Jake's Home Page
Hi I'm Jake.
I'm a Border Collie, I was born on May 28, 1997.
I left the farm and came to live with Goodwrench and Goodwench on
August 14, 1997. I didn't do so well on my first ride home, but now I'm
getting to be a real good truck rider. I've even gone to three tractor
shows. Goodwrench is even taking me to Puppy Obedience Classes.
You can help me get my Ranch
It's very important to my breed that
we have work to do. That's why Goodwrench is looking so hard to buy a
ranch for me. I figured that if everyone on the Internet each just sent
me one nickel, we could get that ranch. I know that there are some
problems with this idea, like you can't E-mail nickels. Stamps are 32
cents, so I guess it isn't at all practical for y'all to mail me the
nickels. I really do have to do some more thinking on this thing.
Meanwhile, just look how cute I am, and think how little a nickel
really is.
---I've really given it a lot of
thought, and I now realize that it makes no sense to spend the postage
to send me a nickel, so y'all feel free to mail me a fiver, a business
or personal check made out to cash, or whatever you can afford. Thanks.
Just send it to:
Jake
P.O. Box 1108
Hewitt, TX 76643
Goodwrench is putting together a lot of links about us Border Collies,
If you'd like to see them, look under Animals, Dogs on the main Links page.
Hey, check out the neat E-mail button that Goodwrench found for me on one of the Border Collie websites.
He sure is thoughtful, I just hope he doesn't get in trouble for downloading other people's icons...
I wanted folks to see what I look
like, but Goodwrench only scanned pictures from when I was about 13
weeks old, so far. I told him that I am growing so fast that he better
keep taking lots more.
10/18/97 Looks like Goodwrench came
up with some more pictures. He told me lots of stories he read about
the other Border Collies riding all the way to the Specialty, and even
flying in air planes. I vomited all over Daddy during my first car ride
home. The next day he took me to the Vet in his truck and I made it
until we almost got all the way home before I vomited on him that
second time. After that I didn't feel real great about hopping up into
that truck. Goodwrench would take me out to the and truck and we would
get in. Then, without even starting it up, he would give me a treat.
Well, I'm pretty smart, you know? I started to realize that it was fun
to be in that truck. By the time he began starting up the big diesel
engine, I thought it was pretty cool. Now I go everywhere with Daddy in
the car or truck. I have lots of fun when Daddy runs down to the Taco
Bell drive in. He won't let me put my head out of the window or stand
across him when were driving on the road. In the Taco Bell order line
he lets me look out his window. I have lots of fun seeing all the
people. I always watch carefully to make sure that they give Daddy
enough hot sauce. The window people really like to see me, and
sometimes they give me a little piece of fried dough. Yep, I'm really
into truck riding now. (more below pictures)
10/27/97 I had my first puppy obedience class tonight. Daddy was
really worried that I wouldn't remember any of the things that I
learned at home, cause I tend to get real excited when I see other
children and dogs. Daddy kept running me around the yard and having me
bring the tennis ball back to him before we got ready to go. I think he
figured maybe if he tired me out a bit I wouldn't get so excited. He
also kept having me go to the bathroom, cause when I was little I would
get so excited in the pet store that I would pee. Well, I was really
empty by the time we got to class. The teacher and some of the other
students liked the way I sat right down real quick whenever Daddy asked
me to. After all that walking we did at the tractor show on Saturday,
I've gotten pretty good at heeling. Sometimes Daddy has to remind me to
pay attention to him and his left leg, instead of the big bags of dog
food and other puppies. I got the hang of that real quick, so I just
glanced at everyone out of the corner of my eye, all the while paying
good attention to Daddy. The instructor had everyone do their "look at
me" command. I just stared up at Daddy with my intelligent Border
Collie look longer than any of the other puppies. I still can't stare
Daddy down, I guess he has what they call "good eye", but so do I. We
get to practice more this week and then go back again next week. This
is really fun.
11/3/97 I had my second puppy class. We were supposed to show that
we knew what the word "come" meant. All the other people walked out to
the end of their dogs leashes, and then had them come to them. Just
today, Daddy started teaching me the word "stay". Daddy told me to
stay, they he walked all the way across the room. He just stood there,
glancing at me once in while, until all the other dogs had come. Then
he told me to come and I ran over to him. The instructor said I was a
show off, but it was lot of fun.
11/4/97 Today Daddy took me for a Jeep ride to go to the Post
Office. I was good, so he said I would get a special treat on the way
home. Daddy turned down a different road, and then turned off the road
and pulled the Jeep up to a fence. At first I didn't see anything, but
then I looked where Daddy was looking and I saw the biggest puppy I've
ever seen. Daddy said he was a Belgian Draft horse, and he wanted me to
learn to be nice to horses. I watched that huge thing with rapt
attention for 7 or 8 minutes. I sure hope Daddy gets some of them for
me real soon.
11/10/97 Mommy even came to watch me in my third puppy class. She
said I was a real star. The teacher even used me to demonstrate things
to the other doggies and owners. They were just introducing the "stay"
command, but I learned that last week. Daddy tells me to stay and the
he walks to different places in the house and yard. Sometimes I can't
even see him, but I just wait where I am until he calls. Sometimes he
leaves me sitting and I decide to lie down, but Daddy isn't making a
big deal out of that yet. Next week at class we are going to learn
"down". Daddy already taught me that, but he says I have to remember
not to roll over on to my back every time I do it
2/27/98 It's been over two weeks since my surgery now and I can
barely remember it. I went to see my Aunt Marla the vet. and had my dew
claw and my testicles removed. I was still really sleepy when daddy
brought me home. He carried me from the office to the car and then from
the car to my crate. After I slept and rested for about 2 hours in the
crate I felt pretty good. Daddy and I decided to go out to the family
room. I must have still been sleepier than I thought, because when I
tried to jump up on the sofa, I didn't quite make it and I bounced off
and fell on the floor. Mommy and Daddy were concerned that I might lick
my incisions too much. They got a little green bottle of Camphophenique
at the drugstore and used a Q-tip to put a little on the ends of the
hair around my incisions. That stuff smelled pretty weird, so I hardly
licked my incisions at all. My scrotum was closed with dissolvable
sutures below the skin line, because Aunt Marla has found we have less
tendency to lick the incision this way. After 8 days Mommy and Daddy
took the two sutures out of my hind leg where the dew claw had come
off. The scar there is very fine and the hair is starting to grow back
around it nicely. I've been going on lots of car rides and I don't get
sick at all anymore. Daddy says that I've behaving pretty well, and he
continues to be impressed by how fast I pick up on things.
5/7/98 I'm still afraid to get my hopes up too much, but it really
does look like I am finally getting my ranch. Mommy and Daddy are
taking care of all the paperwork and faxing. Apparently, even with all
my nickels, they still have to get a mortgage. One really neat thing
about the ranch is that it actually comes with a dog. That's right, the
owners are throwing in a Golden Lab that they call Mandy. Daddy and I
sure don't think that's any name for a farm dog, so we call her "The
Commander". She jumps right in the stock pond and swims around and all.
I just like to go get my feet really muddy at the edge, but I haven't
figured out how to swim yet. The Commander says she'll teach me all
about it when I move in. Mommy is worried that she will also teach me
about how to go through the livestock fences and get out to the road,
so Daddy is already figuring out where and what type of doggie fence he
is going to put up. I sure don't want Daddy to have to go work off of
the ranch, but he says that we all have to do whatever we are able to
get the ranch.
Email me c/o goodwrench@cyberranch.org
Your could also use my personal account: jakepfrommer@goplay.com
but we don't check that one too often.
Y'all please come back soon.