October 29, 2020 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 16 (16 of 40 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
October 29, 2020 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
Page A-16 - Shelton-Mason County Journal ~ Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020
{y to play. stay and relax! lhdulge yourself
rt and luxury with turn down service of a
.399 tray, Book now at littlecreek.com.
includes:
Deluxe Resort Accommodation
$100 fine Credit
Turn Dovi‘m’Servic with 'Wi eta. Cheese Tray
$20 Food Credit
$20 Freeplay
Upgrades Available
LITI‘LE CREEK
CASINO‘RESORT.
Enroll inHCC
Autopay today f
Sign upétoolay at hcchet and, i
receive ‘a’ $10 credit onyyour bill ',
Scenic waters
A small waterfall cascades down the hillside earlier this month near the
Mount Rose trailhead parking lot on Lake Cushman Road. Journal photo
Justin Johnson
0
lack: “Big, friendly (19%;,
continued from page A—1
have seen as many as 500 kids at a
time, with 20 to 30 outings a year,
adding up to more than 10,000 kids
he’s seen, been petted by, nuzzled up
against and sat in the laps of during ,
his time on duty.
“Jack loves everybody, no matter
what they wear or what they look
like,” Brewer said. “He doesn’t care
about that, and we tell the kids we
talk to that neither should they.”
According to Brewer, the idea of
using a big, friendly dog to help un-
derscore lessons about bullying came
about almost by accident when a de-
tective who was set to impart a les-
son on bullying to kids saw Brewer’s
personal dog, a big boy whose toenails
she’d painted pink on a‘ whim.
“The kids started laughing about
how this big boy dog had pink toe-
nails, and the detective said, ‘That’s
not right. We’re talking about not ’bul-
lying each other, but you’re making
fun of this dog for his painted nails,
just because he’s a boy.’ ” .
Brewer’s dog died of a heart attack
at a young age, but that spurred the
Sheriff‘s Office to obtain a big dog of
its own.
“Jack is very good at calming people
down,” Brewer said. “He has the abil-
ity to sniff out the one student in any
group who’s struggling the most and
pay them the most attention. Jack is
very empathetic and understands how
people are feeling.”
Part of this is due to Jack’s train-
ing, which taught him to socialize with
every age group, from small children
in Head Start programs whom Brewer
reported “climb all over him” to high
schoolers seated at their desks, and
even other dogs and animals.
“During one presentation in Jeffer-
. ' son County, there was this one man
in his 60s who’d been a bully when he
was younger, but he hadn’t realized
the effect of it until that moment,”
Brewer said. “He started crying, and
Jack climbed up in his lap.”
In turn, Brewer cited evidence that
her “Hands off if it’s not yours” les—
sons with Jack have taught kids not
to touch stray animals or those who
might be other people’s pets, to the
point that she’s seen a decline in the
number of children who have been bit-
ten by dogs in recent years.
“Year after year, the kids always
remember seeing him,” Brewer said
of- Jack. “If I sent out on a call with
Jack, the kids in the house would say,
‘Jack’s here.’ ”
Jack’s made appearances not only
in schools during the day, but also on
evenings and weekends, including the
grand opening of the Tractor Supply
Co. in Shelton, and hanging out at the
Home Depot in Lacey, by invitation o
the owners. '
Expenses including meals, medi-
cine and kenneling, thanks to the
generosity of the community, were not
borne; by the county government or
the Sheriff’s Office. I
Brewer credited Dr. Gary Olson
and the staff of Shelton Veterinary
Hospital with covering Jack’s medi-
cal care and Our Community Credit
Union with helping keep him fed,
which is no mean feat for a dog that
routinely consumes 100 pounds of dog
food a month. '
“One man, Jack crawled into
his lap, and he wrote us a check for
$1,000,” Brewer said. “The community
has given us so much support that it’s
incredible.”
Brewer grew emotional as she re-
flected not only on the kindness that
she and Jack have received but on the
difference they’ve been able to make
in the lives of so many local children.