Meet Jake! He is our lovable, almost 9 year old, Labrador retriever. Jake by far is the most wonderful dog we have ever owned, in fact I would bet he is the most loving and indestructible lab there ever was! I have heard horror stories of labs chewing up everything from shoes to couches... but not our Jake, he never chewed up a thing.

He was put into our lives to bring us happiness and companionship. Just say his name, watch his tail wag, and you have a friend for life! When Jake came into our lives, we did not have any children. We had Jake and one other dog, a husky named Alpine. Once I got pregnant things changed, for the better. While pregnant with my first child (a little girl), Jake would never leave my side. He followed me around more than ever. They say dogs have an instinct, well he definitely does.

I will never forget the day that Jake protected me from a home break-in when I was 36 weeks pregnant. It was just after Christmas before the New Years Eve holiday. I was resting at home while my husband had just left to run a few quick errands. As I was lying on our bed with Jake watching TV, I heard a loud noise. Jake jumped off our bed faster than I have ever seen him move in my life and bolted to the back of the house. I heard Jake bark and growl in a way that I did not recognize. My heart was pounding and I was unsure what was going on. Was it the mailman...FedEx? From Jake's tone it sure did not sound like any visitor whom had been at our house before. I walked quickly into the kitchen and watched the sliding glass door slam. Two teenage boys ran out the sliding glass door. I opened the door, shaking out of my mind and Jake and Alpine went running after them. They got away and jumped over our fence which backed to a busy street and were gone. I immediately called the police followed by my husband. The punk kids got away and were never caught. As I am pretty sure their intent was to steal from our home, I am thankful everyday that Jake was there to protect me from what could have been a very dangerous situation.

Jake and my bond grew stronger from that day on. Two weeks later when I went into labor, Jake was pacing the floor the entire night. Jake would come up and nudge me every once in a while to check on me. That next day our first child was born. Jake as we thought was AMAZING with our new baby girl! Before we brought her home from the hospital, my husband brought home one of her hospital blankets to allow the dogs to smell her. We had read this in a book and it was a great idea! Introducing her to the dogs was very simple. Both dogs in fact were very protective of the new baby. Jake and Alpine would take turns resting on the floor near her crib at night and were always with me during those middle of the night feedings.

As the years went by and our baby girl grew, Jake found a new place to sleep each night, from the foot of our bed to the foot of my daughters bed. Today we have two daughters, ages 6 and 3. Jake takes turns sleeping with the girls each night. He starts out on one bed and usually wakes up on another. The girls love having Jake in their beds. They feel safe even though he is quite the bed hog. Jake has become a best buddy to our girls. He will play with them by chasing them around the house in the most gentle of ways.

We are so very lucky to have Jake in our lives! I grew up with dogs and cannot imagine my life without them. We all have amazing stories of our dogs and other companion animals. It is truly amazing the impact they make on our lives in such a short time. I wish everyone to experience the love and loyalty of a Buddy Jake like we have someday!