The Legend 
of
Big Jack

The Legend of Big Jack

 

I'm often asked how I came up with the name "Big Jack's". People who don't know me naturally assume that my name is "Jack", and I'm often called "Jack"; or "Big Jack", which I actually kind of like!

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The truth is that "Big Jack's" is a salute to our Australian Shepherd, Jack. 

Jack joined our family, as a six-week-old puppy, in the Fall of 2004. Jack was an incredible dog, and we all loved him more than I can express. He was smart, athletic, and loyal. He was an escape artist and could easily jump a six-foot privacy fence to go exploring! When he wasn't exploring though he was no more than three feet from one of his human family members. A true “velcro dog!
 

Jack and his wife, Shelby, had eleven puppies.
One of them, we named "Big White" because he
was the biggest puppy and he had the most white.
(There's more to it than that but we'll save it for
another day.) When our grandson, Hudson, was
really little, he assumed since Big White's name
was "Big White", that Jack's name must be
"Big Jack", so he always called him "Big Jack".
It stuck, and Jack also became known as
"Big" Jack.

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One morning, in early February 2018, after a short
illness, I carried Big Jack to our car for one final
ride, and we had to say goodbye to him. Jack was 13.5 years old. That was one of the saddest days of my life and the tears flowed freely.

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Big Jack loved to play ball. He also loved kittens. He loved to go hiking, play in the water, go for car rides, eat cookies, and have his belly rubbed. He never had a bad day and he had no enemies. He was a gentle soul and we still miss him very much.

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So, now you know. I'm not Big Jack; but he was a very dear friend of mine.

   - Eric