Jensen Tann

MY BEST MATE HAS GONE (7.3.2015)

A heartbroken Stuart and Karin told us “It is with great sadness that I must tell you that our dear Jensen went to the Rainbow Bridge 730am today after a short illness.

We adopted him in 2007 and it was estimated he was about 3 years old.

We had some problems with him in the beginning but slowly we won him over and as we gained his confidence he blossomed.

He turned out to be a fantastic dog, my best mate and constant companion. People used to ask if he was velcro’d to my leg ,so close he walked with me. We loved him to bits.

Now …. well I’m sure you know. The emptiness is horrid. But we have many happy memories and many photos that will make us smile.

Thanks to all at IRR for your love and dedication to these animals, you do a wonderful job.

JENSEN’S HISTORY

JENSEN is a very happy boy. He is about 2-3 yrs old, neutered, and looks the spitting image of Kelsey

Sandie said: When I was young, I always wanted a Jensen Interceptor so now I have one!!!

Jensen did have a few behavioural issues, no doubt due to his past, but Amy, his fosterer, has gently taught him his manners. He is a lovely boy who had previously been allowed to, basically, do as he pleased.

Jensen has now found his forever home in Essex with kind people who are prepared to continue his training.

UPDATE ON JENSEN from his dad STUART

As had been the case before, our house was so empty and quiet without a dog. It had been 5 months since Jasper had gone and it was time to stop grieving and to heal. We were both ready for another dog but Karin was not keen to have a pup so a rescue dog seemed a good idea. We had thought maybe a change of breed this time but, although there are many lovely breeds out there, we decided that, if we could, we would like a Retriever again. We feel we know the breed quite well and are comfortable around them.

After a lot of searching on the web I found ‘The Irish Retriever Rescue’ and one of the dogs awaiting rescue was …………Jensen.

As you may remember, Jensen had been shipped over from Ireland and had been living with his foster mum in Reading for about 5 weeks. He was estimated to be around 2 yrs.old and that’s about it. Nothing of his background was known, apart from the fact that he had been a stray.

It was agreed that we should take a trip to Reading to meet each other (us Jensen and Jensen us) and, if all went well, we could take him home with us. So on 29th.July ( we later decided to adopt this date as Jensen’s birthday, as his real one is unknown), off we went to Reading, with some trepidation I have to admit. Two and a bit hours later we arrived.

Jensen’s foster mum, Amy, said she had been teaching him some manners, as he was lacking any, and that he pulled a lot on the lead but, apart from that, he was a good boy! But WHAT DID HE LOOK LIKE ? We had only seen web photo’s of him.

He came in when called and sniffed us……..walked out again……..then came back with tail wagging. He was a much lighter build than Jasper,and very thin. Almost the same colour and a tail with a twist at the end ! We took him, with Amy, of course, to the park, where he showed us what he was made of. He ran off lead, like the wind …..so fast it was untrue……and came racing back when called. He did indeed pull like mad on the lead …..but……..he was great !.Oh and “yes please, we would like to take him home”.

Papers signed and do’s & don’ts explained, Amy put Jensen in the back of our car, wished us luck and quickly ran indoors! (were they tears I saw in her eyes ? ).

The trip home went without incident…..not a sound from Jensen.

That was 8 weeks ago now……..so how’s it all going ?

He is a lovely dog and we are delighted with him.He has been no bother at all and has settled in well.He and I go to training classes every Sunday morning to help with a few minor problems (pulling on his lead, jumping up & a little bit of aggression towards other dogs).We were warned that most rescue dogs come with ‘baggage’ and it’s no surprise when you read the awful things some of these poor animals are subjected to…..by their supposed guardians !! Who was it who said …there are no bad dogs…only bad humans !?

Jensen has put on a little weight and has adapted to our way of life. He is very obedient but I can see that sometimes he is not sure what I want of him. He shows me this by becoming very submissive, laying down at my feet and showing me his belly ! For example,.when playing ball – he brings the ball to me but will not give it up.I say “give” and hold my hand out for him to drop the ball into, he then turns his head away and eventually does the submissive bit.But maybe the confusion comes from conflicting commands.Maybe he learnt “drop” …maybe he never played ball before ..who knows? I end up just taking the ball out of his mouth whilst saying “give”. He will get the idea in the end, he ‘s an intelligent dog.

He LOVES his walks, (walks! that’s a joke ! Jensen doesn’t do walks……gallops is more like it !), over the fields and, when the tide is out, on the mud flats.His recall is spot on.He now also recalls to the whistle which is great because a lot of the time, when over the fields, he is out of my sight. Last Tuesday evening he successfully tracked & caught his first pheasant! Not that I encourage this activity but it seems to come instinctively to him (Jasper, bless him,did the same)……no training required!

Indoors he is very calm and affectionate. He can stand for ages just having his chest rubbed or his head and ears stroked and eventually lays down and snoozes…..just as long as his belly is still being rubbed by my foot! He seems to crave contact and, as long as some part of him is in contact with some part of either of us, he’s happy. He also enjoys being groomed….another big plus!

We think that we are very lucky to have him and will do our best for him.

Hopefully, probably around Xmas or the new year, when we are sure it would be o.k, we will think again about a friend for him….hopefully a BRX bitch. But that’s in the future.

Prior to getting Jensen, I was very concerned that when/if we got another dog, I would forever be comparing him/her with Jasper. Naturally there are similarities, they are, after all, the same breed but that’s where it ends. Jasper was very special to us but so, too, is Jensen. He has brightened our house again. He has his own character, his own funny ways. He is slowly putting more and more trust in us and that’s great to see. He has already helped to mend our hurt – I hope we can mend his. He is indeed a true ‘Golden Retriever’.

Thank you for the love, compassion and dedication that you and ALL the team at IRR show to these unfortunate animals and for the chance for people like us to be “parents” again to what are, in the majority of cases, very loving and intelligent dogs.

Kindest regards

Stuart,Karin & Jensen.

P.S………..A little quirk of fate perhaps ?…………………..

‘Jensen’ is a quite common Scandinavian surname……………my Karin is Danish !!!!!