Article by Amien Jacobs, Pops’ Uncle
In the stillness of the night in the Spring of 2013, I heard a strange sound in my backyard. At first I was terrified.
This was my first night alone in my new home in the Northern Suburbs. I had just moved in from the Southern Suburbs.
Every sound I heard around me seemed strange and felt somewhat scary. I looked out my kitchen window and saw a movement in the darkness. A timid looking 4-legged approached the kitchen window, looked up at me longingly;
“Hey uncle, it’s me! I’m not sure what’s happening around here.” he seemed to be saying.
I’d never owned a dog before. My only experience as a child was when I was bitten by one. I had no idea what to do in this situation.
I put my faith in a higher power, opened the back door. Pops ran to hide behind a little bush in the backyard.
I knew this was going to be a tough battle.
As the days and weeks went by, and heaven knows how it happened, we’d both shaken off the fear we initially experienced. We grew onto each other. I named him Pops and have no idea why. The name flowed. And it flowed naturally.
My family and especially the kids became extremely fond of him. Pops would often welcome his new found family at the front gate and escort them in.
I have much to learn and so does Pops.
We are not without our challenges though. In fact, we’ve both moved into a new neighbourhood.
Pops has since matured and found some new friends and adopting new behaviours. I’m back on Google learning new lessons about dog behavior and solutions 🙂
However, if he is happy, we are happy.
Pets are awesome.
“Rescue pets are a special breed of awesomeness.”
What a wonderful gift to care for those both lesser and more fortunate than ourselves.