If you’ve been following FurPawLife for five minutes, you already know Jax. He’s on the logo, all over my socials, and basically the face of this whole thing.
So when it came time to write my first Pet of the Month feature, I sat down to tell Jax’s story. And I quickly realized I couldn’t tell Jax’s story without telling the stories of all the babies who came before him.
Because this was never really just Jax’s story. It’s mine.
I never had human children. My pets have been my children, and they became some of the deepest loves of my life. Every one of them left something behind in my heart and soul. Every one of them became part of my story.
And this is where my FurPaw Life begins.
Nick was my first kitty love back in the ’80s. He used to suck on the tip of his tail like a bottle while I held him like a baby. When I plucked his tail out of his mouth, it made the funniest little pop. That’s the story everyone remembers about Nick. 😂
And then there was Baby Tesla, my brother’s kitty, on the right. Nick and Tesla had babies, too! Yep, the FurPaw family was already growing.
Grey came with my first house in 2000. He was already living in the yard when I moved in, and somewhere along the way, he decided the house and I were his. We had our own language without words. He slept on my pillow and many times on my head. I couldn’t possibly disturb him. 😂 Grey was my first kitty heartbreak - it was soul-crushing💔
Next came Leo and Lola, two beautiful white long-haired siblings with totally different personalities. Leo would allow approximately three pets before deciding he’d had enough. He’d bite and scratch me, and I still have scars to prove it.
He also hid under the kitchen sink floorboard the first night I got him. The person I adopted him from came over and called 911, but they told her they don’t do this. So I called my friend Phil, who had to cut a hole in the wall and pull him out. 😂
Lola was my sweet petite little Princess. She preferred to sit like royalty and be admired from a respectful distance, and just allow her brother to cause drama.
Tucker made me a dog person.
He was my first dog love, and was a wild 1-year-old black Lab I adopted from the Austin Animal Shelter. When he put his paw on the metal fence, I knew he was mine.
He was an escape artist and a handful as a puppy, and once ate part of my brand new couch. He also loved to sit on my lap, even at 88 lbs. Apparently, 88 pounds was still lap-dog territory.
I often wondered what I had gotten myself into. Turns out, I had gotten myself a black Lab. Apparently, I have a type. 😂 He grew up to be the sweetest boy and my first dog love.
Losing Tucker crushed me. He was my first dog heartbreak, and it taught me just how badly losing a dog could hurt. 💔
Lambchop was my heart dog. My soul dog. He came into my life at a difficult time, and became the one constant through so many chapters of my life.
One night, Tucker and I were coming home from our nightly walk when I saw a little Jack Russell trotting around my neighbor’s yard. I thought he belonged to the neighbor, but he came right over to me. He knew. ❤️ I gave him some food, water, and a blanket, figuring he’d find his way home.
The next morning, I opened my door and there he was.
I guess he had other plans. ❤️
Lambchop loved running around the yard like a maniac, and many times “caught” something outside. He’d cleverly avoid me as he trotted around the perimeter of the fence while I screamed bloody murder for him to drop it. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was nuts. He was hilarious in so many ways and so full of life.
Lambchop and Tucker became best friends, and then Lucky came next to complete the trio. We cuddled right next to each other every night for 14 years. He was the only pet who knew every one of the babies who came after him, from Grey, Leo and Lola to Jax.
He and Jax got off to a rough start, but eventually figured each other out. Before long, they were having fun together, lounging in the sun and taking over the couch.
My heart shattered into a million pieces when he died. 💔
Lucky came next, quite literally off the side of I-35.
He was dumped into the median and somehow made it across three lanes of traffic. I happened to be in the right hand lane at that exact moment and I pulled over. When I called out to him, he trotted right over to me. He growled when I first picked him up, but then I scooped him up and took him home.
I was not planning on another dog, but the rescue told me they couldn’t take him and that I needed to take him to the shelter. Absolutely not.
I bought him a stuffed monkey to sleep with. Lambchop destroyed it the next day.
Welcome to the family. 😂
He was obsessed with his green monster toy, and would thrash it around, throw it in the air and chase after it like he’d just invented the greatest game on earth. He cracked me up every single day. He was my absolute velcro baby.
A month later I adopted Marlowe from a friend after her grandmother, Marlowe, passed away. I named her after her. ❤️ She had been feral, so I didn’t force anything. I let her decide when she was ready. First the office. Then my closet. Then the bathroom sink. Then my bedroom windowsill. Eventually, she made it to my pillow and never left.
Several months later, we were all watching TV when Marlowe walked down the hallway and just stared at us.
“Hi, Marlowe,” I said. And that was it. She walked into the kitchen, explored the living room, climbed onto the couch, and decided we were family.
She was such a sweet, gentle girl who sometimes bit the crap out of me, much like Leo.😂
She preferred to sit next to me or curl up in one of her special little places around the house. She loved playing with her toys, especially anything with catnip, and her little bursts of feistiness always cracked me up.
For most of her life, Jax mostly tolerated her. But near the end, Marlowe had a little bed by the sliding glass door, and Jax would lie beside her every day. He knew it was time.
When it was time to say goodbye, I told Jax to go say goodbye to Marlowe too. He bent down and gently licked the top of her head.
That moment will stay with me forever. ❤️💔
All my animals had somehow figured each other out. There was never much chaos.
Then Jax arrived.
I was actually looking for a small senior dog. Lambchop was getting older, and I thought maybe he might like a calm little brother.
It didn't turn out that way.
I went to the Austin Animal Shelter and walked past at least a hundred dogs, but I just wasn’t connecting with any of them.
Then I walked into an air-conditioned building and saw a German Shepherd who jumped up and put his paws on the window, with his tongue hanging out, looking at me like he had been waiting for me to walk through that door.
We locked eyes. And that was it. It was immediate. Intuitive. Deep. I still can’t really explain it. I just knew.
I brought Lambchop to meet him, and Lambchop was not impressed. He got snippy with Jax, so I went home to seriously think about it. I barely slept that night. The shelter had warned me Jax probably wouldn’t be there long. The next morning, I called. He was still there.
I burst into tears and rushed back to get him.
Jax was... extra. 😂 Jax had basically arrived thinking: Nice family. I’ll be taking over from here.
When he arrived, his vocabulary consisted of one command: sit. And even that only happened when dinner was visible.
However, Jax is ridiculously smart, and can learn a command almost immediately. He’s basically a hostage negotiator when it comes to food.
When he wants a treat, he’ll run through every command he knows, one after another, as if quantity should earn him extra treats. He is not confused. He is negotiating.
For 2 years Jax brought an entirely new level of chaos to the household.
One day I came home to what looked like a tornado had gone through my living room, kitchen, and hallway. There was an exploded bag of potatoes, an onion, a knocked-over vase, puppy pads everywhere, shoes, blankets, and my bedroom rug.
Lambchop was sitting on the ottoman surveying the destruction like: What the fresh hell is this? Look closely....
He had already destroyed my green sweatshirt and an entire roll of paper towels on separate occasions, but this was the grand finale.
I tried crating Jax, but it was clearly traumatic for him. After several escape attempts, and chewing the bottom into a million sharp pieces, I knew I had to find another solution.
That’s when I found Southpaws Playschool. Sonya and Tim, the owners, were life savers. They took Jax and gave me the help I desperately needed. I was so nervous that first day. I had no idea how he was going to do around other dogs.
When I drove up to pick him up, I saw him outside playing with the other dogs. He was having the time of his life. Then he saw me and completely lost his ever-loving mind.
I cried and laughed, feeling so relieved.
That was the moment I knew everything was going to be okay.
Jax went to Southpaws for about four months, and I will never forget the kindness Sonya and Tim showed us. They were such an important part of Jax’s early days and, honestly, a huge part of our story.
Jax wakes me up around 6 a.m. to go outside because apparently the sun has a schedule and we must respect it. Then comes breakfast. No negotiations. At 8 a.m., it’s round two, followed by a dental chew.
His daily schedule is very important:
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Morning walk, followed by doggy ice cream.
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My mom’s audio message for him every morning. Yes, Jax gets a daily message.
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Outside. Couch lounging. Outside again. More couch lounging.
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Afternoon “soup.” Yes, soup.
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4 p.m. sharp: kibble in his toy and his raw nuggets.
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More outside. More couch lounging.
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7 p.m.: Goes to be early on his king-size bed.
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9 p.m.: A treat bribe to go potty one last time.
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10:30 p.m. sharp: His demand for one raw nugget.
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And, of course, my side of the bed. Every morning. Every night.
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Treats to lure him back to his side of the bed.
I am a Treat Dealer. He knows it. I know it.
He also has a very specific 911 bark. It sounds urgent. It is not. He needs to go outside and sunbathe. Sir. You summoned emergency services for a tanning session.
And then there’s his other specialty: barking at absolutely nothing.
I barked at nothing again, you're welcome : ) Yes. The tee is named after him.
He is spoiled. He is hilarious. He is intuitive. He runs the house. He's my world. ❤️
And somehow, he has become the face of a brand that started with nothing more complicated than how much I love animals. Today, his muzzle is completely gray. He’s ten years old now, and I still have about a foot of my king-size bed left every night. Of course I do. 😂
✨
When I look back at all of my babies, I realize FurPawLife didn’t really begin with Jax.
It began with every one of my pets who came before him.
Nick. Grey. Leo. Lola. Tucker. Lambchop. Lucky. Marlowe. And all the little animals who came before I was old enough to understand just how much they would mean to me.
They are all part of the reason I see animals the way I do. They are all part of the reason I notice the funny things they do, the weird little personalities, the looks, the routines, the things that make us laugh until we cry.
And they are all part of why I created FurPawLife. I wanted to share that love, spread a little joy, and create a FurPawFam where all of us obsessed pet lovers could celebrate the animals who make our lives better.
Your pet isn’t part of life. They ARE life.
I don’t mean that as a tagline. I mean it.
When you’ve lived your life with animals, they become your story. They become family. They’re in the memories you tell, the photos you can’t stop taking, the ridiculous things you still laugh about years later, and the moments that can make your heart ache and smile at the same time.
That’s what The FurPaw Life means to me.
It’s not one pet or one story.
It’s all of them.
And this is mine. 🐾❤️
P.S. I’d love to hear about your FurPaw Life, too. If you’d like to be featured in a future edition of The FurPaw Life, reach out to me at hello@furpawlife.com. If selected, I’ll reach out to learn more and get your full FurPaw Life story - the pets who’ve been part of your life, the memories, the funny moments, and the ones who’ve left paw prints on your heart. You’ll also have the opportunity to highlight a rescue, shelter, or cause that means something to you.
Thank you for being part of my journey.
With FurPawLove,❤️
Jennifer & Jax
Founder | CEO
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