05/17/2025
When a picture tells a story yet that story is so much more than you can imagine & in Jacks case it’s sheer shock, horror & sadness.
Jack the labradoodle ended up in an extremely high kill shelter in CA & he waited for someone to help him & save his life. He ended up being listed as rescue only & was sent to isolation so now he was not being seen by the public. He was alone, terrified of course & scared out of his mind. Who wouldn’t be? His initial weight on intake was 70 lbs & the shelter thought he was 3 years old.
The shelter staff had stated on his listing he was displaying forward aggression & teeth baring when approached & would bark at them & not displaying himself well.
Jack’s time was up, he was scheduled to be euthanized & his day & time had arrived. He was posted all over social media, again his picture rips at your soul but the shelter let us know no one was coming for him & they were going to euthanize him.
We are always rescuing dogs & unfortunately it’s extremely hard to keep up with the dogs needing help & there is only so much money, space & foster homes. The need is always non stop & so great. But we knew something was not right with Jack’s picture & his behavior. We organized to rescue him, we could not let him lose his life. We were told to bring a crate because that’s the only way he would be released.
Kyle got Jack out & he was not the dog with the fear or aggression but he was a little timid & absolutely famished. Kyle was feeding him treats & burger patties as a welcome to freedom ride mate. He spoke to him along the journey as he whined a little & put his hand up to the crate for comfort.
He arrived at his foster home at our devoted Margaret’s home & of course, he was filthy, very skinny, smelled so bad, was matted & he smelled rotten. But this boy was a love, he had so much gratitude. He was introduced to his foster friends & he was one content boy.
He was fed a homemade cooked diet & devoured that too then it was time for him to go get a bath straight away as his smelt so very foul. He enjoyed his bath & every minute of it. But once home the intoxicating foul smell was still there & then immediately the source of the smell was discovered. His face was slashed from the inside out all the way through to the outside. He had green puss oozing out & his flesh was rotting away. He was quickly taken to our vet where of course he was suffering & in extreme pain. He now weighed 58.6 lbs & was not eating in the shelter & was going to die because he was suffering this whole time in silence in a cold cage all alone & hidden. He needed an emergency surgery & our vet wanted to him to get antibiotics on board straight away along with pains meds to fight the massive infection he had.
Jack’s estimate straight off the bat was $2,000 & he needed to be neutered but that was going to be a separate surgery. He needed x-rays of his whole mouth, bloodwork, electrolytes, injectables, iv, the wound cleaned & treated along with the rotting flesh, drains put in to release the fluid & puss & then stitches to sew his cheek back together along with continued pain meds & antibiotics.
How did this happen to him we all wanted to know because this massive gash was his whole cheek from the inside out? Our vet thought & looked like a catch pole had done this. When Jack was being picked up or at the shelter he might have been fighting a catch pole & put his mouth around it & sliced him straight through. This all made sense now.
Jack flourished in his foster home, he was the biggest sweetheart ever. He loved his foster mums so much & his foster siblings. He got his homemade food every day, he began to gain his strength to run & play & chase the ball. He would sit & watch his foster mum with such awe & love & appreciation. He shook paws, enjoyed giving & receiving affection, loves a good outfit & was such a good car rider. Not one ounce of aggression, barking, lunging. Nothing but a beautiful soul of a boy. Of course he was. We too would be acting out when we are suffering & in agonizing pain & his was for roughly 12 days before we rescued him.
Jack had his drains removed & his dissolvable stitches looked great.
It was now time for Jacks journey to continue so he could come to WA state. We knew Jack hated crates especially after his horrendous ordeal. We needed someone who understood he had been to hell & back & be patient with him. Our amazing Margaret found them, Shake A Leg Transport LLC. This very dedicated husband & wife & their furry babies drove our boy back to us. We got updates along the way, videos & pictures & updates with our iPhone so we got to see their locations the whole time with share my location. They loved Jack & were so patient with him as if he was their baby so we thank them deeply.
Jack arrived safe & sound to his new foster home & met his foster siblings & became best mates with them & plays with them as if they have known each other forever. He loved his foster mum instantly & was uncertain about his foster dad at first. But now he stands on his hind legs to hug his foster dad & will watch him through the window while he is outside gardening to make sure he has a good eye on him. He eats a clean raw diet, there is no sign of the massive wound. His face & his heart has healed. He now weighs roughly 80 lbs & our vets believes he is only 1 year old. This is how gentle Jack is, he can be fed food off a spoon & will sit & wait for you to give him extra. He sits like a gentleman & watches the world around him & will come the second you call him. He stares right through your soul with so much faith & love for you & appreciation.
He was neutered by our oh so devoted vets who knew Jack’s story of hating crates & were so very understanding with him.
Now it’s time for Jack to find a home that will be his world. Life has already been so cruel to Jack but those days are over & we want our boy to be somebody’s world. It’s just not right nor fair what Jack & countless other souls go through & yet they still love us humans & don’t give up on us.
As always we want to thank the amazing people who stood up for Jack. Margaret, Kyle, our vets in CA & WA. His foster family & Shake A Leg Transport LLC. There are so many more Jacks out there who need help. Jack, we love you & are deeply sorry this happened to you.
We have added some stinking cute videos in the comments of Jack being his amazing self.