Remembered

Jessie.. 

07/13/2005

Jessie passed away about a month ago. Besides the fact that she couldn't hear or see very well anymore she kept trucking along and was a happy girl. Then a couple of months prior to her passing she began having some bladder problems, and we of course treated her for that and it got better but she had to stay on her medicine to control it. We then starting noticing that Jessie seemed confused if you will. She really didn't know if she was inside our outside and would go to the bathroom at times inside and then didn't know what to do when she was outside. She would just sort of stand in the corner where she liked to lay down, sometimes not really realizing what she was doing or what she wanted to do. Many other things she did or more less didn't do anymore made us realize that maybe something else was going on. These things or lack of began to progress very quickly so we took her to our Vet and he basically diagnosed her with doggy Alzheimer's which made a lot of sense after he explained several things to us and asked us questions about her actions. This of course was not the way any of us would want Jessie girl to be for she was such a brilliant girl. When we looked into into her eyes and she would look back at us there was just a blank stare from her and we just could feel and of course see that she wasn't all well.

Jessie was a very special girl but you knew that when you rescued her. We feel very fortunate to have shared our love with her and her love with us in her later years and know she had a good time with her other 4-legged friends before they passed on.

Thank you so much and thank you for sharing Jessie with us.
Don and Lucrecia
07/13/05

About Jessie:
Jessie was a Belgiam Sheepdog who entered Gold Ribbon Rescue on our Companion Clause. She came in with #00-10 Baby (now Abby) and #00-11 Honey (now Bailey), who were originally rescued in the huge puppy mill takeover, in the winter of 1998, prior to GRR's incorporation.

In January, 2000, I sent this email:
"Jessie is a sweet girl with quite a story. She is the companion to the Golden Retriever gals Honey & Baby at the monastery. All 3 gals have to go because the elderly monk...has advanced emphysema, and the dogs have been relegated outside. The other monk is dying, and to top it off, the landlord said their "big dogs had to go ASAP or else." Jessie has nowhere to go...Shepherd rescues are full...(and shelters are over-full & will kill her)... Jessie tried to get me to put the leash on her too, when I came for Honey & Baby...it broke her heart when I left without her."

Gold Ribbon Rescue did a wonderful thing by letting Jessie enter our rescue program, too. I drove back to the monastery a week later & brought her to my house for foster care.

The monks' helpers told me some more about Jessie's past..."Jessie was originally found almost dead in a gutter, 7 years ago (1993). She had been beaten, cut, and appeared to have been run over by a street sweeper. She was taken to Cedar Park Animal Control, where she tested positive for heartworms. Jessie was in the line of dogs to be euthanized. A woman no one knew drove up, looked at all the dogs, pointed at Jessie & said, "Don't kill her. I will pay for all of her treatment." Jessie was hospitalized for over a month & her vet bill was paid in full. The woman was never seen again."

Jessie was then adopted from the shelter/animal control by one of the monks. She went to live with him in the monastery. She slept in his bed for 6 years until he became extremely ill. Meanwhile, in 1999 one of the other monks had health/respiratory problems, and so Jessie, Honey & Bailey were sent to live outdoors until they entered Gold Ribbon Rescue in 2000...when they were dirty, covered in matts, and loaded with fleas.

Jessie flourished in foster care for 3 months, until Don & Lucretia and their Golden Retriever guy, 10 year-old-Chance adopted her. She lived 5 more happy years in the Dallas area...near Baby/Abby Kent & Honey/Bailey West who were also adopted by families in the Dallas area...we always thought that was quite a happy & odd coincidence. :-)
 

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