Thursday, July 23, 2009

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment