AJ and James

A Dog and His Boy

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Jackpot Decoy of Malagold and his boy, James

AJ and James. The two individuals became a single entity the week before Christmas, 1990. This Corey son had recently turned 3 years of age. James was almost twelve. This was a match that was meant to be.

When looking at a litter of puppies, AJ tugged at James' heart. Wonderfully sweet and gentle, with a lovely sense of humor - easily a match for an twelve year old boy!

Both dog and boy were hooked!

AJ fit right into the family - just as if he had always been there. AJ was the buddy of James' mom, Barbara, while James was at school. But any other time, the two were inseparable. They walked together, hiked together, played ball together.

AJ gave his unconditional love and made everyone better just by his being there. After AJ had been with his family for only a few months, James commented that "AJ really did improve the quality of life around here"!

In true storybook fashion, the dog and his boy were photographed together for James' high school graduation picture in October of 1996.

But separation came too soon for James when AJ was diagnosed with lymphoma and died the morning of February 5th, 1997.

Other dogs have become part of the family, but there will always be that one special dog for James. Always AJ.