The Jackson Tales Part 1

I'm not sure if I have ever shared the full story that brought Jackson into our lives... I'm too lazy to go read my first post so I will give a series of posts that will bring us all up to speed on my main man.  Well, my main furry man. :)

July 14th, 2007 I was driving down a main drag in Mesa, Arizona around midnight.  We were killing time because we had to pick Brandon up after his shift at the lovely Red Lobster.  We came up on a frantic looking dog that was running like a mad man in the middle of the street, literally.

 *Sidenote*
I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the country, but up here in Washington, most main roads the speed limit is between 30-45 depending on how busy, how wide and how curvy! We have several highways that the speed limit is higher, but main roads through cities and towns are different.  Well, in Arizona the main roads are of course all N/S and E/W.  The Phoenix Valley is literally a grid which is great for getting around! However, all of the main roads are four lanes (two on each side) and while the speed limit is 35-45mph everyone goes 60+.  No joke.  Well, except for the snowbirds that all slow traffic down which is a hazard in itself.

So, with that tidbit of information, you can imagine my fright when I realize that the oncoming traffic's red light had just turned green and here are a whole buttload of cars headed in this poor dog's way.  I sped up, pulled into the center lane and jumped out of my car in attempt to scare him out of the road.  It worked.  He went running off into the subdivision that was on the other side of the street.  I got back into my car and kept driving.  While waiting in the Lob's parking lot for Brandon I couldn't get my mind off of the dog.  I kept thinking... is he okay?  Why is he so frantic? He's obviously lost... Should I call animal control? Should I go back?  Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which thought process I went with...

So, fast forward to 45 minutes later.  The dog is in the back of my SUV and I'm picking Brandon up from work (late, might I add.)  The dog's odor is absolutely atrocious and he is spooked out of his mind.  Oh, and I should add that Brandon was peeved.  Like, extra peeved.  I don't blame him, either.  We lived in student housing for Arizona State University and quite honestly we didn't have a budget that included a dog.  So, I promised that I would take him to the pound the next day.

When we arrived home that night, I proceeded to give "Lindsay" (his temporary name... I found him on Lindsay Road and I thought he was a girl... whoops!) a bath to rid him of his terrible stink.  In the process, I found over 75 ticks on the poor dude and several "road rash" wounds that looked like they had attempted to heal to only be reopened.  He spent the night in an empty room in our house.  The next morning, we loaded him up and I regretfully walked him into the Maricopa County Animal Shelter.

To Be Continued...