The 401
FIRST PERSON
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF JOHN J. PALUMBO.
A
Old Dogs Stick Together Opening one’ s home to a trio of geriatric dogs proves to be a balm for the soul.
LL MY LIFE I HAVE BEEN A DOG PERSON( not to the exclusion of other animals, though). My father worked in a Fall River textile factory and whenever we were“ dog-less” a puppy would arrive, usually from a co-worker’ s litter. Blackie, Dutch, Teddy— along with Sadie, who came home from URI with me— an array of mutts filled our lives with love and devotion … and devastation when they crossed that rainbow bridge.
Well over a decade ago, I had one of those unfortunate life-changing events: a divorce. I found myself estranged from family and many friends, living alone in an apartment. I was depressed because the marriage had failed, and I felt abandoned and lonely.
One Saturday, completely on a whim, I visited the East Greenwich Animal Protection League. The cure for all my pain was in that building: Jake, a small brown-and-black spaniel mix with a wide canine smile and a constantly wagging tail. I named him in honor of my dad, whose middle name was Jacob.
Our days started and ended with a walk around the neighborhood. We bonded over dinner on my small deck, watching television together. On those first few Father’ s Days, he was the only child I had. We sat on the bench at Stillwater Cove in Pawtuxet Village watching the swans.
We were not without our crises, however. Like the time I tried to crate train Jake on the first night I ventured out alone, only to hear from a co-tenant two stories below that he banged and howled all night. Or the time I bought a Roomba robot vacuum because of his prolific shedding, only to find it nestled under a pile of you-know-what, completely fried.
Jake was my top priority when I eventually went house hunting. I had a vision for Jake’ s yard, something fenced in and safe with enough room to explore. When I finally found it, I knew immediately it would be our new home. He lorded over it as if it were his domain, chasing rabbits and performing sniff patrols for invaders daily, and sitting in his Lion King pose watching everything.
Jake was everyone’ s sweetheart— whether at work, on a walk, at the groomer, at the vet or at doggie day care. It was not uncommon for people to say,“ I love this dog.” The day care staff dressed him up for holiday photos and posted the pictures on their Facebook page. Whenever we walked in, there was a unanimous chant of“ Jake!” from the front desk staff, much like when Norm entered the bar at Cheers.
28 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I OCTOBER 2025