Down a Rocky road with Rambo and my Blu Hart

Debbie Jacob

THIS IS Dog Appreciation Month, and that gives me the opportunity to single out four very different dogs who made my life happier and more meaningful. Rocky, Rambo, Blu and Hart had their own distinct personalities. They had that quality we most admire in dogs: loyalty, and, like all good dogs, they taught invaluable lessons about trust. But there’s something else that made these dogs special: their sense of purpose.

Rocky, my first family pet, was a black Labrador retriever, a breed commonly used for cow herding that my dad bought to help him corral cows at milking time on our dairy farm. My dad paid good money for Rocky’s non-existent skills. He couldn’t herd cows to save his life. Instead, Rocky riled them all up and dispersed them.

Oblivious to my dad’s commands, he nipped the cows’ heels. Fed-up, they turned to run Rocky. Still, Rocky felt sure of his work and never gave up trying to locate the herding genes buried somewhere inside his coal-black body.

Rambo, my once-in-a-lifetime dog that all police canine officers talk about, came to me courtesy of my son and his friend when they decided Duchess, the pit bull they had talked me into keeping for them, should have a litter of puppies.

Rambo slept behind a burglar-proof gate while his siblings romped. When Rambo heard his feeding bowl clang, he squeezed through the gate, parted all the puppies like the Red Sea and gobbled down more than his fair share of food.

Rambo was my least favourite puppy, but I ended up keeping him. I got good homes for all the other puppies, but Rambo stayed with me because I never found a suitable home for him.

Everyone who saw his big head and aloof personality thought he would make a mean guard dog. I didn’t want that life for Rambo. Making someone angry and mean serves no purpose in life.

Rambo became my protector. He never let me out of his sight. He woke me up about three times a night to check on me. He knew when I was getting sick and pushed me to a chair or my bed to sit or lie down before a fever knocked me out cold. Once, when I had a terrible flu and turned icy cold, he covered me with his body to keep me warm. No one ever took care of me like Rambo did. His death in 2020 devastated me.

After Rambo, Blu and Hart came into my life. Blu, a sweet German shepherd, born by caesarean section on Christmas Day 2020, has cognition problems, poor memory and trust issues, but she is nurturing, caring and supportive of Hart, my blind, retired police dog, who likes chasing a ball all day.

Blu realises Hart is blind, so she runs up and down with him, unselfishly deflecting balls towards him. She’s convinced he needs her help to find his toys. She knows he likes to sleep with a ball, so she gathers them up and puts them in the room where we sleep. Blu found her sense of purpose in caring for Hart.

Hart, a Belgian Malinois, retired from the Trinidad and Tobago canine police after going blind three years ago. He misses his work, but he transferred the excitement he once felt from searching for illegal drugs, guns and ammunition to searching for his beloved balls all day long. He never lost his drive.

Each dog, so different in their personalities, shows how important having a purpose is to our growth and development. It forms the foundation for happiness, an inner sense of fulfilment, confidence, trust and peace.

If that sense of purpose is so important to dogs, think of what it means to people. Without it we function in empty shells with nothing but anger, frustration, sadness, selfishness, and insecurity.

Our prisons are full of young men who have never found their purpose in life. They didn’t get the support they needed in school and at home to discover their purpose. We don’t often think about our dogs’ need for a purpose-driven life, but we provide love and security to help them discover their meaning in life, even if it's just guarding the yard.

What do we do as a country to help troubled youth discover their sense of purpose?

If you don’t have a dog and can afford a pet and give it a good home, visit one of the dog shelters in the country. Adopt a dog that can help you find a greater purpose in life.