John and Jack

John and Jack

by Tokuhiko Kise

 

We rescued a dog that couldn’t move in a park. While we were putting up flyers on nearby utility poles to look for her owner, her belly started to look bigger. So we took her to the vet—and found out she was carrying five puppies. Since no owner turned up, we decided to let her give birth at our place. We planned to find good homes for the puppies, and keep the mother with us.

She looked just like a wild dingo from Australia, so we named her Dingo.

Thinking that the big day had probably come, we prepared for the birth. Before pulling an all-nighter to support her, we grabbed a quick dinner at a local eatery and came home. To our surprise, five puppies had already been born. But one more was on the way. We managed to gently pull the last one out and tear the membrane. In the end, she gave birth to six puppies—one more than expected.

Though Dingo had a wild, stray-like look, the moment she finished giving birth, she suddenly became a mother. Her face softened. She nursed the puppies and took care of everything—without ever being taught, or looking anything up online. It just came naturally.

We found wonderful new families for some of the puppies. But two of them were just too adorable to let go. We decided to keep them with their mother and named them John and Jack.

From a household with just one Labrador, Buddy, we suddenly had four dogs. Later, Buddy’s son Junior joined the family too, and we found ourselves living a fun and lively life with five dogs and eight cats.

Time passed, and eventually, they all went on their way.

For S.T,N.E., we created wood finishes named NATURAL WHITE and JACK BROWN. NATURAL WHITE—nicknamed “Sori-Nachu”—has a subtle white tone, almost like bare wood. It also contains UV protection, so compared to oiled finishes on oak or ash, its color changes more gently over time.

JACK BROWN was named after Jack. At first glance, he looked like a black dog. But if you looked closely, there was a hint of brown deep in his coat. That’s exactly the color—so we called it JACK BROWN.

We’re currently experimenting with another color called JOHN ASH.

By the way, the two house coffee blends at Bird, the café in front of TRUCK, are also named after them: JACK BITTER and JOHN MILD. The rich, bold JACK BITTER goes perfectly with donuts—just like the black Jack. The mellow and gentle JOHN MILD pairs well with hot sandwiches—just like beige-colored, kind-hearted John.

Even though they’re no longer here, I still find myself saying their names in everyday life—and that makes me happy.