Jinks Gardner
Jinks likes to run and swim
Nickname: Jinks (short for “High Jinks” – because he’s always up to a bit of mischief)
Breed: Black Labrador
Hometown: Austin, Texas. United States.
Date of Birth: July 4th, 2005
Parents: Scott (dad), Mary Catherine (mom), Kyle (age 12), Elise (age 9)
Siblings: Ziggy (brother and litter mate), Gizzie (grey tabby cat rescue), Chloe (siamese/tabby cat rescue), Bolt (Russian Dwarf hamster), Poachy (chicken), Twinkie (chicken).
Disability: Missing Front Left Leg.
Votes: 417
Portraits of Jinks
Favorite hobbies:
Swimming, greeting friends, riding in the truck, chasing a ball, eating, napping.
Tricks or funny things:
Follows a number of commands including “sit”, “wait”, “go”, “stay”, “come”, “bring it”, “dog run”, “sun room”, and “let’s go for a ride.” Jinks plays fetch and runs so fast and gracefully he looks like he’s on all fours; he works like a true hunting dog when searching for a lost ball. He could give 007 a run for his money when it comes to sneaky tactics for detecting a bite of food and securing it into his possession.
He LOVES to ride in the back of the truck raising a ruckus throughout the neighbourhood… He also makes some very funny noises when you rub his ears.
How can you resist me?
How Jinks lost his leg:
What’s in a Name? “JINKS” vs. Jinx
Well this is the story of my 4 year old 3 legged black lab, Jinks: To begin, his name is “JINKS” (as in High Jinks) not Jinx (as in bad luck). We had been considering all the usual 3 legged dog names (Lucky, Tripod, Lefty…), and our vet specialist who was helping us try to save his leg commented that every dog he ever met named Lucky had the worst luck.
That’s when we decided on “Jinks”, (he definitely didn’t need any more bad luck). We picked the high jinks spelling because his penchant for getting into things is what landed him in his predicament in the first place, and he has earned that name on occasions too numerous to recount (one of which was a near drowning – though now he’s a great swimmer).
Jinks’ best friend and litter mate, Ziggy, was the puppy we had chosen and had traveled to pick up. They were born on a farm on the Texas coast near my parent’s house, and were bred to be great hunting dogs. When we arrived to pick up our puppy, the farmer was away and had a pet sitter checking on the puppies. They were in the barn and somehow during the night, one of the puppies had become entangled in mosquito netting. It had become so tight on his leg through his struggles, that it had cut into his skin and completely cut off circulation to his leg.
When we found him, we rushed the injured puppy to the vet. The vet got him cleaned up and sent us home with him. My dad, who had trained in massage, worked tirelessly massaging the puppy’s leg. He was up all night with him trying to alleviate his pain and restore circulation. We finally reached the farmer by phone the next morning. He told us to “put it down, it’ll never make a good hunting dog”.
Long story short, we came home to Austin, Texas with TWO puppies. Boy was my husband surprised!
We tried for a month to save the leg, but at 13 weeks old, Jinks had to have his front left leg amputated because the nerves were too damaged to save. Our vet told us “without feeling, a dog is likely to chew their own foot off out of boredom one day”. When I picked him up after his surgery, he walked out to greet me and never acted like anything was different.
Every day Jinks lives his life as if he had 4 paws.
I was born to be in a movie...
Why Jinks should be Scrap:
Jinks doesn’t realize he’s a 3 legged dog. He believes he’s the Alpha, and though neutered, fancies himself quite the “ladies man”. He has a bionic nose and can detect the slightest crumb of food from nearly a mile away (kitchen counters are no obstacle). He insists on trying to hike a back leg to pee, which is very comical as long as you’re not in the firing line as he sprays everywhere.
He runs and romps with Ziggy and swims 10 – 20 times a day (only a slight exaggeration) mainly for the joy of having me dry him off. He loves to meet other dogs, and enjoys hanging out with the kids, our 2 pet chickens, and our 2 cats.
Most people don’t realize he’s missing a leg until they’ve been around him for quite awhile, then they’ll ask in a disbelieving voice “does that dog only have 3 legs?” as if they’re still not sure.
Jinks has got a heart of gold, and BEAUTIFUL light brown eyes that offer comfort to anyone feeling blue. He is an inspiration to anyone with obstacles to overcome, offering the lessons that a handicap doesn’t have to slow you down, and that a positive attitude is really all you need to accomplish everything you desire (whether that is a sandwich off the kitchen counter, keeping up with your friends, or making others happy).
Swim Jinks Swim
Videos:
Check out Jink’s appearance on KXAN TV
Click HERE to follow JINKS on Twitter
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