Japhy the (No Longer) Stray

Hi, my name’s Japhy!

I recently moved in with Josh and Stephanie after they picked me up from the Kingston Humane Society. They called me Trevor there, but we all thought that was a silly name for a dog. Josh and Steph thought I should have a name that matched my hobo past so they picked a character from Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums. We all liked it right away.

They say I am about 28 dog years old and wasn’t neutered, but now I am. I’m not sure what that means, but I am sure I had a good time wandering and made lots of friends and probably sired a few very handsome pups before I went to dog jail. I also had some not so good times and am still trying to gain some weight so my hips, and ribs, and spine don’t stick out so much. I’m microchipped now so my new family can always find me if I get lost.

I’m a good dog and on my first day at my new house I ran across the street all by myself and through the neighbour’s field right down to the river. Josh and Stephanie got to meet their new neighbours by waking them up on a Sunday morning so they could come outside in their pyjamas in the cold weather to play hide and seek. Josh and Steph looked embarrassed, but I don’t know why because we are all friends now! I did forget my ball down by the river, but it was worth it to be a helpful dog.

We’re all still getting used to each other and finding our space in this big house. I like to be near my humans, but I also like to have my own space – they’re cool with that and are making an effort to include me in their pack while respecting my downtime. I think I like it here and will stay forever.

There are a lot of super interesting distractions around, but hopefully I can learn to focus and work on my recall skills so we can all have lots of fun adventures in the woods together without getting my leash wrapped around trees!