A Tribute to Jazzmine

Yesterday, we received a Christmas card from some good friends. It was sent to "Steve, JoAnne, Amelia and poor Jazzmine".

We rescued a very scared, trembling Jazzmine from the Humane Society five and a half years ago, and it was quite the journey! I suspect that Jazzmine was not treated very well in her previous life and it took lots of coaxing, patience and love to get her where she is today. She's become a very special, trusted friend to both of us. Not to mention my fitness coordinator.

My mom shared an article with me when I was pregnant about a woman who loved her dog like her own child. Until her own child showed up. And, then the dog was almost an afterthought in her life. Steve and I read the article and swore up and down it wouldn't be that way with our household. No siree! When we brought her home from the Humane Society, we were making a promise that we would never break.

Jazzmine always had 2 walks every day; 1 in the morning around the block and a 30-45 minute walk in the afternoon when I got home from work. I stopped taking Jazzmine on her daily walks 3 days before Amelia was born. And, the walks started up again when Amelia was 2.5 weeks old. Mind you, Jazzmine got a walk every day during that period, just not with me. Then, Jazzmine and I would take Amelia with us in the stroller. And, everything was great and Jazzmine was happy and I thought, "Ha! I knew we'd do better than the woman in the article. What great dog-parents we are!"

And, then it got cold. And, the walks got shorter.

And, then it got colder. And, then it snowed. And, then it snowed more. And, tonight, Jazzmine didn't get a walk at all. (although, we did play "ball in the house", which is a super-fun game that Jazzmine loves and that actually exercises her brain)

But, Jazzmine is a trooper. We forgot to feed her 1 day, but luckily she's not one of those dogs who's hung up on food, so we didn't realize it until we were going to bed that night. We fed her then, but she wasn't interested in eating. I mean, who can sleep on such a full stomach?

So, Jazzmine's getting used to the "new normal" too. And, I think she's starting to realize that she's still loved, and still part of our family. And, I hope she trusts that we won't get rid of her like her previous family did. Our love just comes to her differently now.

Instead of long walks crunching leaves and smelling smells, Jazzmine gets a hundred pats on the head during the day. We take walks to the composter in the back yard in the corner where the squirrels live. We take the garbage out. And, we do belly-rubs. And, at 9:00, when everyone else goes to bed, Jazzmine and I have a few minutes just for us. There's petting, and she gives me kisses. We wind down together and take a deep breath. Tomorrow, the chaos will start again.