Always Wondering

Another month goes by since the last blog, where does all the time go to?
Before long i'll be pulling out the Christmas tree from it's dusty box, the fire will be alight day and night, and it'll be dark at 4pm every day (groan!)

I thought I would just add some words of Thanks to many of you who regularly drop by and say "Hi" and that you are thinking of us, and still keeping vigilant about Jacob.
To hear he is still set in people's minds and that there is a definite vigilance out there really means a lot.
As much as we would love to have time to scour the globe for Jacob - well truth is we can;t, which is why we always rely upon our friends near and far to be our eyes.

There have been a few stories about dogs who have been missing for a few years and that they have been reunited with their owners.
Seeing those stories and the fact that sometimes there is a happy ending makes us hanker after that for our own piece of good luck, but maybe just have to be patient......
VERY patient.

I guess we'll wait out as long as it takes. We wonder every day what and if, but have to be happy knowing hopefully somewhere maybe (MAYBE) he is happy and well fed.
He probably doesn't remember us now, which in itself is sad, but hey, one day that may just change.
We just need to remain positive, always positive.
We can do no more than we already have, even if it feels like it, what more can we possibly do.

I always wonder too about these dogs that go missing, and are never seen or spotted again, just where are they ? Spare a thought for them, the Jacob's and the Sky's of the missing dog world, the absolute wonder at what and if, and WHY is excruciatingly painful, the not knowing being the worse evil of them all. It's painful to wonder.

THANK YOU to everyone, for your support, care and concern, but most of all for sharing and making everyone around you aware of Jacob (and Sky) still being missing.
We can't THANK YOU enough

Happy summer to you all, keep your dogs safe at all times

Waiting....just waiting.....

Sometimes it seems life is just bloody unfair.

In this past month, we have seen 3 Bracco go missing, and 3 Bracco returned safely to their owners.
To say I am utterly jealous of that would be an understatement.

The first Bracco to go off was probably stolen to order, and was found strangely nearby across the county it lived in a week or so later. Thankfully she was none the worse for her ordeal, and her owner happy to have her home safely.

The second 2 Bracchi were lost by the person who was supposedly dog sitting them whilst their owners were away. Thankfully they were both found and reunited, again safe and fine from their ordeal.
All good, but it just makes me want to be the 3rd in line for that reunion.

Jon and I were drivng around at weekend and were thinking about Jacob and the whole situation he's left us in.
We just don't know where he is, if he's alive or if someone has him, loves him, and he's safe.
I just wish we knew.

Hard as it is, we do have to get on with life, and look back on the time we all shared, and think we were lucky to have him for those 3 years. Positive thinking that he is alive and well, enjoying life, but not enjoying it with his family. I can live with that. I just want to know he is okay, or not okay. either one of those choices I can deal with.

I guess those of you reading that might figure it to be a bit harsh us moving on, bit I cannot honestly say that we can't shed any more tears, because we do, and often Jacob will come into the conversation for a reason, and a lump will form in our throats at the mere mention of his name.
Sigh.....

That said, we now are enjoying our 3 Spinoni, and of course the hilarious antics that only a Bracco like Pascha can provide !

Pascha is lots of fun, goofy, a major clown, uber intelligent, and does go a really long way to filling the huge paw prints left behind by our boy. His bounding energy is so catching and no matter how fed up you might be, a swift right hook from a Bracco paw soon sorts you out !

We still get lots of lovely emails, just saying that people are out there looking still, thinking of us, and hoping, just hoping that one day our hard work will pay off and we'll be re-united with Jacob. To read them is so uplifting, people taking time out of their busy lives to check in our blog, just to see if the news has changed, have we got lucky.....

I do imagine that day, a day where we get that call....and also on the flip side of that joy there is a nagging ache of worry as to what dog we could be getting back. Would he still be 'our' Jacob ?
No matter, he would always (and will always) remain to be our boy, regardless of his name, or new address, he belongs to us.

Hmmmm....I was hoping as I wrote this new post that it would be uplifiting !
Sorry about that, sometimes the moment passes and you just feel cheated.

I know as you sit at your pc and have your dogs safely near to you, you will know how hard it would be if one of them were taken away from you without word nor warning.
No chance to say goodbye or the direct ability to change the circumstances.
I am sure you will agree that it would be very difficult for you to comprehend them being gone, so I hope with that thought in your mind you'll forgive me for the perhaps sombre mood swings on this blog. Sometimes you just want things to be right, and it is out of your control to do so.
Oh hell that is annoying !

Most of all I hope that all of your dogs remain safe, there are some very nasty, and truly calculating people out there only happy to relieve you of your lovely fur bundles, so please take care, ensure they are within your sight at all times, but most of all enjoy them, really enjoy them.
These dogs, well, they love us all unconditionally, give us such joy at owning them (mostly !!!) and as such we should always be able to give the same back.
We are their lives and what makes their lives special, we have their whole destiny in our hands, the ability to give them a happy contented life....we should always, always remember that.

One year on....

I love the above photo of Jacob.

It's very special.

Not in a photographically perfect way you understand, it's far from 'pin sharp' or clear, but it's perfect because it's the very last photo I ever took of him.

It captures everything about him in one single shot. Friendly, happy, ever the accomplished hunter, constantly always looking to please.

That was Jacob. This photo is him.

A year has passed, and we have arrived to his one year missing anniversary.

I hate that word, an anniversary makes one think of a joyous occasion, a day of marked celebratory cheer, so can someone please tell me, how can a language so brilliantly complex as the the English language not have another word to mark the date of something that isn't necessarily a day of celebration I will never know.

All said and done, we are finding it harder to actually believe that we haven't seen our boy for that length of time.

I don't wish the months that we've just endured back don;t get me wrong, not ever will I wish for that, but I do wish I could rewind time enough to the 21st Jan 09 and allow us to make the things that happened that fateful day disappear in a puff of smoke.

(If that is the case, then I would also like to take a look at what did occur to him after he went off that fateful day..... but just so long as we can still rewind you understand)

I wish too that I knew he was safe, that he didn't perish to death or die at the hands of a reckless sharp shooter out on a days hunting thinking he was a deer.

I just wish I knew his fete, whatever it was or is.

Sadly there is no way of knowing, and no matter how much it torments us (and believe me it does) we still to this day will not let it rest, and still continue to alert people to him being missing .

I guess actually we always will live out some hope of us being reunited. It can and does happen to some fortunate souls.

As for marking the occasion, what can we do other than light the day with hope.

There's no box of ashes, no little marble stone to say 'he is here'.

Sometimes we feel that would be easier, but then we think that by putting him a wooden box (so to speak) we thoroughly extinguish the hopes of a phone call saying he has been found one day.

These renowned 'rose tinted glasses' that I wear sometimes give rise to thoughts (and hopes) that someone, somewhere finally has a conscious, finds his home address, and sits him on the doorstep overnight saying they have had him for a year, "Thank You very much, but here he is back, we're done".

That would be the best way to mark a year long "anniversary" and then at least we could happily use the word as it surely should have been intended for....for a celebration of life.

Wherever you are Jacob, stay safe, behave yourself, and know we think of you each and every day without fail.

We miss you more than you'll ever know.