The month of February celebrates love, amongst other things, and blissfully The Perkins family! Jack and Lela Perkins are the shining example of love, long-time love. They have been married for 49 years and have known each other all of their lives. Jack is originally from Glen Allan, MS and Lela frequently visited her grandparents, who also lived there. She spent a lot of time in Glen Allan before eventually moving there during her sophomore year in highschool. The rest is history.
Jack and Lela have a rich history with pets and are currently parents to 3 furry children: Dakota (Double Doodle), Delta (British Lab) and Coco (Chihuahua). They are also parents to 3 successful children: Dr. Hayden Perkins of Oxford (February 2019 pet family of the month), Dr. Jessica Perkins of Oxford (January 2018 pet family of the month & mother to Roux, Dakota’s biological sister), and finally Dr. Rhett Perkins of Indianapolis.
Dakota is no stranger to the Spaw and visits every 3 weeks with her littermate sister, Roux, for superior pampering! Delta has visited once after she graduated from training in December, but little Coco is too much of a homebody to keep a parlor appointment. While still residing in Madison, Jack and Lela found Dakota in 2013 on a Doodle breeder website and couldn’t resist her sweet face! In summer of 2016, Lela’s mother moved to The Blake and was unable to care for Coco, so she moved in with Jack, Lela, Dakota and their then beloved son Bandit, who passed away in 2019. The loss of Bandit left an empty space in their hearts and led them to the pursuit of their Red Fox British lab, Delta. They were on a waiting list for two years at Wildrose Kennels before their name came up in March 2020. Their three-dog family existed once more!
In the spring of 2019, Jack decided to ease into retirement from Vice President of Consolidated Catfish Companies. Without hesitation, they decided to move closer to family. Since two of their children live here and 4 grandchildren attending Ole Miss, it was a natural choice. They love being close to their family and “love everything Oxford!” Currently, Jack is semi-retired, but still serves in the consulting capacity for Consolidated. Lela is still working mostly from home, as a partner in S&F and Associates, a dental practice management consulting group. With that, they are enjoying being able to spend more time with their fur-babies. They swear Dakota ‘talks’ to them. She expresses herself with a cross between a mouthy howl and a “raw-raw” bark, almost like there is a little person in there trying to communicate. Jack grew up hunting in the Delta, hence the name he chose for their youngest fur-baby. Jack even created a game for Dakota and Delta that is their all time favorite activity. Everyday, at 5:30pm on the dot, Dakota and Delta sit in the kitchen, look at Jack, and begin to bark. Commencing their “Get a Bird” routine. Jack then takes them to the front yard, and they retrieve ‘birds’ aka training dummies. They LOVE it and it helps keep their skills sharp! Meanwhile, Coco just appreciates loving her mama and enjoying the action from the comfort of the couch.
The Spaw team knows it’s going to be a festive day in the Spaw when the Perkins sisters are both on the schedule. Dakota started coming with Roux, because Roux is so lonely in the room by herself; however, she has rubbed off on Dakota, and now when she is alone, Dakota sometimes causes a raucous. Silly girls! They are especially grateful when they get to sit at the front desk and “help” Ms. Ann with her Spaw duties. The Perkins are such a happy loving family, and we are so thankful to have gotten to know multiple generations, and can happily say this is our trenial ‘Perkins Pet Family of the Month’ spotlight.
Happy Valentine’s Day!!
