Tri-Cities joy-riding ‘Jake the Goggle Dog’ sidelined by critical surgery

Jake is a popular figure in the Tri-Cities, sporting his protective eye-wear and poking his head out the sunroof of a car with the license plate “GOGL DOG.”

But the golden retriever is likely to be sidelined at home for awhile after undergoing some critical surgery Thursday.

Last week veterinarians found a tumor attached to Jake’s spleen, his owner Bob Dowle told the Herald.

Dowle said the 10-year-old pooch was heading into surgery about noon and was expected to be able to return home late in the afternoon.

“Doctors said the tumor was small enough that they hoped it had not spread,” said Dowle, a Master Gardener who works extensively at the children’s garden at the Mid-Columbia Libraries main branch on Union Street and built the dragon and frog out of tires in the garden. His wife Julie Dowle is a registered nurse.

“They are such great people that I thought it would be nice to see if anybody in the community would want to help,” said his neighbor Kim Taylor, who set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover expenses.

“Jake’s got so much energy and love and life,” said Taylor, whose own three dogs play with him. “I appreciate Bob and Julie so much and what they’ve brought into our family.”

Dowle told the Herald that Jake is a ‘magnificent’ dog in many ways — he tops 100 pounds when the average retriever is about 60 pounds.

“He got so big that he couldn’t lower his head to look out the window,” Dowle said. “So I lowered the top and got the Doggles that protects his eyes.”

In 2018, Jake and Dowle were featured in a Herald story after they were in a car crash. Jake got a ride from the police department back home while Dowle was sent to the hospital.

“Bob told me, ‘After the wreck, everyone asked about Jake, but no one asked about me!’ “ Taylor shared.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 12:53 PM.