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Only 7 short years ago Jack-Jack was a nameless dog at a puppy mill in Indiana. He lived his life in a small cage with little human interaction. He was merely a stud dog used to impregnate female dogs also living in horrid conditions to then sell the puppies to pet stores.
The puppy mill owner decided to retire, and put an ad in the paper to sell off his dogs. A high-kill shelter in Bloomington, Indiana convinced the man to give the three least sellable dogs to them. One of them was Jack-Jack. The shelter called on Smaller Paws and Pomeranians Rescue (where Pommy Mommy’s Yoki was rescued from), who took in all 3 dogs.
Jack-Jack’s now owner, Katie, had signed up with Smaller Paws to foster dogs in preparation for adoption. JoAnn, the head of Smaller Paws, called her to foster a dog, then named Pedro. All Katie knew was that he was from a puppy mill, had sight issues and needed a LOT of love. Three days later, on her 24th birthday, she adopted that very frightened dog and re-named him Jack-Jack. Upon taking him to her local vet she discovered that he was going blind from Progressive Retinal Atrophy. He has since become totally blind.
In November of 2011, on a day like any other, Jack-Jack “stole” a chew from a basket. This time, unlike any other, his mouth started bleeding. Upon opening his mouth, Katie saw a lima bean sized tumor growing on the left side of his mouth, coming from the top of the palate near his back molars. After being rushed to the local vet, Jack-Jack was taken to Purdue University. Two weeks and many tests later, he was diagnosed with a Maxillary Plasma Cell Tumor. The tumor started behind his left eye, and went down through the back of his face where it finally ended up popping out of his palate.
December 2011 Jack-Jack underwent 20 radiation treatments at Purdue University. It was a rough month, but he was TOUGH. Jack-Jack’s wonderful attitude never wavered. and he came through with flying colors.
April 2012, Jack-Jack’s 4 month post-radiation CT Scan came back with NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE! His tumor, which would have been the size of a softball in a human, was completely gone.
April 2013- Jack-Jack is considered in “durable remission.” Meaning, his cancer should not come back.
Jack-Jack hopes to teach people about the horrors of puppy mills along with the advantages of adopting puppy mill rescue and special needs dogs. He may not be able to see, but he lives a very full and happy life with his Mama, 2 Pomeranian siblings (Parker and Bebe Belle) and kitties. He “works” at Parker’s, a pet store in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.
Check out Jack’s Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/BlindDogJack