goodbye jasmine :(

Remember I said that my family were talking about putting my dog to sleep? Well it happened. On Monday night my mum called me when i was on the train on the way home and said "Call me back...." when she found out i was in public so I knew that could mean nothing good was to come. Then my little brother called me a few minutes later and told me that the decision had been reached to have her put to sleep the following morning. Have you ever tried to hold back tears on a crowded train? It is very uncomfortable I can tell you that. Please indulge me and let me pay homage to my good friend jasmine who was part of my family for 14 years. If i had a diary i would write this in there but a blog is the next best thing.

(This photo was from when we lived in Williamstown - soooo 1998. I found it at my dad's place)


We got her from Pets Paradise all those years ago (i think in 1995 - 1996), and she soon became a breeding dog for pure breed Cocker Spaniel puppies. I lost count of how many litters she had, maybe like 6..? That was always an exciting time when she was due to give birth and we would all watch and wait. I remember one year she gave birth overnight when we were all asleep. My dad came into my room to wake me up by putting a puppies nose in my ear and it was the cutest sound to wake up to. Do you know that puppy smell, and those little puppy breaths? I hope you do because they are something i will never forget.

They were also disgusting times and sad times, like when the puppies would shit and piss all over the ground outside and you had to walk around the land mines. Or when they would roll in it, then come up to you for a cuddle. Or when Jasmine would eat each placenta as each puppy was born, or when she would eat fresh puppy poo off the ground. Talk about losing your appetite! I remember one time one of her puppies was born with a twisted bowel and it was vomitting its own poo. That was tragic. Jasmine didn't want anything to do with it because it was "defective" so we took turns of looking after it and trying to feed it but it didn't get better and died. That was just awful as a kid, or at any age.

When i first found Chester and brought him home, Jasmine had just delivered a litter of puppies and she wanted to rip Chester's face off. Poor Chester didn't know what was going on, but they soon became friends and only when Jasmine was "hormonal" did she chase him up the fence or try to tackle him. Poor chester :P

Every Christmas we would put her reindeer ears on and she would run inside and bounce all over the place crushing our presents and roll in the wrapping paper.

If we ever said "go for walk!" or "go in the car?" or "where's the puss puss?" she would go nuts, and if we ever jingled her lead she would start howling because she loved to go for walks so much! Now that i think of it, i hadn't heard her bark or howl in years.

In this picture we lived at a house which backed onto a train line. One day the gate blew open and Jasmine walked out onto the tracks to sniff around. She was never afraid of cars or traffic which you would think would be some sort of instinct in a dog right?? Not my Jazzy. Anyway this train came hurtling along and saw her on the tracks, and screeched on the brakes and started to blow its big horn. It frightens me when i hear it up close, but she was all "hey, i'm busy!" so the train sat there until my mum went out to see what the fuss was all about and called her back into the yard.

Also at this house and at my dad's house she could dig and get under the fence into the street, so many many times we would be driving along the street after being out all day and we would find her sitting at the front door waiting to be let back in.

She ran away once when there were fireworks in the sky. This was only about 2 years ago, and we had to collect her from the pound the next day. It was really scary because her legs sometimes gave out and she would fall over. That, coupled with her lack of fear of busy roads, meant that she could have gotten run over.

Well, I could write lots more about her, but I tend to waffle on, so I will leave it here.

I took this photo on Monday night when i went to say my last goodbye to her. It was heartbreaking because despite her old and worn out body, her mind was still that of a puppy. She had no idea that it was the last time i would be cuddling her or patting her, she didn't know what was coming in the morning. I cried so much, and even now i feel like crying again.

She was a good dog, a good friend, and i will always love her.

Goodbye Jasmine xoxo