So they got the name right. Total miss on … dude, that’s not even a lab.
So happy for Jake!
StG
And, as it turns out,
… his name’s actually Jack. No joke. At least he is, in fact, a dog!
Louise, on the other hand, who was finally groomed today, is definitely at least 80% rabbit. I dropped off a rabbit muppet who looks like she lives in a trash can and picked up a build-a-bear bunny with big 80s hair!
Soooooo cuuuuute!
While I have a soft spot for all animals, I’m pretty much a cat person. But dammit, too many more photos like that and I might become a dog person as well.
Holy shit! I’m glad you took him out of there. A lipoma‽ I’m glad you found him, and I’m sure he’ll make someone very happy.
Didn’t even get that right. Poor guy … is he a girl at this point?
@SurrenderDorothy that looks like a much happier pooch, I hope she’s having some nice chill time with you!
What an emotional rollercoaster this thread is! I LOVE Louise! Somehow I identify with her. Maybe it’s the hair. She looks so happy you can’t help smiling. And Einstein–what a great name for a dog–looks sweet. Then like everyone else, I got teary when reading about Jake, the cancer-ridden lab in his final days. Holy frick! He’s a pit bull mix with a lipoma, and his name is Jack (which I like even better)!
I hope you’ll update us now and then, if you get time. I’d love to see them after their grooming makeovers.
In Washington, there’s a great shelter for older dogs who are supposedly “unadoptable.” Whenever one of my son’s and DIL’s dogs pass (They’ve adopted a total of 4 older dogs, 3 of whom eventually passed. One is still enjoying life at age 17.), I make a donation in their pup’s name. I wish every state had shelters dedicated to old dogs.
And I hope, Dorothy, that you’ll set up a GFM so that some of us could have the pleasure of donating to their care.
That is good news indeed!
– didn’t anyone at that shelter wonder about an almost-immediate-euthanasia order for a dog that bouncy? Even if it were a cancer, it doesn’t seem that he would have been anywhere near ready to go yet!
I hope Jake’s not still there at the shelter. Maybe they brought you out entirely the wrong dog?
(Though the lab mix/pit bull mixup may have been them trying to make him seem more appealing to people who don’t trust pits. Or to give people who do something better to tell their insurance companies.)
Oh my gosh. I’ve been thinking a lot about Jake the last few days. And now you tell me WHAT! 
Maybe that’s what Louise is smiling about.
You have way too much excitement in your life! I’m glad it’s the GOOD kind!
(I adopted a 12 yr old mutt six months ago, and she is a real joy. So: solidarity!)
What did the vet say about Jack today?
StG
Sorry I’ve been slow with responses- it’s been quite a week!
The vet gave Jack a clean bill of health! Heart and lungs sound good, eyes are clear, and they aspirated the lump and declared it a lipoma (benign). The only thing they noted was that he had broken teeth and silver streaks on his teeth, which they said they see a lot in Humane Society dogs and it’s from chewing on the bars of their cages. Ugh, poor dude. Our shelter isn’t the ideal place for a dog, but… we never have dogs with silver teeth from chewing on the bars. That’s pretty bad.
He’s moved on to another foster, who will keep him until he’s adopted. I’m glad I could help, but SO glad to be back down to three!
So glad to hear all of it (except for the teeth - that’s really sad)! Do they have an estimate of his age? I expected the shelter to get that wrong, too. What did the vet say about their osteosarcoma diagnosis? I’ve had a dog with bone cancer (as well as most of them having lipomas as they age). There wasn’t really any lump, just lameness.
StG
I know! For an old white lady I could probably develop dreds in not very much time so I empathize with Louise’s hair situation.
There’s one about 50 miles from us called Frosted Faces, and they rescue old sick dogs from shelters. They provide top notch medical care and pamper them for as long as the dogs live. I donate a bit a month to them, because we’ve had a lot of seniors, and it makes me so mad and sad to see them dumped when they become old and infirm.
Sometimes, the problem is that the owner is also old and infirm (or dead) and can no longer care for the dog. 
That’s basically how we got our old cat.
Oh, I know that’s how we got our Max.