SLICE #12- ME AND JACK BLACK

We adopted Jack Black from the Dumb Friends' League, shortly after we lost our laughing yellow lab, Maggie, to cancer. Our other lab, Star, was bereft, and we thought she needed a new friend. And so we got Jack, a six week old lab-rottweiler mix.

Rottweilers are supposed to be brave, but not our Jack. Jack is afraid of the dishwasher, probably due to an unfortunate incident with the silverware compartment when he was about six months old. He loves to play catch and wrestle with the boys, but when I'm not home, he retreats to the safety of my room, where he stretches out on the bed waiting for me to return. And he is the only dog I have ever had that seems to have a perpetually worried frown when he goes for walks.

Although we didn't pay much for him originally, Jack has not been a cheap dog. When he was eight months old, Jack ate a dish towel, one that I think originally cost about 99 cents. It cost $4500 to get the 99 cent towel removed from Jack's stomach. His time under the knife didn't deter his appetite, however, and he regularly wakes me up gacking up socks, underwear and other unidentifiable items.

We intended that Jack would be a friend for other lab mix, Star, and Jack does love his sister, but more than his sister, he loves his mama. Jack follows me from room to room to room. He sleeps on the bed curled up next to me every night. When the alarm goes off, he lays in front of the shower, waiting for me to come out. He lays at my feet as I work on the computer, and the second he hears my laptop close, he jumps to his feet, ready for our next adventure. Right now he is laying at my feet, chewing on a popsicle wrapper he found in the trash, occasionally flipping it up in the air, hoping that I will join in his favorite game of fetch.

I can think of lots of reasons NOT to have a dog- dog hair, mud, a nice yard, for starters, and yet I can't imagine life without Jack. Everyone needs a best friend.