Fall was always a special time of year with Jacoby; he spent so many seasons watching the leaves change as he sat by the fire at the Bluffs. His golden fur was a perfect match to the red, yellow, and orange leaves.
The Fall of 2024 was his last; during the summer we visited the vet to address many of the issues that he was having as he aged.
One of them was that he was losing his eyesight. Whenever he came to a set of stairs he was hesitant to go down because he couldn’t see well enough. So often times we had to grab his collar and help him navigate the stairs, which was dangerous for us.
The second problem was his hips. He had a difficult time lifting his back legs off the ground.
When we talked about these two problems with his vet in Conway, NH, she recommended a harness, which really helped, especially going down the stairs. Here is one of the last pictures we have of him and his niece, Addie. during what would be Jacoby’s last visit to the Cape.
And finally, we took what would be our last trip together to the Bluffs. Here he is greeting his favorite Bluffs security guard, Rod, who always said hello and brought treats. Notice the smile and how Jacoby was still enjoying life and giving love.
Some of our last photos of him at the Bluffs were with his niece, watching his Dad stack wood, and enjoying his final nights by the fire.
As happy as Jacoby was, it was hard for us to see that we were using the harness to carry him more and more.
After closing the Bluffs, the three best friends returned home to Waverly Road. Steve had just installed a new screen door on the back porch of the Wave. The new door had floor-to-ceiling glass, and on October 23, 2024, as Steve and Katy sat out on the back porch, Jacoby got up from his mat in the kitchen and looked at us through the glass; he had to go to the bathroom.
And when we let him out to the back yard, he squatted to pee. And then he couldn’t stand back up on his own. His hips would no longer work.
Katy and Steve looked at each other and started to cry. We knew that if Jacoby could no longer stand, then he had no quality of life. We didn’t know it would be his last day. We weren’t ready. But we knew that it was time.
So we drove him to Bulger Animal Hospital in Lawrence. Here are the last pictures of him in the car. He was still so happy!
At the hospital, the vet confirmed our worst fear: it was time to put him down. They put us into a “goodbye room” and we were able to call the kids. Becky, Mike, and Matthew were able to join us via Facetime and say their goodbyes.
And then Katy and I said our goodbyes and we put him to sleep.
It’s over a year and a half later and we still cry thinking about him.
What a beautiful gift from God.
