My brother was adopted and had four legs

When I was younger all I wanted was a golden retriever and on my 12th birthday I was lucky enough to meet my new best friend.

Jake and I did everything together – he was the closest thing I’ll ever have to a brother. I’ll always remember spending my formative years hitting baseballs into the woods and watching him race as fast as he could into the muddy creek on the outskirts of the woods (to my mother’s despair) and come back covered in mud, but holding the baseball I had just hit like a trophy.

I’ll never forget August 17, 2013 the day I had to say goodbye to Jake when I left for Ohio State for my first semester of college. He had probably had no idea what I was even saying, but I still felt guilty that I wouldn’t see him until Thanksgiving.

Jake hanging out with goat buddy while I was away at Ohio State

I’ll also remember this past summer on July 3rd when Jake, my girlfriend, and I frantically searched a local hiking trail in order to find Kendall, a mutt my family saved from a kill shelter in 2012 – she had slipped her collar during the hike and escaped into the woods.

If you knew Kendall this wouldn’t surprise you, as she is very skittish from her traumatic experiences of being in and out of shelters in North Carolina as a puppy. Luckily, we found Kendall a few hours later at a local animal shelter. But the thing that will always stick with me to this day is how well Jake physically looked while on the hike, he never slowed down, he actually dragged me the entire hike. Searching for three to four hours in the July heat can take a toll on an old golden retriever, but then again this was Jake the second coming of Air Bud, nothing could stop this dog.

This is my dad holding Kendall, the only person she truly trusts

I’ll also never forget January 10, 2016. It was the day before the spring semester was about to begin and I had just gotten back from a service trip in Florida. Around 11am I heard my phone ring, but I declined to answer it because I was exhausted from the past week of building a house for Habitat for Humanity.

Around 12:30pm my bedroom door shot open and my girlfriend appeared, I could tell by her face that something was off. Her voice sounded upset as she told me “You need to call your mom back ASAP.”

I had a gut feeling that something bad had happened, so I immediately called my mom and the first word that came out of her mouth was “Jake…” and I immediately knew my best friend needed some prayers. It turned out that Jake had collapsed that morning while walking down the stairs. My parents rushed him to the animal hospital where it was determined Jake was internally bleeding from liver cancer and wasn’t expected to survive the night. I pleaded with my mom over the phone to just take my buddy home because he was one of a kind and I thought he could pull through, but the cancer was so advanced at that point there was nothing the doctors could do.

I was prepared to skip my classes on Monday and drive all the way back to New Jersey just to see him one last time, but instead I had to settle and face time on my iPhone in order to say goodbye to my best friend, I’ll always feel guilty that I wasn’t there with him in his final moments.

Jake and Kendall bonding, they were like brother and sister

The next few days were extremely tough on me. All I could think about is Jake and how I would never see him again. I remember the next day coming out of my first class, an 8am business course, and seeing a golden retriever puppy happily playing with its owner, I almost lost it. I remember spending the next two weeks in a fog, a mix of denial and anger. My denial stage consisted of me buying $10 worth of lottery tickets hoping I would hit the jackpot and would be able to clone my Jake using his DNA. My anger stage involved me being frustrated with school, teachers, and listening to angry rap while at the gym. I just wanted to stay in bed and mourn.

Things continued to get worse before they got better, my grandfather passed away two months later. All I could think about was “why was this happening all at once?” I was drained emotionally.

However, while down in Georgia mourning the death of my grandfather, my aunt notified my family about a four-year-old golden retriever near my hometown in New Jersey who needed a family after being put up for adoption. His name was Cody, and my family believed he was a gift from Jake and my grandfather who were looking down upon us from Heaven. So over the course of the next week we adopted Cody and he became part of my family.

Cody fitting into our home nicely

My sister always says “dogs are people” and I truly believe that. Although Jake and Cody are both golden retrievers and look very similar, they have completely different personalities. For example, Jake loved to play fetch, while Cody prefers tug of war. Jake barked once his entire life, Cody barks whenever a car pulls into my driveway.

Jake with his ball refusing to come inside because he wanted to keep playing

Meanwhile, Cody is more concerned about getting back inside

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1.2 million dogs are euthanized each year and 31 percent that enter shelters are euthanized. My dog Kendall was almost one of them, and Cody could have been too if my family didn’t adopt him.

So if you are going to take away anything from this story please take away this, there are plenty of great dogs out there that are in need of homes. I know it is springtime and many college students are considering getting a dog, and that is great. But also be aware of the responsibilities (vet checkups, food, exercise, ect) involved with owning a dog, it is like adding a child to your family. Finally, if you are going to get a dog please adopt and save a life, Jake would’ve wanted everyone to know that.

Cody and me meeting for the first time, to be continued….