A passing in our family
Our beloved dog, Jingo, was put to sleep last Sunday. I hesitate to call him our foster dog, because we had him for almost a year and a half. I've been very emotional about his passing, mostly because it was a decision that I made, but I do not regret the decision at all. I take solace in knowing that he is now in a better place, and his suffering is over.
Jingo came to us on September 20, 2003. I was attending a Pet Expo at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, and represented the rescue group that I was once a part of, the Jindo Project. I brought Gilbey and Jude with me and helped educate people about the Jindo breed, as well as help show off some of our foster dogs (namely Jude). During the second day of the expo, we got a call about a Jindo at the Fairmont Animal Shelter in San Leandro. Actually, it was a 3/4 Jindo, 1/4 Goldie male puppy that was only 3 months old. Since I was the closest member to the shelter, I volunteered to assess his temperament and pick him up from the shelter. When the shelter worker opened his kennel cage, this bouncy, cute little puppy jumped out and gave me kisses all over. Needless to say, I fell instantly in love.
I brought Jingo (then called Scout) to the Expo, and right when I walked into the door, my fellow rescue members introduced him to a couple who was interested in adopting a Jindo. They also feel instantly in love with him. Although I thought he was cute as a button, I couldn't possibly add another dog into the household (little did I know that I would be forced to change my mind about this). So they renamed him Jingo, and they lived happily ever after, right? Wrong.
Three weeks later, I get a call from our rescue person in Sac that I have to pick up Jingo because the couple returned him. Apparently, he bit the family's vet, the father, and rough-housed their 5-year old daughter. I thought to myself, "no way could the same dog that greeted me with kisses at the shelter could do these things." So I picked him up at Sac, along with another dog that I would eventually transport to the same couple. I soon found out that this dog had "issues". I tried to get a collar and leash on him, and he nearly bit my forearm. When I cornered him in the kitchen, he turned into Cujo and came at me like a rabid dog. Didn't do too much damage with those puppy teeth of his, but it did scare the living shit out of him. Literally. He emptied his bowels on the kitchen floor. So we consulted a professional trainer, and she diagnosed him to be fear-aggressive. We worked hard to take out the aggression in him, by socializing him with other dogs, socializing him with adults, children, and training him to be less fearful. He has a fear of men, which can probably be attributed to past experiences of abuse. He was also placed 5 different times when he was less than 3 months old.
A year later, Jingo is still living with us as our "foster" dog. There was a point in his development and training when I felt confident that he could be adopted out. I even considered adopting him out to our brother and sis-in-law (with their 3-year old) despite the fact that they had no prior experience with dogs. I'm glad I didn't because he was still a fearful dog. No amount of training or socialization could take that out of him. And he would always be scared of the littlest thing. A noise, a body movement, even our mere presence in the kitchen frightened him.
Our two dogs, Belle and Gilbey, had an apathetic and contentious relationship with Jingo, respectively. Belly tolerated him, despite the fact that he always bullied her. Gilbey and Jingo did not get along. At first, I thought I could get them to co-exist, but every time I left them alone, they would fight. So I started to only let them co-exist when I supervised them. They didn't fight for a while, but then they started fighting even in my presence! Jingo was so scared of everything that he was also scared of being in a lower place in our wolf pack. And Gilbey is a dominant dog. Don't get me wrong, Gilbey is a sweet, gentle, and wonderful dog, but he's a Beta to my Alpha. Our other male foster dog, Jude, a natural omega, got along famously with Gilbey because he knew his place. Jingo didn't.
The last straw was when Jingo started to develop a wound around his neck because his collar was too tight. It was a nasty wound, too. But he would never let me handle him around his neck. He would try to bite me or just run away. It would take me hours to get a leash on him, and forget about cutting his nails. Couldn't take him to the vet, either, because he would probably just lunge at him/her. Actually, this wasn't the last straw, because I was ready and willing to get him treated by a vet who had experience with aggressive dogs. The real last straw was when I introduced him to our foster rabbit. Belle and Gilbey had their own introductions through a fence, and they were content to sniff her and lick her. Jingo, on the other hand, decided to nip at the bunnies face. Luckily, I was right there to reprimand him and put a stop to any more nipping. Bun-Bun was ok. With a newborn in the house, we could not take any chances with Jingo. So it was time.
Despite his deficiencies, Jingo was a sweet dog. From the little happy puppy that kissed me all over at the shelter, to the bubbly personality that he brought into our household, Jingo was definitely an important part of our family. He was a licking machine, and greeted all of our guests happily. Our nephew, Brady, loved playing with him. He was a beautiful looking dog, with the athletic gait and body of a Jindo Gae, and the beautiful almond-shaped eyes of a Goldie. He loved to play fetch with a ball which is unheard of in the Jindo breed, but common in a Golden Retriever. He was very loyal, intelligent, and loving, and I will miss him terribly.
Jingo Mendoza
June 5, 2003 - January 9, 2005
Jingo came to us on September 20, 2003. I was attending a Pet Expo at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, and represented the rescue group that I was once a part of, the Jindo Project. I brought Gilbey and Jude with me and helped educate people about the Jindo breed, as well as help show off some of our foster dogs (namely Jude). During the second day of the expo, we got a call about a Jindo at the Fairmont Animal Shelter in San Leandro. Actually, it was a 3/4 Jindo, 1/4 Goldie male puppy that was only 3 months old. Since I was the closest member to the shelter, I volunteered to assess his temperament and pick him up from the shelter. When the shelter worker opened his kennel cage, this bouncy, cute little puppy jumped out and gave me kisses all over. Needless to say, I fell instantly in love.
I brought Jingo (then called Scout) to the Expo, and right when I walked into the door, my fellow rescue members introduced him to a couple who was interested in adopting a Jindo. They also feel instantly in love with him. Although I thought he was cute as a button, I couldn't possibly add another dog into the household (little did I know that I would be forced to change my mind about this). So they renamed him Jingo, and they lived happily ever after, right? Wrong.
Three weeks later, I get a call from our rescue person in Sac that I have to pick up Jingo because the couple returned him. Apparently, he bit the family's vet, the father, and rough-housed their 5-year old daughter. I thought to myself, "no way could the same dog that greeted me with kisses at the shelter could do these things." So I picked him up at Sac, along with another dog that I would eventually transport to the same couple. I soon found out that this dog had "issues". I tried to get a collar and leash on him, and he nearly bit my forearm. When I cornered him in the kitchen, he turned into Cujo and came at me like a rabid dog. Didn't do too much damage with those puppy teeth of his, but it did scare the living shit out of him. Literally. He emptied his bowels on the kitchen floor. So we consulted a professional trainer, and she diagnosed him to be fear-aggressive. We worked hard to take out the aggression in him, by socializing him with other dogs, socializing him with adults, children, and training him to be less fearful. He has a fear of men, which can probably be attributed to past experiences of abuse. He was also placed 5 different times when he was less than 3 months old.
A year later, Jingo is still living with us as our "foster" dog. There was a point in his development and training when I felt confident that he could be adopted out. I even considered adopting him out to our brother and sis-in-law (with their 3-year old) despite the fact that they had no prior experience with dogs. I'm glad I didn't because he was still a fearful dog. No amount of training or socialization could take that out of him. And he would always be scared of the littlest thing. A noise, a body movement, even our mere presence in the kitchen frightened him.
Our two dogs, Belle and Gilbey, had an apathetic and contentious relationship with Jingo, respectively. Belly tolerated him, despite the fact that he always bullied her. Gilbey and Jingo did not get along. At first, I thought I could get them to co-exist, but every time I left them alone, they would fight. So I started to only let them co-exist when I supervised them. They didn't fight for a while, but then they started fighting even in my presence! Jingo was so scared of everything that he was also scared of being in a lower place in our wolf pack. And Gilbey is a dominant dog. Don't get me wrong, Gilbey is a sweet, gentle, and wonderful dog, but he's a Beta to my Alpha. Our other male foster dog, Jude, a natural omega, got along famously with Gilbey because he knew his place. Jingo didn't.
The last straw was when Jingo started to develop a wound around his neck because his collar was too tight. It was a nasty wound, too. But he would never let me handle him around his neck. He would try to bite me or just run away. It would take me hours to get a leash on him, and forget about cutting his nails. Couldn't take him to the vet, either, because he would probably just lunge at him/her. Actually, this wasn't the last straw, because I was ready and willing to get him treated by a vet who had experience with aggressive dogs. The real last straw was when I introduced him to our foster rabbit. Belle and Gilbey had their own introductions through a fence, and they were content to sniff her and lick her. Jingo, on the other hand, decided to nip at the bunnies face. Luckily, I was right there to reprimand him and put a stop to any more nipping. Bun-Bun was ok. With a newborn in the house, we could not take any chances with Jingo. So it was time.
Despite his deficiencies, Jingo was a sweet dog. From the little happy puppy that kissed me all over at the shelter, to the bubbly personality that he brought into our household, Jingo was definitely an important part of our family. He was a licking machine, and greeted all of our guests happily. Our nephew, Brady, loved playing with him. He was a beautiful looking dog, with the athletic gait and body of a Jindo Gae, and the beautiful almond-shaped eyes of a Goldie. He loved to play fetch with a ball which is unheard of in the Jindo breed, but common in a Golden Retriever. He was very loyal, intelligent, and loving, and I will miss him terribly.
Jingo Mendoza
June 5, 2003 - January 9, 2005
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