Jess041
Forums Enthusiast
I apologize for this being so long! I promise, I wasn't trying to write my own version of Marley and Me!
When I was 6 or 7, my parents took my siblings and I to the big dog show in Houston. That is when I first laid eyes on a Sheltie. My mom pointed them out and said she wanted one, and that it was her dream dog. When I was 8, my mom got her wish. In February of 1997 we made the drive to Bellville, Texas to pick out a Sheltie puppy. Those 45 minutes felt like forever! I remember seeing all the puppies, and playing with them. A little tri girl came and immediately played with me, then fell asleep in my lap. She was the one. My mom loved her because she was the most symetrical of the litter. The six week old puppy rode in my lap the entire way home. My parents didn't want to immediately name her and wanted to see what name fit her. Being 8, I wasn't patient enough for that. I pulled out an old baby name book and started making suggestions. Since my name started with a J, those were the names I looked at first. I found the name Jasmine. Everyone loved it. I will deny to this day that we named her after Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, but let's be honest... that's another reason I loved it. We called her Jazz or Jazzy for short, and the name really fit her.
Jasmine had a lot of quirks we hadn't seen in our previous dogs, but I now know they are Sheltie quirks. She loved herding us kids. My sister was 4, and my brother was 2 when we got her. She did a great job at keeping her sheep in line! One time I fell backwards off the swing set and hit my head pretty hard. What did Jasmine do? She pulled my hair and raced around the back yard barking with me chasing her with tears in my eyes. I never caught her, and my best friend thought it was hilarious. She also loved to be petted, which most dogs do. But, if you weren't petting her, and she wanted you to, she would nudge your hand with her nose until you pet her. She also loved playing with her “babies”, which were stuffed animals. Every Christmas she would get a new “baby” in her stocking. She knew when it was Christmas, and she knew she was supposed to get a baby. Every year, even last Christmas, she would toss her new toy around and bark and play fetch with us. She loved walks too. If she saw you putting on your shoes in the evening, and then go towards the closet where her leash was, she would start barking and getting excited because she knew she was going on a walk. She did the same thing when you asked her if she wanted a bath, but she would run away from you. She loved playing with our cat Whiskers, who dissapeared a few years ago. He would sit in the diningroom chair, and she would do zoomies around the diningroom and livingroom barking. She was a smart and mostly obedient dog. She had a stubborness about her that made us love her even more.
The most special thing about Jasmine, was over her 15+ years of life, I practically grew up with her. She was there to hug or cuddle with through all the breakups, fights with friends, fights with parents, bad grades, and of course she was there for all the good moments too. When I went to college, I would come home once or twice a month for the weekend. She was always so happy to see me and even though she was aging and no longer as agile, she would jump and bark with excitement. She continued to do this even after I graduated and started my first job. She was a very special dog to me.
When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last December, I decided I wanted to get a dog to help me get out of the house and feel better. It was kind of an early mid-life crisis. When I started looking at petfinder and shelters, I kept going back to Shelties. I couldn't help it, I wanted another Sheltie because Jasmine was such a great dog. I felt terrible because I had always said I wouldn't get my own dog until Jasmine had passed on, but we never expected her to live to 15! I don't think she minded Missy too much, as long as Missy didn't jump on her.
Last week was one of the worst weeks of my life. On Wednesday my mom called to say Jasmine wasn't doing to well. I kept calling to see if she was doing any better, if she had tried to eat yet. On Friday, my mom sent me a text saying “I'm taking Jasmine to the vet tomorrow. I can't watch this anymore.” I panicked, and called my mom, who was in tears. I got off the phone quickly because I was starting to cry. I sent my mom a text back and said I would be there Saturday morning. I got up early and made the long drive to my parents house. When I got inside, my sister was holding Jasmine in her lap. The Jasmine I had grown up with was unrecognizable. She didn't look up at me, no excitement to see me. She was incredibly weak and couldn't stand for very long. I finally accepted what I had been dreading all along. It was time. I held her in my lap the entire way to the vet. My mom went inside to tell them we were there, and I carried her inside when they were ready for us. The vet told us it was the right thing to do. We helped her become a Sheltie Angel that morning. Even though we're incredibly sad and miss her, I know she's running around in a big field with all the other Sheltie Angels, barking to her heart's content.
Jasmine Jubilee 12/30/96 - 8/4/12
http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=464
When I was 6 or 7, my parents took my siblings and I to the big dog show in Houston. That is when I first laid eyes on a Sheltie. My mom pointed them out and said she wanted one, and that it was her dream dog. When I was 8, my mom got her wish. In February of 1997 we made the drive to Bellville, Texas to pick out a Sheltie puppy. Those 45 minutes felt like forever! I remember seeing all the puppies, and playing with them. A little tri girl came and immediately played with me, then fell asleep in my lap. She was the one. My mom loved her because she was the most symetrical of the litter. The six week old puppy rode in my lap the entire way home. My parents didn't want to immediately name her and wanted to see what name fit her. Being 8, I wasn't patient enough for that. I pulled out an old baby name book and started making suggestions. Since my name started with a J, those were the names I looked at first. I found the name Jasmine. Everyone loved it. I will deny to this day that we named her after Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, but let's be honest... that's another reason I loved it. We called her Jazz or Jazzy for short, and the name really fit her.
Jasmine had a lot of quirks we hadn't seen in our previous dogs, but I now know they are Sheltie quirks. She loved herding us kids. My sister was 4, and my brother was 2 when we got her. She did a great job at keeping her sheep in line! One time I fell backwards off the swing set and hit my head pretty hard. What did Jasmine do? She pulled my hair and raced around the back yard barking with me chasing her with tears in my eyes. I never caught her, and my best friend thought it was hilarious. She also loved to be petted, which most dogs do. But, if you weren't petting her, and she wanted you to, she would nudge your hand with her nose until you pet her. She also loved playing with her “babies”, which were stuffed animals. Every Christmas she would get a new “baby” in her stocking. She knew when it was Christmas, and she knew she was supposed to get a baby. Every year, even last Christmas, she would toss her new toy around and bark and play fetch with us. She loved walks too. If she saw you putting on your shoes in the evening, and then go towards the closet where her leash was, she would start barking and getting excited because she knew she was going on a walk. She did the same thing when you asked her if she wanted a bath, but she would run away from you. She loved playing with our cat Whiskers, who dissapeared a few years ago. He would sit in the diningroom chair, and she would do zoomies around the diningroom and livingroom barking. She was a smart and mostly obedient dog. She had a stubborness about her that made us love her even more.
The most special thing about Jasmine, was over her 15+ years of life, I practically grew up with her. She was there to hug or cuddle with through all the breakups, fights with friends, fights with parents, bad grades, and of course she was there for all the good moments too. When I went to college, I would come home once or twice a month for the weekend. She was always so happy to see me and even though she was aging and no longer as agile, she would jump and bark with excitement. She continued to do this even after I graduated and started my first job. She was a very special dog to me.
When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last December, I decided I wanted to get a dog to help me get out of the house and feel better. It was kind of an early mid-life crisis. When I started looking at petfinder and shelters, I kept going back to Shelties. I couldn't help it, I wanted another Sheltie because Jasmine was such a great dog. I felt terrible because I had always said I wouldn't get my own dog until Jasmine had passed on, but we never expected her to live to 15! I don't think she minded Missy too much, as long as Missy didn't jump on her.
Last week was one of the worst weeks of my life. On Wednesday my mom called to say Jasmine wasn't doing to well. I kept calling to see if she was doing any better, if she had tried to eat yet. On Friday, my mom sent me a text saying “I'm taking Jasmine to the vet tomorrow. I can't watch this anymore.” I panicked, and called my mom, who was in tears. I got off the phone quickly because I was starting to cry. I sent my mom a text back and said I would be there Saturday morning. I got up early and made the long drive to my parents house. When I got inside, my sister was holding Jasmine in her lap. The Jasmine I had grown up with was unrecognizable. She didn't look up at me, no excitement to see me. She was incredibly weak and couldn't stand for very long. I finally accepted what I had been dreading all along. It was time. I held her in my lap the entire way to the vet. My mom went inside to tell them we were there, and I carried her inside when they were ready for us. The vet told us it was the right thing to do. We helped her become a Sheltie Angel that morning. Even though we're incredibly sad and miss her, I know she's running around in a big field with all the other Sheltie Angels, barking to her heart's content.
Jasmine Jubilee 12/30/96 - 8/4/12
http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=464
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