Jess

We did it.  We got a dog.  We had discussed what kind of dog we would like to have.  TJ wanted another Border Collie, just like Tess, but there would NEVER be another Tess and I knew we wouldn’t have the time to train another BC.  We discussed and dismissed so many that we just couldn’t decide and therefore never made a decision.

Until a friend from Southern IN posted a picture on Facebook of a little dog that had been dumped at their place.  Something drew me to her and so we made arrangements to pick her up, sight unseen.

She sat just like this for the whole 2 hour drive home. On the way TJ came up with her name, Jess.  I loved the tribute of having it rhyme with Tess.

She has LOVED the kids from day one.  She is so gentle and patient with them.  Me, on the other hand, she is only tolerant of.  She will come to everyone else and will come to me only for treats, and even then she is obviously hesitant.  But in my defense, I think she was abused and I think it was by a woman.

  It’s a good thing she’s cute because only 3 days after picking her up she went into heat.  This was new grounds for both of us.  And it turned out that we had to wait a month before we could take her in to get her fixed.  So 3 weeks later I called to schedule it and they told us to go ahead and bring her in for shots first.  And at that appointment we got devastating news.  Jess had a bad case of heartworms.

So we had a decision to make: let her suffer an early death or treat them with two powerful rounds of wormer.  I had tears in my eyes but we were already so attached and she was so good with the kids, so really there wasn’t a choice.  Is that not the cutest little face?!

The heartworms and the treatments have made her lethargic and she has been on restricted activity for 2 months.  But now we are at the end of the treatments and now start the maintenance of prevention.  And she is now SO full of ENERGY.  She will just run laps around the house and yard.  I think she will be great at agility if we can ever get her to behave on a leash or trust her not to run off.  She has quite the nose and is always sniffing the wind.

The kids have been good about cleaning the yard and keeping her fed.  Sometimes they are a little to generous with the treats.

And she is in the middle of everything we do.  She has acclimated into our lives.  I hope she thinks we are a better fit than her previous unknown life.

She is finally, now, starting to accept me.  She loves being brushed, which is good since she tends to carpet our carpet with her hair.

And she is just so patient and keeps watch of the goings on in the neighborhood for us. 

We have had Jess for three and a half months now and she is settled in well to the Hinds household.  I am sure there will be many more Jess stories to tell.