Jackson The Weather Dog, Faithful Companion For 14 Years, Passes Away, Leaves Loving, Joyful Legacy

Jackson as a puppy, spending his first full day living
with his dads in St. Albans, Vermont, July, 2011.

Jackson Ebenezer Modereger Sutkoski, loving companion, best friend, terrorizer of lawn mowers connoisseur of carrots and an all around Good Boy, passed away Monday, April 21 at the age of 14. 

Also known as Jackson the Weather Dog, he was instrumental at helping me with morning weather observations and supervising the work.
  

Born in southeastern Vermont in the spring of 2011, he came to live with us in St. Albans on July 26, 2011, quickly becoming our happy go lucky partner in crime.

Jackson's likes and dislikes quickly became apparent, though his likes far outweighed everything else.  His super power was finding absolute joy in the simplest of thing, and encouraging us humans to do the same.

Even though Jackson didn't love cold winter weather,
he was willing to ignore the chill if it meant
playing games with sticks he found in the yard. 

His joys included rolling in the cool grass during the summer, or, in the winter, rolling in the snow, eating the snow, or chasing snowballs around the yard. 

However, he hated snowmen, and demanded they be knocked over if one should appear. 

Jackson also loved taking walks around the property with his dad Jeff, as they checked out the plants, the trees, and what animals have bee around. 

Jackson also always looked forward to his daily excursions outside with Jeff to go get the mail. 

He also loved hanging close by his sister Tonks, who came to live with us in 2014 until her passing in May, 2023. 

In the evenings, Jackson would watch TV with us,  getting his well-deserved neck scratches and scrounging for any crumbs on the floor Matt or Jeff happened to drop.  Later at night, he'd sleep peacefully on our bed, safe between his two dads. 

He loved to eat, and the big events for Jackson each day was when Jeff fed him his breakfast and dinner.

Jackson always encouraged us all to roll in the grass
under shade trees on hot summer days. 

His favorite food was carrots. One of Jackson's most thrilling tasks was helping his dad Matt thin the carrot crop growing in the raised beds during the summer. 

He'd quickly dispose of the too-small carrots that Matt pulled out by quickly eating them. 

Jackson also helped Matt with various garden work, like planting zinnias, weeding garden beds and warding off hungry rabbits. 

With a low, menacing growl and a quick chase, Jackson would scatter the rabbits, forcing them to flee into the woods,    thus saving Matt's perennials from being eaten away. 

The rabbit thing was part of Jackson's efforts to make sure everything was in the proper place in his world.   He'd bark his disapproval if dad Matt parked his truck in the "wrong" place or untidily left a pile of sticks or brush in the yard, or some errant birds trespassed on his lawn. 

A boy's boy, Jackson was fascinated by trucks and lawn mowers. Especially lawn mowers. In one dangerous incident, he crossed a busy highway to guard a lawn mower a neighbor had left near his front stoop. (We installed invisible dog fencing right after that incident).

Jackson on patrol, keeping hungry rabbits out of the
gardens around his St. Albans, home, as seen here
in July, 2021. 

One of his favorite pastimes was having Matt repeatedly push a lawnmower (with its engine off) down a hill so he could chase and bark at it. 

He loved people, especially children, and could always melt the coldest of hearts with his soulful brown eyes and furiously wagging tail.  

He didn't like being alone. Jackson  howled in disapproval if we had to leave him only for a short time. 

When Jeff or Matt returned, it was all kisses and hugs and neck rubs. He would even make his dad Matt lie down on the floor when he returned home so he could rub against him, and the canvas bag that Matt always carried. The canvas bag was Jackson's "girlfriend." 

Jackson was always helpful and patient as dad Matt went outside to check the morning weather. Jackson hated being rained on, but tolerated it for the few minutes he had to go outside. Like his dads, Jackson was also not a fan of winter cold, and liked to stay in his warm and cozy house. 

He was always an optimistic dog, bouncing back from injuries and health crises with aplomb. In his older years, he couldn't run and jump like he used to, so he'd go out on the deck to watch the world around him, like his late sister Tonks taught him to do. 

Jackson doing his best to try and melt an unseasonable
late season snowfall in April, 2022. 

He was still a happy pup to the end.  This morning, Jackson told us it was time to say goodbye.  He died peacefully, painlessly and quietly, with his dads by his side, bidding him a loving farewell.

Jackson is survived by his dads, Jeff Modereger and Matt Sutkoski of St. Albans, Vermont; aunts and uncles Lynn and David Jenne of West Rutland, Vermont; Laurie and Bennie Carrara of Shrewsbury, Vermont; and Brian and Michelle Modereger of DeSoto, Kansas. 

Jackson was pre-deceased by his sister Tonks back in 2013. He was also pre-deceased by his grandparents,  Red and Pauline Sutkoski of West Rutland, Vermont; Don and Lois Modereger of Yankton, South Dakota and aunt Donna Stengle of Yankton, South Dakota.

In lieu of flowers, Jackson asked that, if possible, consider adopting a pet from your local shelter.  Or if adopting is not possible,  he suggested donating money, material or time to your favorite animal shelter. 

Jackson also asked that you do what he did in life: Just find joy and friendship anywhere you can find it, and always be friendly and gentle.