Jake is 9

Today is our Jake’s Ninth Birthday. The photo at left is of him and me, taken at lunchtime. As happens nearly every time I try to take a photo of Jake, he wouldn’t pose. Last year I said about that:

…Jake really doesn’t like posing for photos. I usually have to catch him while he’s resting because it’s quite rare for him to sit still while I take photos. His adopted sisters—Sunny the dog and Bella the cat—will pose for me; I think Bella secretly enjoys it, and Sunny likes the attention. Not Jake. Maybe it’s because he knows I’ll probably put the photo on the Internet. Probably not that, I suppose.

My idea this year was to take a selfie of sorts with Jake, as I did with Bella last year, and I thought I’d take one with Sunny when her birthday rolls around again, too. Jake tried to get away as soon as he realised I was taking a photo. In fact, in every shot I’m staring at my phone so I can see if he’s looking anywhere near the right direction—so of course I found one where he was and I wasn’t. I was also probably talking to him behind his head to keep him calm in a (futile) effort to get him to pose.

That’s our boy!

As I’ve said many times before, Jake is very different in behaviour from Sunny. Of the three furbabies, Jake is the most “human”—seeming to be contemplative and aware so much of the time. Where Sunny seems happy-go-lucky, Jake seems to know what’s what—and sometimes, even what we’re thinking.

I’ve noticed how Jake and Sunny both—but Jake especially—loves eye contact. He will hold it for longer than any human I’ve ever known—well, apart from the creepy ones who seemed to do it because of how uncomfortable it made people feel. Those people made me want to get away from them, but Jake doesn’t make me feel that way.

The photo at bottom is how Jake began his day: I got up early this morning and found all three furbabies sleeping in a row, and that’s something that almost never happens. Sunny doesn’t seem to mind sleeping near either of them, but Jake is wary of Bella and her sharp fingers. So, this was a rare thing (which is why I shot a quick photo with my phone.

The photo above that was a shot of Jake alone, taken not all that long after the attempted selfie above; it was the best of several photos I took of him. I’m not exaggerating about how much Jake seems to loathe being photographed.

Still, Jake got to spend much of the day sleeping (a favourite thing), barking at noises, and patrolling the front garden. From his perspective, it was a perfect day. I probably annoyed him a little too much with cuddles and scratches, but his birthday means more to us, I’m sure, than it does to him.

Which is why every year we feel like we get the present, because he’s made our lives immeasurably better.

Happy Birthday, Jake!

Related posts:
Jake is 8
Jake is 7
Jake is 6
Jake turns 5
Jake is four
Jake turns three
Jake’s Birthday 2-day
Jake is one year old!
A new arrival