Jaxie
patient and eager to please
The CleverPet team is super excited about meeting the clever dogs that will get to play all day while their owners work. In the last week of our Kickstarter campaign, we’ve profiled a few of the dogs that have convinced their owners to pledge. For our first profile, Brittini was kind enough to introduce us to Jaxie.
Name: Jaxie
Age: 4 1/2 — 5 years
Breed: Mix, not sure of the exact combo but maybe some Boxer/Pitbull/Pointer/Greyhound
Meet Jaxie
Jaxie is extremely loving, she doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She just wants to love and be loved.
I adopted her from animal control in Rhode Island about 4 years ago. When I started my dog search I was looking for a small dog, that liked the car, was over 2 years old, was potty trained and was black. Jaxie (who was then called Roxy) was nothing on my list of criteria but she was perfect. She had such a sweet personality from the start. At that time she was about 10 months old. She had been found stray so we didn’t know anything about her parents or her past. She was so skinny, you could see her spine and hips jutting out.
We quickly learned she was allergic to all grains and would develop hives all over her body if ingested. About 6 months after adoption she stopped using her left back leg and needed knee surgery. She had a genetic problem with her knees which was exacerbated by her malnourishment as a puppy. The first surgery failed, as did the second. After the second surgery Jaxie made the trip with us across the country to San Diego, she was sedated the entire car ride because she had extreme anxiety of being in the car.
Once in San Diego she went to a specialist for her third knee surgery, which was finally successful. We did two years of physical therapy with her, she was always so patient and eager to please. We worked very hard on her car anxiety and now she is thrilled to ride in the car no matter what our destination is. She still is scared of many things such as cans, glass bottles, and acoustic music but ultimately she knows she is safe.
Last year one of her canine teeth broken in half, when we took her to the vet we were told this was very rare in a young healthy dog. On dental x-rays the vet found evidence that someone had pulled out her puppy canine teeth. This is very common for people to do to bait dogs to use in dog fighting so the bait dog won’t harm the fighter dog while they practice. We were filled with disgust for the people that could do such a thing and sadness for the suffering she endured but also gratitude that she had survived that situation and was with us now. She is no longer allowed to have any type hard toys or bones because of this. Recently she had to have knee surgery on her other leg for the same problem but she is making a great recovery.
She has been through so much but she remains the sweetest soul. Her days now are filled with going to the park for walks, cruising around Little Italy, sunbathing on the roof deck, showing off her toy collection, cuddling and devising plans to get treats.
What is Jaxie’s favorite game to play?
She is a big fan of tug of war and also really enjoys when we hide the toy or pass it back and forth. When left to her own devices she will happily de-stuff a toy for the squeaker then proceed to prance around with the prize in her mouth squeaking it as fast as she can.
What does Jaxie do when you aren’t home?
I think Jaxie first inspects the apartment for any forgotten or fallen delicacy (I know because I have walked in on this ritual many times when I have forgotten something). Once she is satisfied with this patrol she lays down and naps for the remaining time.
How clever is Jaxie?
Jaxie is pretty clever and tends to learn quickly. She knows all the places in Little Italy San Diego that give her treats for coming by and if she were in control of the walk she would hit every one, from City Cleaners to Queenstown to Blick, she knows the spots! She also is a water snob and will only drink from certain water bowls around Little Italy, these include Nelson Photo and BodyFit Gym, anything else is thoroughly inspected and usually snubbed.
What are you hoping to get out of the CleverPet?
I think it will be wonderful to see her learn and be rewarded. Also it will provide her with a source of interactive entertainment when we cannot be there. She is always on the look out for opportunities for treats so I think she would love CleverPet.
CleverPet is a learning console that engages and teaches your dog. We are super excited about meeting the clever dogs that will get to play all day while their owners work. Our Clever Dogs collection features profiles of the lucky dogs that will be some of the first to receive CleverPets.
Many thanks to Brittini for sharing about Jaxie! All of the photos of Jaxie you see here are Brittini’s and she kindly gave us permission to use them.
