Jim Bob Update

Jimmy’s name eventually morphed into Jim Bob because he looks and acts so country, like he should be wearing overalls and a straw hat while playing a banjo. Jim Bob, the skittish English setter that lived in a kennel for six years, is ready to be adopted.

I’m so stoked by his progress. We’ve been working our butts off socializing him, and he’s starting to understand that he doesn’t have to be afraid of the outside world. We take him everywhere we can, and so far he’s visited Dairy Queen, Tractor Supply Company, and PetSmart, plus Chipotle and Five Guys, where he sat next to us on the patio while we had lunch.

His favorite thing in the world is our morning four-mile walk at the Springfield Greenway. When I pull his leash from the closet, he does this prancing jig, stepping excitedly from one front paw to the other, like an old-school tap dance on Broadway, tail tucked in excitement not fear. At first, whenever we walked, he wouldn’t pick up his head, wearing that mopey timid expression, dragging his maw above the concrete, but now he walks with his pointy head high, wagging his feathery tail with something close to pride. Once in a while he breaks leash etiquette, pulling towards a bird or a squirrel, like the hunting dog he was bred to be, and sometimes I let him get away with it because he wears such a delighted expression. In a few days Jim Bob has a “Meet and Greet,” which basically means ICHBA visits the residence of the potential adopters. If everything works out okay, then he might have a new home by the end of the week.