That Knucklehead, Jake!

True to form - true to his irritating, aggravating misfit form, Jake the Bad Dog got himself run over yesterday. Luckily, it did not kill him, but it did severely break his leg in two places. The neighbor who hit Jake is also a very nice human being, who stopped his car to try to determine the extent of Jake's injuries. When the man could not get close to Jake, he commenced tracking me down to let me know he had unfortunately hit one of my dogs, and how sorry he was.

I left work right away because no one knew how badly Jake might be hurt. When I could not find Jake at all, and when all of my calling met with silence, I began to feel very bad. That sometimes means an animal has hidden itself away to die. After tromping all over the heavy brush around the old garage and the timber around the new house, I thought to look by the barn. I found Jake where he had taken refuge in the space between two bales. It meant I could drive the car very close to him, but I still had to drag him on a blanket. Thanks to handling heavy water bottles and hay bales, and 50 pound bags of oats, and chicken feed, and dog chow, I was strong enough to lift Jake into the back of the car, using the blanket as a makeshift sling. After seeing how badly his leg was damaged, I was almost sick to my stomach. Poor guy.

Once in the car, a mere 40 minutes later, Jake was in the caring hands of Dr. J. The good news is that Dr. J is confident that he can mend Jake's leg. The bad news, of course, is that it is not free - far, far from free - for a danged dog who barks at his own horse friends in their own pasture. For a ying yang who hides under the porch when strangers come on the property.

That is what happens when you have a dog in your life, even a ying yang like Jake.

Jakey, all bummed out at Anda's house when I would not let him chase The Cats.