Jack’s Recovery Log: Seven Months of Learning to Understand My Dog
Jack a year before he became ill. This is the running log I began keeping after a difficult year with Jack, my 14-year-old Papillon. I called it “Jack—Patterns,” and I kept it as a running unpublished draft from February 2026 through Aug. 9, 2026 before I decided to publish it. The previous year, 2025, had included serious dental problems, a simultaneous diagnosis of probable kidney disease, tooth extraction surgery in June, and an extraordinarily long recovery during which it seemed he was barely eating or drinking. He lost weight. He dropped from 4.5 lbs to 3.8. He lost a majority of his fur. He lost his buoyant personality. But he never said no to a walk, a ride or a treat. In the fall of 2025, I took him across town for a walk in the pet store where I used to take him when he was a puppy. There he frolicked for the first time in almost a year, and I knew my Jack was trying to come back. Then, in late 2025 and early 2026, two major disruptions occurred almost...