a pussy cat.
JACK’S ACCIDENT and LOSING POPPY
Last September, I had taken both dogs into the woods and, somehow, they got separated.
Poppy went one way and Jack another. She was now 16yrs and seriously deaf so I decided that I’d better chase after Poppy. I caught up with her eventually and took her back towards the car.
Normally the two dogs would wait for me 50 yards or so from the gate but, this time, I heard a sickening howl and realized what had happened. It was a very quiet forest road with a car once an hour maybe but poor Jack had been hit. At first, we thought that Jack would have to have a leg amputated. He didn’t, but his front right shoulder had suffered serious and irreparable nerve damage.
It was shortly after that, just before Christmas, when Poppy had to be put to sleep– at the age of 16 years 6 months. Sadly, she was incontinent and, by the end, could no longer stand.
We all missed her terribly.
LIFE AFTER POPPY
Jack was very, very affectionate and was, apparently, grateful because we gave him a lot of attention. He inherited a full support harness from Poppy.
He had a professional massage once a week and then hydrotherapy. By this time he didn’t have much strength in his rear legs either but we managed to borrow a doggy truck for him to be pushed around in. He loved it. This May we took him on holiday to Wales.
It was a few weeks ago, when one of the ladies who was about to give him hydrotherapy discovered a lump on a rear leg which turned out to be advanced bone cancer. He was put to sleep two days later.
A BIG THANK YOU TO ALAN AND SUE
IRR would like to thank Alan and Sue for giving Jack such a wonderful, happy life and for never giving up on him.