Goodbye my sweet Jasmin

Our dog Jasmin died yesterday.  She had been involved in a car accident on Friday and Saturday she passed away despite a clear and hopeful diagnoses from the vet.  Devastated does not begin to describe the feeling of losing her.

As you'll recall I've written about Jasmin and our other dog Snoopy before.  I've talked about how adopting them was the step I needed to finally open up to be a mother.  I've heard other pet-parents say it before when they lose a pet, it was not just a pet it was a child.  Not to long ago a friend posted about losing her dog and how it was worse then losing her father.  The pain was that of losing a child.  Yes, we all know it was a pet.  Jasmin was a dog but she was more than a dog to me.

I remember the day I picked up my Jasmin.  Snoopy was so high energy that we decided we needed to find him a playmate.  He interviewed so many different dogs and no one was the right fit until we met Jasmin.  She was so small and thin.  She was newly spaded and had seen her last puppy adopted out.  She was in foster care and her foster mother had posted her on Petfinder and I just happened to find the posting.  Snoopy and Jasmin just belonged together from the first moment they met.  Kismet was a good word for it.

I will miss so much about my Jasmin.  It was so hard yesterday coming home knowing she would not be at the door to greet me.  She had been at the door everyday for just over 6 years.  She had a smile that would melt your heart and yes she did smile.  She was so vocal; I can't recall exactly how many times I would try to shhh her but to no avail.

Jasmin was a street dog before we got her.  Her history before that is unknown.  What we came to discover was that she had been shot and carried buckshot in her body always.  I know she was terrified of storm drains and fireworks put her in an absolute panic.  My girl had a hard life before we got her.  I'm glad that in her last years she was in a happy home and I hope she knew she was loved.

I'm not sure when I'll stop crying.  Seems like I've been crying for days between the accident Friday til now tears have been flowing.  The room was so empty.  No Jasmin to watch out for when DD got up to go to the bathroom last night.  No Jasmin in the corner snoring.  The house despite a crazy Snoopy is very still and quiet.  I know she is gone and there is no bringing her back.  I hope that maybe I learn to be a little more like Jasmin.  Just learn to go with the flow, able to forget the past and the bad stuff in it and just enjoy the now.  She was such a good girl.

Goodbye my sweet Jasmin.  Mommy loves you.  Thank you for choosing us and making our world bigger and better.  I hope you knew that we loved you so very much.  That without you DD would not have been as happy a little girl.  I hope that all of treats that we snuck you despite your diet showed you that we cared.  I hope all of the hugs were enough to let you know you were forever home with us.  I have no clue where you are now and if we'll ever met again but know you'll always be in our hearts because you were the one that helped open them up when we didn't even know they were closed.  Goodbye my Jasmin.

For those of you who want to read DH's response to the passing of our Jasmin just click here.  He posted several more picture of our sweetheart.

My original post about Jasmin from 2009.   Interesting that I had forgotten that she use to sleep with her legs straight out.  Time flew too quickly.

2 years of Jaz

Today is the 2 year anniversary of our adoption of Jasmin, our beagle/terrier mix. When I think of Jasmin from day one to today, I can hardly believe that she is in our lives. Unlike Snoopy, Jasmin has had a hard life and her eyes and body have a hardness that Snoopy will never know. If Snoopy is our pampered pooch, then Jasmin is our street-wise fighter.
It amazes me how Jasmin came into our lives to begin with. After having Snoopy for about a week, we knew he needed a playmate, dogs need a pack. We searched at the local animal shelters and even contact private dog rescues and nothing. If we liked the dog, Snoopy did not. If Snoopy liked the dog then we did not. Then one day I found myself on petfinder.com and found a posting for a 9 month old beagle/lab mix female and I thought perfect! She'll be close to Snoopy's age and beagles and labs are both known for their friendliness. Snoopy and I drove the hour to meet Jasmin. Was it love at first sight? Not really. Jasmin was shy but once we stepped inside the house, Jasmin was in foster care, Jasmin and Snoopy began to play. So Snoopy quickly decided that Jasmin was the one.
We don't know much about Jasmin's history. She was found, pregnant, behind a local fast food joint, fighting for food. The girls at the restaurant asked the local dog rescue lady to take her. So Jasmin had just finished weaning her last puppy and was spayed the week before we adopted her. She has at least two bb gun pellets in her body. She was already house broken and had great doggy manners. She must have been someone's pet. Why would anyone dump such a sweet girl? When we took her the vet, we also found out that she was no where near 9 months nor was she a beagle/lab mix.
Jasmin was nothing we were looking for and yet everything we needed. She has become Ray's little girl. If Jasmin our dog has him wrapped around her paw, I can just image what a Baby Girl Bud will do to him. Jasmin definitely taught us to look beyond the physical and just plain old give people, or dogs, a chance.
It has been a long process in winning Jasmin over. But as she has gotten more comfortable she has had less nightmares. She no longer sleeps with her legs straight out, like she is ready to fight. She is happiest with us, whether outside or inside. She treats Snoopy like her baby brother, which means any dog that thinks of hurting him has to go thur her first. She is truly a wonderful dog and even though we've had many offers to adopt her from us, I know we would all be crushed if we were lose our Jasmin. I don't think Ray could handle it and Snoopy would go crazy with grief.
So that is the story of our 5-6 year old beagle/terrier mix. When we adopted her we thought we had a 25-lb 9 month old beagle/lab but God knew better. She is a chunky 40 lb dog, who brings us all joy and sanity. After a crazy day there is nothing better than relaxing on the couch with Jasmin in your lap.