ILLINOIS COCKER RESCUE
Rescuing, Rehabilitating, and Rehoming
Cocker Spaniels, Cockapoos, Poodles and other Toy Breeds

Jazz's Story

On August 22, 2000, we lost a part of our life. Hunter, our Cocker Spaniel, had just turned six years old exactly one month earlier and then he was gone. We were devastated to say the least. He had been our first dog, although in our home, he was not a dog, he was our baby, our life. Hunter died during surgery for a ruptured Gallbladder. What had gone wrong?

We did everything according to the book, or should I say to the Vet. We made sure he had his annual visits to the Vet, had all his annual vaccinations, and then some. You see, whenever he had his Rabies shot he had a bad reaction, so the Vet would make sure to give him another injection to counteract the first. Yes, we were up to date on vaccinations! If he was sick, we went to the Vet for advice and medication.

As for food, we fed Hunter only the best dog food. (I won’t mention the name.) And when he was five years old, we were told to change to the low fat version of that brand of food, so we did. After two months on the low fat food, Hunter developed Hypothyroidism. His coat turned dull, his fur thinned, his skin became dry and flaky, and instead of losing weight, he gained weight because of his lack of activity. Hunter became tired all time and had no energy. Then came that August day and he was gone and so was a part of our life. Yes we only fed him the best!

We thought by doing everything the Vet said, and feeding Hunter only the best food, he would be with us forever. But our forever ended and we changed our way of thinking from that day forward.

The days after Hunter’s death were the worst days of our life. We felt like we had lost a child and kept asking ourselves what had gone wrong. After all, we had done everything the Vet had told us to do to keep him healthy. Hunter was the love of our life. There would never be another Hunter…

After a few days of our crying and loneliness, we decided that the best thing we could do was to get another Cocker. Of course, not to take Hunter’s place, instead to help fill the void in our hearts. Hunter would always be our love and we would never forget him. We kept saying, "What would Hunter want us to do?" We thought he would want us to bring a dog in from a rescue and give him all the love we had given to him.

We contacted Aly Posner of Illinois Cocker Rescue and she agreed to let us see some of her precious Cockers who needed homes. We had no idea what to expect as we drove to her home, or should we say to her piece of Heaven.

When we arrived, we told Aly we were looking for a buff colored Cocker like Hunter. She brought out many buff Cockers, one by one. We figured that we would know when the right one came out because he would come to us. We keep asking Hunter to let us know who was right one. None of the buff colored Cockers even looked at us. Our hearts were broken once again, but we’d go on. Maybe it wasn’t the right time.

As Aly entered her home, we stood in amazement. The dogs watched every move she made. She is their Angel. They adore her. She has saved their lives and brought them back to health. Every furry baby there is in love with Aly. But no one wanted to come home with us.

Aly began to explain about how she restores her rescued Cockers to a good state of health. To illustrate her point, Aly went into her home to get one of her new shelter arrivals, a black Cocker whose coat was gray and full of dandruff, whose ears were thickened with scar tissue, and whose eyes were crusted shut with green gunk because of his dry eye.

As she talked about how these ailments could be cured using a natural diet, Jazz immediately ran to Paul and licked his knee, then over to me, and then ran straight to our car and just sat there. Jazz was ready to go home. Of course the question was asked, " How old is Jazz?" Six years old was Aly's answer. That was the same age as Hunter when he died. Fear did strike! How many years would Jazz be with us? We couldn’t go through this again so soon.

Aly explained how a healthy natural diet (BARF) could keep a dog alive and active for many years and that in a couple of months, Jazz would be a very different dog. Would we be able to do all the things needed to provide a natural diet? It seemed so involved and difficult. But we were willing to give it our best try and learn as much as we could. After all, Jazz wanted us and we needed him. I guess you could say we all needed each other. He would help fill the void in our hearts and we could help him fill the void in his heart after being given up by his family after six years of life. As Aly says, he picked us.

Jazz was so at home in the car. He enjoyed every minute of the hour drive home. He ran into our home and knew where everything was. He knew his spot on the recliner with Paul; he knew where to sleep in the same spot as Hunter, with his back up against Paul’s. Was this Hunter or Jazz? The similarity was amazing. What was happening here? Call me crazy, but I think Hunter was here with Jazz helping him adjust to his new home and family.

The day we brought Jazz home was the first day I ever walked into a Health Food Store. I bought the books Aly recommended, and then my search was on for the supplements needed to feed Jazz a healthy diet.

Since day one, I have fed Jazz a natural diet (BARF) and will never go back to the dog food that is so highly praised by the Vets. I enjoy making each and every meal for Jazz. He watches my every move when I make his food and he loves each and every meal I make for him. We have watched his energy increase, he now jumps over snow banks, catches Frisbees in the air and runs up and down our stairs like a puppy. His coat has changed from very gray and black, to a shiny black sable color. His health has greatly improved. Jazz no longer has dry eye with that terrible green discharge, his ears which once were a major problem to the extent of us not being able to touch them, are now healthy and clear and no longer thick with scar tissue. He has gone from six years old to two.

We will visit the Vet every three years but only for a Rabies shot, which is required by the State. When there is a health problem, I will go to my book for natural pet care and I know I can find an alternative way to treat a problem, before running off for treatment.

Whatever killed Hunter will keep Jazz living a long life. All the good things I previously thought I was doing are now being replaced by natural means.

As for little Jazzy, he is now the love of our lives. It’s like he has been here forever and maybe he has. We never thought we would love this way again, but we have. Every night when I go to bed, I look at Hunter’s picture and say "thank you for bringing Jazz into our lives." What would we do without him? Jazz is the sunshine of our lives! We love and adore him so much.

Thank you Aly and Illinois Cocker Rescue! You have given us a chance to love and take care of one of your furry babies. You have helped us to bring Jazz back to health and make that older dog we adopted into a puppy once again. You have shared your knowledge with us to show us how important a natural diet can be. And most of all thank you for being the caring person you are and opening your home and life to Cockers and bringing them back to health and finding good homes for them. You will always be a part of our lives. We love you!

Linda, Paul and Jazz

Illinois Cocker Rescue
Aly Posner
P.O. Box 384
Harvard, IL 60033
Email: ILCockerRescue@aol.com
Website: www.ILCockerRescue.org