Update from Jacko (No Help Indeed)

By Fatima |

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Selwyn and Angela just sent us an update on their handsome Jacko, whom they adopted in July this year:

Jacko is absolutely wonderful. He settled in so well, and is loving life. We love him to bits. Our day begins with an excited greeting from Jacko and a routine exchange of cuddles. He's so well socialised with people, and is quite a character who soaks up the pats. He has a habit of leaning firm against anyone who he meets for the first time, which can be quite alarming as Jacko is a tall boy whose racing weight was around 36 kilos, and his home/pet weight has settled at 40 kilos, so when he leans his full weight against people you can see them have to steady themselves! This is always an affectionate gesture by Jacko and is his way of saying hi, I like you, and know you like me too. The children in the area love him and when we are out on our walks (twice a day) almost everyone stops to say hello. It is kind of nice for us both.
Jacko came to us after having fractured his right rear hock in a racing trial at Cambridge. His fracture was a bad one but luckily his trainers loved him a lot and had a skilled orthopedic vet plate his broken bones.
He was in plaster for six weeks and defied predictions that if he was to survive he would need to have his rear leg amputated. With tender loving care from his trainers, and courage from himself, his bones fused and he is now pretty confident using it, and running on it. Occasionally it might ache a bit, I notice him resting it a little. But he never complains and when it was winter we kept him nice and cosy, especially at night. We have to let it mend more yet before he can run free and at speed. But already he is very active, loves his trotting walks, and has recently galloped with ease and without discomfort on KareKare beach west of Auckland.

Jacko's a young boy and quickly figured out what it is like to live in a home. Initially, some things confused him, like food cooking in the oven. We had to be very wary and set clear boundaries not letting him near food that was being prepared. He has figured it all out now and is very well behaved and knows good things come to a good dog who waits. :)
That said, Jacko loves his food and has an acute sense of time. If we are a bit slow to get things moving in the food stakes, Jacko soon lets us know it is time. His favorite food seems to be, well anything really, but particularly he loves chicken and rice. There really is a lot of joy in seeing Jacko enjoy a meal.
I suspect, like many who live with greyhounds, we have found that our boy Jacko is intelligent and learns things through us understanding him and his ways, being consistent and patient as he discovers what is right
and expected. He has acquired a keen understanding of many words, and has taught us a few things too like how to really really relax, and how to take time to smell the flowers (he loves sniffing the flowers in the window boxes when the windows are open in our home), and to have a nap and save energy for the big action when on our walks!

We can tell he misses his old Greyhound mates from the racing kennels. There is a whippet that walks in a park near us, and when Jacko sees her when out and about he really picks up and watches her keenly. He also seems to have a keen liking for vans and 4WD vehicles, we suspect he fondly remembers many long trips to racing events around the north island.
We are very proud of Jacko, his courage and good nature defines him. He's a big athletic handsome dog, he's a head-turner, he did his very best in his races when working, and gave almost his life after that track accident in March. But he's got through all that and is living a well deserved retirement now, enjoying life each day with us. It is a privilege. Thanks to GAP for helping him through the transition stage and to his trainers for making all this possible.