The Story of Jay

I told the story of Jay the other night at an event called Story Story Story held at the Grange Hall here on Lopez. The prompt or topic was New Beginnings, and it sparked a desire to tell the story of my new dog. Around June of last year we lost Lionel, and two years before that our dog Bruce. This left us dog-less. However, in July we discovered Steve most likely had a cancerous tumor in his left lung. We soon discovered it was stage two, and that we weren’t viable for surgical removal due to Steve’s already limited lung capacity. We got on board with a prognosis of radiation and chemotherapy and started treatment in September. The treatments would require that we catch the first ferry off five days a week. Monday through Thursday we would have an 8:20am radiation treatment. Thursday we would have that 8:20am radiation treatment followed by labs and chemotherapy. Friday we simply had radiation. The days that we only had radiation we were able to catch an early boat and were home by noon. We soon hit the sheets for a nap, then prepared to do it again the next day.

What was nice about our newly adopted schedule, was that it did not interfere with watching our friend’s dog on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the afternoons and evenings. Steve leaned into the dog time that we had with Benny. I also had service positions to attend to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7pm. I surprised myself, but I enjoyed logging in for those meetings every week, and it did not become onerous. Still, the other days of the week we were dog-less, and we only had our one cat to cuddle, which we did oh so regularly.

We trudged through the treatments during the end of September and into November. We had a month off when we finished, and then checked in early December with a CT scan to mark Steve’s progress. The scan showed that the tumor was almost nonexistent. Steve also never vomited or lost any hair during chemo. It seemed we were on the right road, mastering recovery as best we could. In the first week of December, we got a call from a friend. They were desperately looking for a home for a five year old German Shepherd who was not being taken care of adequately. His name was Jay. We immediately said yes, without meeting him. We were in desperate need of a dog, and this seemed like divine timing. On the sixth of December, Jay showed up at our door. He ran into the yard very agitated. He was pacing and nervous. He was painfully thin, he would not stop itching and regularly barked out of control. But the moment we saw Jay, we knew he was our dog. We could give him the love and care that he desperately needed.

The first few weeks were a challenge. Steve had a terrible reaction to an immunotherapy treatment that made it hard for him to breathe, and we had to go off island to the emergency for some tests. I was in the car with the dog for six hours while Steve was in emergency, and he just would not stop barking. His itching was unrelenting, and he was full of nervous energy. But Jay and I bonded right away. It would only be a matter of months before we would see a complete transformation. He gained weight, and we put him on an allergy sensitive diet. We got rid of the worms, fleas and mange. His coat became silky and his tail which was almost nonexistent from the chewing filled out and became luscious. Today he listens, enjoys his toys, has vitamin treats and two meals a day, barks less, the chewing is almost nonexistent, and he has calmed down considerably. He has become friendly with a handful of people that visit us. He gets treats and yummy vitamins, a pet chew and two fish oils a day, and most of all does not live half his life in a cage. Both Steve and I have bonded deeply with Jay. He sits and lays down, and does not run away when we let him out the gate unleashed. There are still a few challenges, but I feel so immensely blessed and grateful for this amazing creature that has blessed both of our lives.

Steve’s cancer is still looking good. We went off for a CT scan and a visit with his oncologist last week. The difference in Jay’s behavior was astounding. Fortunately the area of concern still looks good, so we can continue to postpone immunotherapy for the time being. Most of all, we got through an incredibly difficult time unscathed, and we were gifted with Jay, a new beginning for us all, at the end of it. Every single day I revel in amazement at how good, kind and intelligent Jay is, and that he is a part of our lives. Jay is a super hero. We are so so lucky, as is he. I believe the feelings are mutual.