Jinx - Formerly known as Foster Pup

The Passing of a Legend - Mr Jinx - The Epitome of Happiness

2024-03-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

It has been impossible to find the words to share that we suddenly lost our Jinx earlier this week. Words can't possibly summarize our love for him, and the impact Jinx had on our lives. He was our little goofball and we loved him with all our hearts. That was shadowed by his enormous and unwavering love for his humans. He was truly the sweetest, most affectionate, empathetic, and snuggliest pup I've ever met, and likely will ever meet. He had such exuberance for life; always wanting to spend time with his family; always by your side - earning the nickname, our little Shadow.

While Jinx was technically "old" and in his senior years, he never slowed in his enthusiam, right up until his final hours. Jinx was 12 years, 8 months, and 11 days (based on his estimated birthday). We were fortunate to have 4580 days together since we brought him home from the shelter. My heart aches wanting just a little more time together, but your heart grew too weak since you always gave us your all.

I have met a lot of dogs over the years as a veterinarian, and I can truly say he was the most unique. We were very fortunate to have him in our lives and honored to be his family. We could only hope to have a future furry family member who is even half as amazing as he was.

I'm contemplating restarting his blog and sharing some of his stories and life lessons. He has so many stories and strange little quirks. If you were lucky enough to have been in Jinx's trusted circle, you know how special it was to know him. Our little derp-ster always lived in the moment, always made the best of life with such exurberance in everything he did, and loved with all his heart. These lessons have taught us how to be better people and we are so grateful for that. I feel that sharing some of those stories/lessons with others may give a chance to continue his legacy.

“I think the hardest part of losing a dog you love isn’t having to say goodbye…… It’s the way your entire world changes without them and the emptiness that’s left in your heart when they go.”

Some playfullness with numbers:

J = 10

I = 9 N = 14 X = 24

Summing these values: 10 + 9 + 14 + 24 = 57

Now, let's break down this total number:

5 + 7 = 12

Further, we can break down 12:

1 + 2 = 3

In numerology, when reducing numbers to a single digit, we get:

5 + 7 = 12, then 1 + 2 = 3

The number 3 often symbolizes creativity, communication, expression, and social interaction. It's associated with optimism, enthusiasm, and the ability to inspire others. People with a strong influence of the number 3 in their lives are often seen as charismatic, expressive, and sociable.

Considering "Jinx" and its numerological value of 3, one could interpret it as a word that encourages creativity, communication, and social interaction. It might suggest a playful and dynamic energy, as well as the ability to charm and captivate others with words and actions.

Talking puppies

2012-03-10T11:11:00.002-08:00

Now that Jinx has his hardware off, he and Luna decided to talk about it.... they were very vocal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0V-bfx3Dwc

T-2 days

2012-03-05T17:33:00.003-08:00

Jinx gets the rest of his hardware off Wednesday 3/7. He will no longer be ROBO-pup! After that, 2-3 weeks with a split, and Jinx will be a normal little guy. I use the term "normal" loosely, as he isn't the brightest puppy by any stretch of the imagination. However, what he lacks in intelligence, he more than makes up for with his affection.

Almost there...

2012-02-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

We took Xrays yesterday to see how the bones are calcifying. Since we stopped lengthening his leg over a week and a half ago, we now need to wait until they calcify enough to take off the hardware and put him in a basic split. Based on the xrays, so far so good. Perhaps in a few short weeks from now Robo-pup will go back to being Jinx again.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

2012-01-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Only one more day of lengthening Jinx's leg. We have ranged from 1-2 millimeters a day over the last 6 and a half weeks, for a total of ~2-2.5 inches of growth!!! If we hadn't done this surgery, there is no way he could have used his leg in a meaningful way :-) The hardest part has not been keeping him quiet, or isolated away from Luna, but instead keeping his plastic e-collar on at all times. He will lick his bandaged leg whenever he's not walking, eating, playing, or getting attention... so he's stuck with the goofy cone on 23.5 hours a day.

So another 2 weeks with all of the metal pins, rings, motors, and then we'll take some radiographs to see how the bone is healing. He will likely need a total of 4 weeks with the fixator device on before we can remove it safely. All that metal will stabilize his leg and allow the bone to heal.

Hopefully by Spring, he will be running around and playing with Luna in the backyard!!

Incredibly Funny VW "Bark Side" commercial

2012-01-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, this is very amusing. When watching it, Luna hovered over my laptop to watch and listen! Now if we can just get Luna to bark like these professionally trained, German engineered dogs :-) (Or video edited one by one, like these guys are, then compiled into one video)

Jinx's latest radiation experiment

2012-01-19T19:36:00.001-08:00

1/18/2012 Xrays

Since Jinx always gets the attention...

2012-01-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

I felt obligated to share a picture of Luna begging to be the first picture taken with my new camera. Clearly not the best picture, but as I was playing with all the features of my new camera, Luna was begging to be in the shot.

Up close and personal with all that stainless steel

2012-01-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

Curious to learn more about all the hardware on Jinx? Here's the IMEX site talking about their products which are currently bolted onto Jinx :-) http://www.imexvet.com/products/external-skeletal-fixation/circular-esf-system

I hope by sharing this blog following Jinx's progress, more people will consider this type of surgery for their furry family members. If anyone has questions, we are more than happy to share our experience!

Xray showing the new bone that is forming!

2012-01-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

Check out this xray from last week. You can see where his bone was cut during his surgery, but is now nicely filling in with new bone as we slowly stretch his leg. It will take many weeks and months to fully calcify, but it is neat to see the progress in the last month!

Final Puppy Christmas totals...

2012-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Are they really spoiled? They don't seem to think so. A majority of the gifts exchanged in our house were for our furry friends.

So what is under all that bandage material?

2011-12-31T18:22:00.000-08:00

If you were wondering what ROBO-pup looks like under all those bandages, here you go. We have his xrays! Previous pictures we have posted show the plates, screws (motors) and the titanium wires. Now, you can see where all of this metal goes inside him!

Christmas comes early for the puppies

2011-12-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

We don't spoil our dogs, do we? The dogs sure don't seem to think we spoil them enough. What do you think? (Oh, and this wasn't all the stuff they got this holiday season, there is more on the way!)

Getting better and growing fur

2011-12-18T19:57:00.001-08:00

More metal

2011-12-11T17:42:00.001-08:00

This is what his leg looks like without the bandages....

Zzzs

2011-12-09T19:36:00.001-08:00

Jinx had a long day, and we spoiled him by letting him sleep on our bed while we watched tv. He still doesn't have enough grown up teeth to hold in his tongue!

Robo-pup!

2011-12-09T11:36:00.001-08:00

A Gillette spokesman

2011-12-07T20:20:00.001-08:00

He has 20% of his fur shaved off, I can see him in the next Gillette fusion commercial!

Jinx is home!!

2011-12-07T16:45:00.001-08:00

Jinx just came home from the hospital! Robo-pup is up and about, the pain meds make it possible for him to move around a little bit. Why robo-pup? Well, he is now around 1/2 a pound heavier due to all the metal in and around his leg. In the next day or so, we should have the xrays which show all the metal under the bandages.

4-5 hours of Surgery!

2011-12-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Jinx was finally waking up from surgery ~8:30 this evening. He was in surgery for a total of 4-5 hours! He has a big bandage on, covering up all of the metal in and surrounding his leg. We'll share the radiographs as soon as we get a copy. He will stay in the hospital overnight and through tomorrow on constant pain medications.

Spoiled on his last night before the operation

2011-12-05T20:54:00.001-08:00

We let Jinx nap for a bit in our bed since it is his last night before the major surgery....

All grown up and neutered!

2011-12-01T18:37:00.001-08:00

Neuter was fast and uneventful. I wish I took a picture of him when he was waking up - tongue hanging out to the side since he barely has any teeth!

The big orthopedic surgery to fix his angular deformity is next week! I hope we're ready...

Snuggles

2011-11-27T18:03:00.001-08:00

How cute!

Here we go again....

2011-11-22T17:53:00.001-08:00

Luna was so much fun after her surgery, that we decided to do it again with Jinx. Kristie gave the basic details below, and she will follow up with some details on how this is all going to go down with the surgery itself. Below are some xrays where you can see his normal leg (Left) and his defective leg (Right). With this surgery, Jinx is going to easily surpass all of Luna's medical bills! After having such a rough start to his life, this complex surgery should at least fix his leg enough to have a great quality life. Jinx will definitely need a healthy and mostly pain free leg if he wants to keep up with crazy Luna!

Upcoming Surgery!

2011-11-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

Poor Jason was kept very busy with the two dogs while I was off in NH, Boston, and Kansas. Of course, they were naughty and picked up bad habits of jumping on people and furniture! While gone, I contemplated and consulted about his leg and what type of surgery would allow for the best outcome. After speaking with Dr. Sunil Vasanjee we've decided on the type of surgery that will allow him the best use of his leg and the least pain/arthritis long term. He's being evaluated tomorrow and will have more radiographs taken. He'll likely get the surgery the beginning of next week.

Jinx is a happy, crazy, playful little puppy and doesn't seem to care much about his leg - but he is limping more now than ever :-(

We'll be officially adopting him from the Humane Society so that he can get the best possible care in our home. Surgery will be quite expensive and the recovery is going to take 3-5 months until he's somewhat normal again.