Ranger Is Adopted!
Ranger now known as Jack with Wendi and Ron
Ranger was surrendered by his owner, when they no longer had the time to give Ranger the attention he needed. Once a fishing, swimming and hiking companion, unfortunately, as life changed, and a growing family evolved, Ranger spent much time alone in the backyard, and in an attempt to find his people, Ranger would work his way over a 6 foot fence to find them. Unfortunately, on one of those escapes, he allegedly was hit by a car and lost an eye, however, one eyed Ranger is not phased a bit by only having one eye at all! At 12 years old, he was such a fun loving guy, and a puppy at heart. We were determined to find him the perfect home that would be able to give Ranger the love and attention he needed.
Wendi and Ron applied to adopt a female GSP. No specific age was given. No particular color. They just stated on their application “What dog needs us the most”? Well they certainly became one of our very favorite applicants! Wendi and Ron were not new to the breed. They had owned GSP’s, along with Labs and Beagles. Their daughter had recently adopted a female GSP, and they had room in their home and their hearts to adopt a dog of their own.
Even though they did apply for a female, we thought that Ranger would fit into their lives perfectly. They were retired, the dog would be rarely left alone at home, as they wanted a dog that could go with them wherever they went. They had a perfect large yard with a high fence, and plenty of lizards, possums and squirrels to keep a GSP busy, and an enormous amount of love to give a dog.
Our adoption counselor working with Wendi and Ron, also happened to be the volunteer who transported Ranger to the rescue, and got to know him pretty well on the long drive, and felt that if they would be open to a male, Ranger could be the perfect dog for them.
Thankfully, they were open to learning more about Ranger, and after seeing what a goofy, playful and big puppy he was, decided to come out and meet him. And do you know what he did???? He captured their hearts and joined their amazing family.
“Well how fun is this? Thank you for the opportunity to share our experience. There’s so much to say about One-Eyed Jack (formerly Ranger).
As you know, we originally thought we wanted a young female but after speaking with Teri, and responding to her persuasive “would you be opposed to a male, would you be opposed to a senior” questions (haha), hearing Jack’s story and then meeting him, we simply could not resist him. He’s a wonderful Velcro dog and we have been very, very blessed by him. He’s everything he was described to be and more. We often quip that it is US who were the ones rescued. He’s fit in with us very nicely, is quickly responsive to commands and is very, very smart – albeit at times can be a real goober.
While the records say he is 12 years old, he acts like he’s 5 and the vet says that he is in fantastic shape. He’s happy to run around our property, play fetch and stalk critters and is my constant cohort in the garden and in my quilting studio. In his first 12 days with us, we also experienced the “12 possums in 12 days” kill record….he was so stealth about it we didn’t have a chance to attempt the “leave it” command. Hmmm – haven’t seen any possums lately. Haha. He loves to sit on the front porch with me and will commandeer Ron’s chair if he’s not around… hahaha…and we let him! He’s just as happy settling down in the evening with us for a nice chill time, as the sleeping photos demonstrate. He wants to be around us wherever we are and he is a delightful companion.
We’ve learned that he can open doors, clearly does not like certain dogs, doesn’t like the nightly Disneyland fireworks, loves to play fetch (unless there is a squirrel in the yard) and isn’t much interested in all the birds in the yard (fur to feather preference?). Ron will say that Jack CLEARLY prefers me over him, but Ron put it best when he said “he goes to Wendi for comfort and to Ron for protection” – which I think is accurate. He likes frozen yogurt and salmon treats. He even likes carrots and peas.
He’s a fantastic swimmer and is learning how to stay on Ron’s stand-up paddle board. We had him at the harbor recently and Jack decided to go swimming. He jumped off Ron’s board and just went – he was to fast! Ron had to paddle full speed to catch up with him --- Ron finally got hold of him and Jack just continued to pull Ron, paddleboard and all, down the harbor. Onlookers thought that was “so cool” – hahaha. Jack is always impressing people.
His recall is good if there isn’t a critter involved, so we haven’t had him off lead much until we learn more about his triggers and are confident in the strength of his attention to commands in open areas. We’ve had a couple of incidences of resource guarding when other dogs are around, so are working on understanding those triggers as well. We found him to be very, very trainable and he is a willing and happy participant. We do get the stink eye occasionally, but mostly because he’s pouting. Haha…..
Taking on a rescue dog is as much about the dog as it is about understanding our own actions as well and being open to learning when things go sideways – which they will occasionally! But patience and awareness are really important. We can read him pretty well now, but we’ve only had him since March 17th, so more to learn! GSP’s aren’t for everyone, so it is crucial people know what they are signing up for!
In the meantime, we are over the moon in love with this guy and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
Thank you Teri – so kind of you! We are living our best life because of Jack! Thank you California GSP Rescue”!
Wendi & Ron
