April 2, 2020

God I miss Jack. I got him when I was about 8, 9, maybe 10. Somewhere around there. Whether it was for my birthday, or Christmas, I always asked for a dog. Mom seemed cool with it. She had several of them when she was growing up. Dad was more hesitate. He wanted to wait until he thought I would be responsible for it. I guess he knew he would end up taking the dog for walks all the time. He was right, but he eventually loved it. He went running with Jack on weekends all the time. I was the happiest kid on the planet when my mom opened the box, and this little black creature started barking. I wanted to name him Pirate, but my mom said I was pushing my luck with that name. So instead I named him Jack after my favorite pirate. I loved kicking the ball around in the backyard, and watching Jack run after it trying to bite it. Then there was tug-of-war with the dog bones. Amazing how aggressive he could be with the bone, but no matter how close I put my hand to his mouth, he never bit me. He wouldn’t harm any of us, but he would fight to the death for us. That is why we couldn’t let him go. My parents knew it would kill me if they put Jack asleep. I know it was a tough decision for many families. I don’t know how they lived with getting rid of their dogs. It is like getting rid of a family member. A lot of people were getting sick, so I guess they did what they had to do. My dad said as long as none of us showed signs of getting sick, we would stick it out. Really sucks for the people that put their dogs to sleep, and then saw that a vaccine came out in only about a year’s time. I am sure those people were pissed. Once the vaccine came out, mom made sure that the entire family got it. Unfortunately, maybe fortunately, I could not get it. Apparently there was something in it that the doctor said I couldn’t have. I think dad still wanted me to get it, but mom said, “If the doc says no, then no.” Too bad the doc didn’t say no for all the vaccines. Mom, dad, and Violet all got the vaccine. I heard that there was something wrong with vaccines. At least that is how I understand it to have happened. I never really understood any of that science stuff. Oh man, my stomach hurts again. Damn dog food. I think it is time for someone to take me for a walk.