The dark cloud hanging over the farm the past few weeks was the demise of our long tenured ranch boss Jackson, our faithful border collie/husky rescue who’s been in charge with us for 14 years. Sadly however, all those years finally caught up with him as his rear legs started failing. It wasn’t noticeably painful for him but his frustration in dealing with the dying limbs was depressing for him. By this point, he was just waiting to die – and was already just fur and bones so he/we knew we wouldn’t be waiting long.

Poor Jackson had a terrible night (and me as well tending to him) the night of the 6th so I knew his time with us was quickly ending. Towards morning, his hind legs were next to useless. I had been helping him up lately when he struggled the past few weeks but even after helping him up now, he’d fall right over again. There just was no strength back there at all. He’s been so frustrated, he had pretty much given up and stopped eating or drinking anything as of a few days ago.

After the travelers left for MN around 7am, I placed him on his pillow on the front porch and stayed with him there for about 5 hours. Cooper and Lyddie were very respectful of him and they knew he was not going to be with us much longer. He really wasn’t in apparent pain but would quietly moan occasionally like he was thinking “how long do I have to go through this?”

He finally took his last breaths a little after noon.

He was a great dog, companion and protector and we were lucky to have him for the final 14 years of his 18+ year life. And that’s a pretty good haul for a border collie/husky mix. Luckily, his final 2 years were running free down here on the farm.

Here are some pics of his life and his final few hours.

R.I.P. Jackson

Here is the young man, as we got him from the rescue shelter. On his initial vet visit, he estimated Jackson was about 4 years old at the time.

The foster caretakers warned us his “Border Collie” tendencies meant we shouldn’t have any cats around. Ummm, no. We had 2 cats at the time and they got along just fine. He dealt with as many as 18 here on the farm and had no issues as long as they stayed in their lanes where they belonged.

This 2 year old pic shows his gray-ness progressing as his muzzle transitioned to nearly all white.

But, he was still in charge – as long as he didn’t need to get on his feet (or I was around to help him up).

Such a good boy! But, in the end, his coat really was a mess.

He’s had it by now.

This was his final hour so the flowers bring it all home I guess. I may have to transplant some of these out to the pet cemetery.

Jackson’s grave is prominently situated to face the farmstead so we can see it from the front porch while he keeps an eye on things. Lola, (our long term cat we lost a few months ago) is the other grave in the background.

Kris, our former classmate, coworker AND realtor who sold our Lakeville home presented us with this memorial marker, which I mounted to the large oak tree towering over the site. You can see Jackson’s grave below (bottom/left). It’s perfect.
Thanks Kris!

Just for fun, I stumbled on this video of Jackson having fun in his better days.