For the first five years of his life, Jett lived on the Rogue River in Oregon with an elderly couple. When the wife passed away, the husband moved to a senior housing complex in Santa Rosa, California. Unused to confinement, Jett continually dug under the fence of his small yard. One of his more noteworthy escapes led him into a drugstore in the nearby mall where he perused each and every aisle looking for bargains and evaded capture for hours. It soon became sadly evident that his owner's new living arrangements were not going to work for Jett, and he reluctantly placed an ad in the local paper hoping to find a suitable new home for his beloved companion.

Joan's family had previously owned two standard poodles. One dog lived eleven years; the other, sixteen. Joan was dogless for three years while caring for ill family members, but the time came when she realized she once again needed the comfort and companionship of a canine friend. For some strange reason, she happened to look in the classified section of the local newspaper right after Jett's owner had placed his request, and Jett's ad called out to her.

           "Free black male standard poodle, six years old, lovable, needs big yard."

Needless to say, Joan called immediately, and a meeting was arranged with the understanding that Jett and his owner would come to Joan's home to "look the situation over". Right from the start, it was evident to all parties involved that the perfect match had been found. Jett made a rapid adjustment to his new adoptive family and quickly realized that he was going to be very, very pampered in his new home.

Jett was a huge comfort to Joan's parents. When her dad developed Alzheimer's and had to be placed in a nursing home, Jett was given free run of the facility, much to the delight of the residents. As his disease progressed, Joan's dad forgot most family names, but remembered Jett's name.

Now that Joan's dad has passed away, Jett keeps Joan's mom company during the day while Joan is at work. Both look forward to long daily walks and lots of playtime with Jett's many toys.

Three days before Christmas, Jett's stomach twisted, requiring emergency surgery. During the operation, some nodules on his spleen and neck were discovered and biopsied. Naturally everyone was worried, because at Jett's age (nearly 15), his prognosis for survival was doubtful. But the surgery was a success, the nodules were benign, and Jett rejoined his family on Christmas eve. (Could the black poodle angel ornament which Joan hung on her Christmas tree the evening Jett underwent his surgery have had anything to do with his miraculous recovery?)

By the way, the photo below of Jett in his poncho and boots was published in the "365 Days of Dogs" 1998 desktop calendar!