The Rescue
The story of Jackson…
Eleven years ago, a friend of a friend approached me about a 4-year-old dog that needed to be rescued. She said he was a Blue Heeler with a little bit of Australian Shepherd mixed in. She showed me a picture and I immediately knew we needed to get him. His picture showed him hunkered down, scared, and skinny. He had one blue eye and one brown, and the biggest pointy ears! I didn’t know the actual dire situation he was in, just that he needed a new home.
I said I would think about it, and then she informed me that she had watched him get kicked, abused, and withheld food for four years by her friend. He was chained to a dumpster and locked in a closet. He was nippy with people (for obvious reasons) and so scared. I knew with the behavior issues and past abuse he would be a hard dog to find a home for from a shelter.
With two hours’ notice, she went and took the dog from the owner, who didn’t fight her on it because he didn’t like him. I had to run to Walmart to get all the supplies and had zero idea what I was getting into! I was nervous, but not as nervous as Jackson, who upon meeting us, cowered in fear. It took weeks for us to be able to really get close to him.
We were also in the process of getting ready to move to our farm. It was a HUGE transition for everyone. There was some nipping, there was a lot of herding, and he had never been on a leash before—but he learned so quickly.
Jackson is now 15 and lives his best senior dog life on our farm, exploring the property and herding sheep or kids! He is still quirky and has a problem with certain men. But he has been the biggest blessing in our life. He is beyond smart, hilarious, and a little sassy even in his old age. He has been nothing but gentle with our son for the past six years. I don’t know how much time we have left, but we definitely go by the saying, “face is gray, he gets his way!”
He was our first dog and I wouldn’t trade him or the valuable lessons he taught us for anything. I love the tattoo of Jackson that Jesse did. Even though Jesse doesn’t use colors in his tattoos anymore, he was able to snag some to capture Jackson’s one blue and one brown eye. I included the picture of Jackson that Jesse used to capture all the amazing details in the tattoo. Definitely my favorite piece!