In 2017, I had just bought a house and moved in with my cat Cassi (see chapter Queen Cassi "Clawless") and dog Jack (see chapter Sir Jack Wigglestubb).
While I was out of the country visiting family, I saw a courtesy post from Classic Canines about Harley, a 16 year old, deaf yorkie-shihtzu-doodle who needed to be re-homed when her only owner was going in to assisted living and Harley couldn't go with (she had a couple of snapping incidences).
I agreed to take her on a trial basis. She was able to co-exist with Cassi and seemed interested in Jack, so she stayed!
She blossomed in to quite the character, hence her full name. The first Halloween she was with me, I made the mistake of trying to dress her up without taking precautions. This led to a pretty nasty bite, an ER visit and 10 day house arrest for Harley - I think the animal control officer was laughing when visiting the house...
She did make an adorable wookie though!
She's very much taken on the role of the matriarch of the house. She can be quite defensive of her personal space and still cries/barks/growls non-stop when being groomed or bathed.
She's a particular lady, but loyal to a T and as soon as notices anyone approaching or entering the house (usually a few minutes after the fact), she will alert me!
She also wakes me up every morning if I'm not up by 6:30am....and since she's deaf, she can't be shushed!
Despite her being old, arthritic, deaf and having her vision failing, she still guards the house and me to the best of her abilities :)

I had moved to Austin in 2012 and living in an apartment by myself and working full time, I didn't think I had the time or space to adopt a dog. But I was volunteering with APA! when possible and, during Thanksgiving break in 2013, I signed up to take a sleepover. I was asked to take a fourteen-year-old chihuahua who'd been returned when a four-year-old had pulled his ear and he'd snapped.

That's how Jack came in to my life, on a chilly November day, wearing a Santa coat, looking sweet, scared, and confused. He got a lukewarm welcome from Cassi, my cat, but he was able to relax and settle in pretty quickly. After just a couple of days, the idea of putting this fragile soul in a kennel was unacceptable to me, and I signed up to foster him (because I still "didn't have time for a dog," but my apartment was better than a kennel until he found a home).

Months went by, and as the oldest dog on APA!'s adoptable list, Jack the Rat-Chi didn't generate many inquiries. When he finally did get some interest and the potential adopter said she would meet others, too, to decide who was the best fit, I had an odd feeling of pride. It shouldn't be a matter of my Jack being good enough—this was about finding an adopter who was good enough for him! With that, I realized the only home I would be happy for Jack to be in was mine, so I made it official!

I adopted Jack thinking I would be able to spoil him for one or two years in the most comfortable setting possible. He was approaching fifteen, and he had bad teeth, arthritis, and cataracts. After adoption, he had a dental procedure in which he lost thirteen of his teeth, leaving him with no teeth between his canines and the cutest gap in the front of his mouth.

Four years later, Jack was still going strong (though not as strong as he had been), and he, Cassi, and I moved out of the apartment and in to our own house. Jack finally had his own backyard!

Soon after, our pack grew to include Harley ("Dame Harlequin"). Like an old married couple, the two of them went on walks together, explored the backyard together, and frequently stole each other's food!

In the spring of 2019, Jack's health was declining. Having had two eye ulcers and a liver inflammation in the last eighteen months, it was all downhill from there. He lost his appetite and lost a lot of weight, and beginning in early May, he was at South Park Animal Hospital at least weekly. We tried everything: appetite stimulants, anti-inflammatory, painkillers, a. high-calorie prescription diet, and even acupuncture, but he only got worse. On June 5, I held him in my arms, feeding him ice cream, under the tree in the backyard, while Dr. Maggie from Compassionate Pet Vet helped him cross to the rainbow bridge.

Sir Jack Wigglestubb not only made me realize that I can always make time for dogs, but he gave me a love for seniors and the more "complicated" ones. He was a very unique and distinguished gentleman, and I miss him dearly every day.

I had moved to Austin in 2012 and, living in an apartment and working full time, I didn't think I had the time or space to adopt a dog. But I was volunteering with APA! and, during Thanksgiving break 2013, I signed up to take a sleepover. I was asked to take a fourteen-year-old chihuahua who'd been returned because he’d snapped when a four-year-old had pulled his ear.

That's how Jack came in to my life, on a chilly November day, wearing a Santa coat, looking sweet, scared, and confused. He got a lukewarm welcome from Cassi, my cat, but he relaxed and settled in pretty quickly. After just a couple of days, the idea of putting this fragile soul in a kennel became unacceptable, and I signed up to foster him. Months went by, and as the oldest dog on APA!'s adoptable list, Jack didn't generate many inquiries. When he finally did get some interest, the potential adopter said she would meet others, too, to decide who was the best fit. I had an odd feeling of pride in that moment. This wasn’t about my Jack being good enough—it was about finding an adopter who was good enough for him! With that, I realized the only home I would be happy for Jack to be in was mine, so I made it official!

I adopted Jack thinking I would be able to spoil him for one or two years at most. He was approaching fifteen, and he had bad teeth, arthritis, and cataracts. After adoption, he had a dental procedure in which he lost thirteen of his teeth, leaving him with the cutest between his canines. Four years later, Jack was still going strong, and he, Cassi, and I moved out of the apartment and in to our own house. Jack finally had his own backyard!
Soon after, our pack grew to include Harley ("Dame Harlequin"). This sixteen-year-old, deaf Yorkie-shih tzu-doodle needed to be rehomed because her owner was going in to assisted living and she couldn't go with. I agreed to take her on a trial basis, and she coexisted with Cassi and seemed interested in Jack, so she stayed! Like an old married couple, Harley and Jack went on walks together, explored the backyard together, and frequently stole each other's food!

In the spring of 2019, Jack's health was declining. He’d had two eye ulcers and a liver inflammation in the last eighteen months, and it was all downhill from there. He lost his appetite and a lot of weight, and beginning in early May, he was at South Park Animal Hospital at least weekly. We tried everything: appetite stimulants, anti-inflammatory, painkillers, a high-calorie prescription diet, and even acupuncture, but he only got worse. On June 5, I held him in my arms under the tree in the backyard, feeding him ice cream while Dr. Maggie from Compassionate Pet Vet helped him cross the rainbow bridge.

Sir Jack Wigglestubb not only made me realize that I can always make time for dogs, but he gave me a love for seniors and the more "complicated" ones. He was a very unique and distinguished gentleman, and I miss him dearly every day.

Since Jack’s death, Harley has very much taken on the role of the matriarch of the house, waking me up every morning at 6:30. (Conveniently for her, she’s deaf and can’t be shushed!) She can be quite defensive of her personal space and still cries, barks, and growls nonstop when being groomed or bathed. The first Halloween she was with me, I made the mistake of trying to dress her up without taking precautions. This invasion of her space led to a pretty nasty bite, an ER visit for me, and ten-day house arrest for Harley. Still, she made an adorable Wookie, and I think the animal control officer was laughing throughout the visit.

She's a particular lady, but loyal to a T. As soon as notices anyone approaching or entering the house (usually a few minutes after the fact), she alerts me with all her might! Despite being old, arthritic, deaf, and nearly blind, she still guards the house—and me—to the best of her abilities.