After spending 13 years with his family in New Jersey, Jake, a large dog, is at risk of homelessness due to his family’s impending move. They probably couldn’t take him with them.
Worse, the heartbreaking alternative to euthanasia came about when no one asked for help. Luckily, Uncle Neal, a New Jersey farm shelter, rescued Jake and gave him a safe haven.
Meeting him in person was even more heartbreaking than the neglect and difficult life this sweet boy had endured.
Jake’s heart attack and recovery story
old dog lying on the carpet
In December 2023, a woman called Uncle Neil’s home to say she wanted to euthanize her 13-year-old dog if it wasn’t adopted or found a home within a week.
Upon hearing this news, the shelter made a desperate appeal on social media, hoping to find a foster home as soon as possible. Rian Feldman, founder of Uncle Neil’s House, told Newsweek:
“I received a call one evening from a woman telling me that she needed rescue for her 13-year-old dog because she was moving and going to euthanize him if she couldn’t find a home. I was sickened to hear this and immediately put out an urgent plea across our social media pages calling on our community to help us find a foster home for Jake to save his life.”
Luckily, a wonderful couple from Maryland, Valerie and Chris, offered to help and take in this sweet dog.
The sanctuary quickly arranged everything, making it easy for the owner to bring Jake over. It was only at that moment that they got a glimpse of Jake’s living conditions throughout the years, and it truly broke their heart.
“They barely said goodbye to him. They yelled out the window ‘bye Jake’ and sped off… after 13 years,” Feldman said. “It was clear that he was extremely neglected. He could barely walk, he couldn’t get down from the car, and we had to urge them to help him down.”
This poor 13-year-old dog was barely surviving.
“Jake is clearly very arthritic and not receiving any supportive care, his nails haven’t been cut in well over a year, and he’s breathing very, very heavily at times. His old family told us that he’s never had a bed before,” Uncle Neil’s Home wrote in their Facebook post.
Although it was heart-wrenching to see him being surrendered at his age, it might just be the silver lining for this sweet boy, considering the evident hardships he had endured.
In just 24 hours of being surrendered, Jake received more love and care than he had in all of his 13 years. “He is insanely sweet and seeing him breaks our heart, but it’s only love and the good life from here on out,” the sanctuary said.
The Road To Recovery
The next day, Jake had his very first vet appointment, and as anticipated, his health was in a pretty dire state.
The list of problems was sadly very long.
According to the sanctuary, Jake had severe osteoarthritis of all four limbs, enlarged elbows, muscle atrophy, cracked teeth, dental disease, hearing loss, conjunctivitis, and several masses below and on his skin.
He also had possible laryngeal paralysis, bladder stones, a mass on his testicle, and neurologic deficits.
Jake wasn’t even neutered.
Starting the treatment immediately was crucial for him, so that’s what they did first.
After only a few short days with his wonderful foster family, the twinkle in Jake’s eyes returned. He was finally on pain medication and had many of his conditions managed.
He was finally loved and taken care of.
“Jake needs surgery for the mass on his right testicle and bladder stones. We will neuter Jake, have the mass biopsied, and the doctor will remove the bladder stones during that surgery. Later, he’ll need a dental for 2 cracked teeth,” Uncle Neil’s Home wrote on Instagram.
Jake had his first surgery, and he is healing, happy, and absolutely thriving in his foster home. “He is doing amazingly well in his foster home. We’re hoping for a foster fail,” Feldman said.
You can follow Jake and his road to recovery on his Instagram profile, @jakeypals.
