Get To Know The Pack: Now Introducing Babe

I want to keep introducing you to our pack members so you really get to know us.  Today, I want to introduce you to Babe - our survivor and champion.  Babe is a Wire-haired Terrier Mix and as of 2014 is about 7 years old.  Babe has a big story to tell about her life and what she has been through.  She lost her family, survived Stage 2 Kidney disease and is the champion of our hearts.  

Babe originally belonged to Crystal's grandmother.  Crystal recalls the phone call from her beloved Granny the day Babe came into their lives, "I remember Granny calling me and being very excited that she just bought a chihuahua puppy.  She paid a pretty penny for Babe from a so-called breeder and was just so happy.  A few weeks went by and she called me again and was really irritated when she told me she didn't think this dog was a chihuahua at all.  That is when Babe got thrown outside the house and into the backyard for 3 years of her life.  Granny loved her animals but they lived on a farm and the animals all served a purpose - so Babe became the barn dog of sorts - she would go down to the barn with Granny and catch mice and help keep the barn critter free."

A few times a year, Crystal would go visit her grandparents and play with Babe when she was there.  She even asked her grandmother to let her have Babe but Granny always said no.  Sadly, Crystal's Granny and step-grandfather, Howard, got really sick about the same time and both were diagnosed with cancer. Crystal asked if she could take Babe when Granny was sent to hospice care and everyone agreed that was best.  Not too long after that, Granny and Howard both passed away within a few hours of each other.  It was a very sad time but Babe was in a good place.  She was frightened and wasn't sure what was happening but she adjusted well and soon fell in love with our family.

Babe inspired our family to start Jack's Pack Pet Planet because of her near-death experience with Stage 2 Kidney Disease.  It all started when Babe quit drinking water and started refusing food one weekend in the summer of 2010.  By the time she made it to the vet she was severely dehydrated and going into kidney failure.  The vet put her on IV fluids and kept her for several days while they ran test after test on her.  She was sent to the Emergency Vet Clinic and a vet specialist in San Antonio, Texas where she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Kidney Disease.  The process to figure out what was wrong with Babe was very expensive and not something that our family family could afford on our own.  We put the initial cost on a credit card and started doing fundraisers (after getting it all legalized with the courthouse of course) in our hometown to help raise the money to pay for Babe's medical care. The town of New Braunfels, Texas really pulled together and helped us out and Babe's medical bill was cut in half - which ultimately saved her life.  Babe was put on a prescription diet and strict nutrition plan.  She has been following this plan since then and she has to have 1 Pepcid AC every day.  

This event was very trying and scary for our family.  We all loved Babe and wanted to do whatever we could do to help her.  This was a disease that could be managed - but we had to get Babe through the initial trauma that the kidneys were going through in order for her to survive.  We knew that Babe had a lot of life left in her and so we decided she was worth the fight.  This entire situation in our lives made us aware of so many things - such as how many people really love animals and are willing to help other pet owners in tough situations; how hard it is to make a decision of life or death when the only thing preventing death is money - and we all know how hard money is to come by; how expensive vet care really can be when things are serious; how nutrition plays a major role in keeping your pets healthy (well duh! but there are different nutrition needs we had to learn for a dog with kidney disease) and so much more.  It was an experience our family would not wish on anyone but it was an experience that helped inspire us to want to do more for our pets and to help other people going through similar situations.  

Part of the future plans for Jack's Pack Pet Planet is to help other pet owners going through medical situations by connecting them with support groups that may offer grants, helping with fundraising ideas, providing information on certain diseases such as kidney disease (so more owners are aware of what can cause this disease and how to manage it afterwards) and just to help support them during the process - even if it is just emotional support.  We know how hard it is and we know how sad it is to lose a pet or be put in a situation where you have to make the decision to end your pet's suffering and let them go.  We know and we have cried so many tears for our own pets and many tears with our friends for their pets.

We want to thank you so much for reading our blog and learning more about the pack members of Jack's Pack Pet Planet.  We want to thank you ahead of time for helping us meet our goals so that we can really start making a difference in the lives of pets and their people.  We hope that Jack's Pack Pet Planet grows to meet its potential and that we can truly accomplish these wonderful plans to help others as others have helped us.

Oh and Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there.  Happy Father's Day to all you Moms out there that fulfill both the mother and father role.  And let's not forget...Happy Father's Day to all our pet parents out there too!   

    

   

 

Our Site Can Take Orders Now

Today we are happy to announce that the new site is up and running (though parts of it is still under construction so if you run into a category with no products we are still working on getting those loaded).

Right now, I want to introduce you to our Soft Mesh Harnesses.  These are the perfect harnesses for small and medium sized dogs.  They are very comfortable for your dog and ergonomically built to fit your dog properly. Your dog will be more at ease and it will make walking your dog even better.



It isn't good for your dog's neck to hook a leash to the collar and walk them that way.  Over time, your dog will have neck pain and potential medical issues because the leash/collar combination pulls on the neck and puts undesired pressure on the neck and throat area when the dog is walking.  A harness is a much safer solution and will help your dog have better physical health because it is designed to take the pressure off the neck and distribute it evenly in the stronger parts of the dogs body.  A harness is the way to go when attaching a leash to any dog.



Our Soft Mesh Harnesses are even more comfortable than most standard harnesses because they are comfort padded and have more coverage allowing the harness to distribute pressure/pulling even better to allow for healthier walk.  The fabric is breathable to allow for cooling so they don't get too hot.  We have plain Soft Mesh Harnesses as well as very cute designs for both male and female dogs.





Click here to check out our line of harnesses.  Find one you like?  Our site is order operational so have fun shopping and come back soon because we are adding new products all the time. 

Get To Know The Pack: Now Introducing Vicious

Meet our only feathered member of the pack - Vicious.  Vicious is a Peach-faced Love Bird that Judi, a very special friend of the family, rescued.  Our family adopted Vicious and have been working to socialize him.  We often get laughs when we say we  have a Love Bird named Vicious - but Vicious can be just that.  He loves to let you pet him and then will unexpectedly bite you as hard as he can.  Crystal is the only one that has been able to truly earn his trust so far and she plays with him everyday so he gets the exercise and attention he needs to be healthy.

When Vicious first came to our home, he was timid and afraid of everything.  No one could touch him without leather gloves on their hands because he would bite and claw at anyone that tried to touch him.  Once his beak and nails were trimmed, he still threw a huge fit almost to the point of injuring himself any time someone tried to interact with him.  Crystal made it her personal mission to get Vicious to trust her and set training goals to reach.  Her first goal was to get him to let her touch him in the cage; then to sit on her finger in the cage; and then to sit on her finger outside of the cage and so on...

It took over a year for Vicious to quit being so mean and to start trusting Crystal.  Today, Vicious loves to give Crystal kisses and sit on top of her head.  He sings all the time and is getting more adventurous in the things he will try.  He still has some trust issues with other people but he is starting to warm up to the rest of the family and has nothing but love to give going forward (and an occasional bite).  He is happy and healthy and that is what matters most.

Vicious inspired our family business because he is very picky in what he eats and what he will play with.  Since he has trust issues Vicious requires a lot of work in order to continue to earn and keep his trust so that he can be socialized.  These experiences have taught our family many things about Love Birds and we hope to continue learning more and sharing our knowledge with our customers.  In addition, Vicious is so full of love and joy now that he is in a non-abusive environment and this inspired us to do more "pay it forward" actions throughout our day.  He brings happiness to our home through his "song" (some just call it squawking) and because he has brought us so much joy, we want to pay that action forward and help others when we can.

At Jack's Pack Pet Planet, we love to hear inspiring stories about how you have practiced "pay it forward" in your life.  If you have an inspiring story to share, please Email us at talktous@jackspackpetplanet.com and we may share your story on our website in our "pay it forward" gallery (coming soon!).

 

Get To Know The Pack: Now Introducing Jack

 

In the next few blog post, we are going to tell you about our pack and introduce you to our pack members. 

Our pack started long before the House of Koutz was ever formed.  Crystal has always been an animal lover and would probably be on the show 'Hoarders' if it wasn't for her friends and family keeping her level headed about how many pets she can have in her house.  So it all started with her pack of 3 before she met David and they got married.  Now the pack is a pack of 8 - 3 people, 1 bird and 4 dogs.  It is a happy pack though we do have our challenges just like any pack does. 

We wanted you to really get to know us - so you understand our mission and why we are so excited about the potential that Jack's Pack Pet Planet will bring to our family, to our pets and to other pets worldwide (hopefully).   We hope to someday be able to do fundraisers, rescues and so much more.  We have high hopes for the future and we hope you journey with us during these exciting times.

Let's start by introducing you to the leader of the pack (or so he thinks) - Jack.  Jack is a Blue Heeler that we rescued in January 2013.  He was about 2 years old when we brought him home with us and has quickly made his way into our hearts.  Jack spent the first 2 years of his life in abusive environments.  From what we have been told, Jack's first owner would violently punish Jack for escaping the yard (and we were told they did this often).  This person finally gave Jack away - but unfortunately for Jack, his new home was outside on a small chain that was anchored to a john boat.  The new family that took him in didn't intentionally abuse Jack but they couldn't afford to feed him on a regular basis and Jack was starving to death.  When David saw Jack on that chain, his heart broke and he had to do something.  David approached the family and they voluntarily handed Jack over knowing it was going to be a good change for him. 

When Jack arrived at our home, he was very malnourished and covered in the worst case of fleas we have ever seen.  It took multiple baths just to clean him up enough and get the fleas off so he could roam freely in the house and the backyard.  He weighed 20lbs and was severely dehydrated.  In Jack's first year with us, he had numerous vet visits - some for general care and others because he was getting really sick.  Jack's immune system was weak and we had to strengthen it through nutrition, exercise and proper medical care.  We are proud to report that today, Jack is at his ideal weight (slightly over 40lbs.) and he is healthy and happy.  Though we do still battle his weak immune system from time to time - it is getting much less frequent and he gets better much faster.

Jack inspired our family to start Jack's Pack Pet Planet for several reasons.  The most important being that we wanted a public facing entity that would help us teach people about animal abuse prevention and awareness.  We want to be able to help animals that are in abusive situations and improve the lives of animals that are recovering from being abused by helping them get the medical care they need and a forever loving home.  Jack's Pack Pet Planet opens up the door for us to get information out to the public to help these animals in need.  The second reason Jack inspired us to start Jack's Pack Pet Planet was because of his behavior issues.  You see, Jack didn't get the socialization, interaction and training he needed so when he came to use he had a few behavior problems we had to work through - and some that we are still working through.  Working with Jack inspired David to really look into becoming a dog trainer and has given him new goals to work towards.  Some day down the road, we would like to incorporate a dog training segment into Jack's Pack Pet Planet.  The third reason Jack inspired us to start Jack's Pack Pet Planet is because we watched Jack transition from this sick and tired dog to this vibrant, healthy and active family member.  He has grown so close to our hearts and we want him to be happy so we tend to spoil him a bit.  One result of spoiling Jack is that he now has an obsession with toys.  His favorite toys are his Pig Toy, Kong Jolly Ball and his Kong Frisbee.  We want Jack to have fun but want him to be safe too.  We have researched toys, tested toys and found the ones that keep him entertained the most and at the same time are safe for him to play with.  through all of this - through bringing Jack into our family - we have been inspired to start Jack's Pack Pet Planet as an online store so that we can provide products that will entertain and keep your pet healthy and happy, so you can spoil them rotten just like we do.

**NOTE:  At times we may use a products that we don't sell in our online store (yet) but we love them so much we want to share them with you.  When we do this, we will tell you where you can get these products so you can enjoy them too. **

A little introduction to Jack's Pack Pet Planet

Jack's Pack Pet Planet is a dream of mine that I really want to make a reality.  I am baby stepping my way into the pet industry with an online pet store that will hopefully become a very large physical location with many different pet related components.  I will not share the plans here but know that the dream gets bigger and bigger every day and I am hoping it all comes to fruition in the next few years.

This blog is going to highlight our journey as we start our online store and continue to go through the steps of growing our business, working with our pets, discovering new products and so much more.  If it is pet related - it very well could be shared here so if you love pets, start following this blog because it is going to be full of great information.

The current online pet store for Jack's Pack Pet Planet is outdated and is no longer being updated but orders are still being placed through the site for a little while longer.  It will be taken down very soon and replaced with our newly redesigned site and will have more products and great promotions.  As I mentioned above, I have to baby step my way through this so progress is a little slow since I am working on this as a 1-person team and in between my full time job, my Younique business, my family and friends and my pets.  So please be patient as I grow this site and this business.  I promise it is only going to get better from here because I have made the decision that this is my path and I am not going to stray from it.  God made me to love animals and my pets truly are my passion so this is where I am supposed to be.  I appreciate your support and patience as I move forward on this journey to a better tomorrow.

You can check out the new site (currently in test mode - orders will not be placed) at http://www.jackspackpetplanet.gostorego.com.  I will keep you posted on progress and let you know when it is live.  I am so excited.