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~~~
RAINBOW
MEMORIES
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With sad hearts and fond
memories of our
beloved pets that have gone before us. |
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Wayde
At the Bridge
Read Wayde's story.
Island
Jessie
GSRNE #97
1997? -
March 28, 2008
 We know little of Jessie’s life with her
first owners. We have heard she lived with an elderly lady and her son for
her first 9 years. The son drove a truck and left Jessie in the care of his
Mother for the most part. Things turned bad for this elderly lady as she
was placed in a nursing home, and Jessie was left to the kindness of a
neighbor’s care when her owner went on 5 day driving assignments. Her owner
soon realized that it was best to give Jessie up so she then went to a
kennel where she waited for GSRNE and a foster Mom. This we assume was with
great pain to Jessie’s owner and performed out of love for Jessie. Jessie
became ill while in the kennel environment with whipworm and wasted away to
61 lbs. Jessie’s angel came along via GSRNE and in the form of Foster Mom,
Dottie Paquet. Jessie was one sick lady but with the proper care and love
she was nursed back to health over a 3 -month period. Jessie added another
10 pounds and although still very thin was now up to 71 lbs. Jessie’s
foster Mom was caring for her in a method that provided discipline, exercise
and affection. 
Dottie had reservations about giving Jessie up to adoptive parents as she
had become very attached to Jessie. Dottie stuck to her guns as she had
made a promise to a German shepherd (Shane) that she recently lost to
disease. Dottie had promised Shane she would foster some German shepherds
and find them good homes.
We, as Jessie’s new adoptive parents, had
recently lost our German shepherd to disease and were searching on the
Internet via the GSRNE web site and saw many German Shepherds needing
homes. When we came across
Jessie’s picture and story (an elderly gal looking for a retirement home) we
knew we had a place in our lives for this sweet lady. We applied through
GSRNE and were approved. The first meeting with Jessie and her Foster Mom
went well, we knew from the moment we saw Jessie that we wanted her to enter
into our pack/lives. Jessie was very comfortable and secure in her present
Foster Home, receiving discipline, exercise (playing ball with her Foster
Mom when we first met Jessie) and love. We played some ball and took her
for a walk, wishing we could take her home with us. We know that GSRNE
wanted us to think it over and the same for them. We called a couple of
days later after giving this responsibility serious consideration and
expressed our interest in adopting Jessie. We knew Jessie was an older dog,
and we knew we would not have her with us for more than a few years. We
knew we had love to give, and we had a great home to share with her. We said
yes to Jessie and Jessie, GSRNE and Dottie said yes to us.
 The
parting of Jessie and her Foster Mom, Dottie was a difficult event to watch
but both stood tough. Dottie had made a promise and Jessie seemed OK with
the separation. You wonder what a dog thinks at a moment like this. Dottie
had provided us with Jessie’s bed and a pillow case with Dottie’s scent.
The car ride home went well and then came the next ride, a boat ride in the
dark to our island house. Yes, Jessie was off to live on an island in the
middle of Lake Winnipesaukee in NH, Cow Island. We arrived at our island
dock; I remember helping Jessie out of the boat, and she almost stepped
right back into the water. I don’t think she was seeing all that well and
this was unfamiliar to her. We introduced Jessie to her new house/home and
set up her bed in our bedroom. After a walk outside she settled right into
her bed and remained there until daybreak. You can guess the next few days
of walks in the woods, swimming in the lake, drinking water from the lake,
chasing the ball, barking at ducks, chasing chipmunks and no danger of cars
(there are no roads on Cow Island) she settled right in. Now I can’t
remember if it was week one or week two that I was concerned about Jessie’s
weight (she was not eating well and our vet indicated she could stand to put
on another 10 pounds) so I started sautéing hamburger and chicken livers,
adding this to her dry food mixed with some cooked rice. Jessie ate like
this for the rest of her life, and we maintained her weight at 80 to 82
pounds. She usually finished all of her meal, both morning and evening.
Jessie was in seventh heaven, eating good food, free to roam (never strayed
far from our house), swimming at will, drinking lake water, playing with our
neighbor’s dog, receiving discipline, exercise (two to four, one-mile walks
every day) and love. Jessie joined our pack in September so by November we
discouraged her from swimming in the cold. Soon the ice would start and we’d
leave the island and head to our Killington home where she seemed just as
comfortable. She liked the fireplace, meeting new people and being with her
pack. Killington would last until Christmas and then we were off to family
until early January; Jessie fit right in here also.
Mid-January
brought us back to the island and a walk over the ice to the lake house.
Jessie and her pack would settle down now for the winter. Lots of snow, lots
of ice and lots of cold, Jessie seemed to thrive in the cold. Now is when I
discovered that Jessie would ride anything with me, she even joined me on
the snowmobile. She seemed to like anything that involved the word walk or
ride. We now stayed on the island until there were signs of ice out,
usually April 1st. I set some rules when we had our previous
German shepherd, Jack. If you stayed out on the island for a winter you
earned the surname, Island. So there was Island Bob, Island Penny, Island
Jack and now Island Jessie.
Now the bad news: Jessie developed a small
blister type wound around her anal area and it broke one evening in December
2007. We were unaware of this blister until this break occurred, a little
liquid and some blood had appeared on the floor. Jessie seemed to treat
this wound fairly well by herself over the course of the evening, but we
took Jessie into the vets the next day as a precaution. Our vet examined
Jessie and indicated her anal gland had developed a tumor and due to the
hardness of this sac it was likely cancerous and had spread. Due to the
likelihood of spreading the cancer still more, the vet advised against an
operation. The vet gave us a time frame of 1 to 8 months and warned us about
cancer attacking the lungs. Cancer in the lungs would be fast-spreading and
a very unpleasant way of crossing that Rainbow Bridge. The vet indicated we
could explore and confirm this by taking Jessie to the cancer diagnostic
center in Manchester, which we did. Jessie had an ultrasound and this
confirmed our fears, the cancer had spread to her liver, spleen and lymph
nodes. They also indicated cancer was likely in her lungs and gave Jessie 1
to 6 months. After having Jessie in our family/pack for just a year and a
half we decided to make her remaining days as happy as possible. We were
praying Jessie could make it through another summer at the lake; she loved
the freedom at the lake and had only experienced one summer there. Jessie’s
remaining days consisted of three or four walks a day, stick gathering,
snowmobile riding and eating her usual meal (which she loved) of sautéed
hamburger and chicken livers mixed with dry food. Jessie lasted about 3
months before her breathing become very laborious. We also knew Jessie was
not sleeping well and she only went for walks to please us. After serious
consideration and thoughts of her suffocating, we decided
 Jessie’s
time had arrived to take that walk over the Rainbow Bridge. We were not
going to keep her alive just for us. So now she walks on that “other side”
with our previous German shepherd, Jack. They play, run, walk, ride,
breathe and eat; all the good things they enjoyed here on earth. And yes,
someday we’ll join them.
Jessie passed away March 28, 2008 and we
miss her every day. We want to hug her, kiss her on the nose, have those
two-way conversations and some day we will. We love you, Island Jessie.
Island Penny & Island Bob
Jessie's last day
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A
TRIBUTE TO GINGER, GSRNE #14
Ginger
is having her last night tonight (Feb 25, 2009). We adopted her in May of
1997 from the German Shepherd Rescue of New England. She was 9 months old.
From the moment she entered our home, she was part of the family. From a
skinny, pointed-nosed puppy, she grew to be a beautiful, loving, sweet
"pretty girl."
A lovely disposition, friendly to all but cats, skunks and squirrels, and
she loved to chase her tail with the command "Tail!"
Ginny took it upon herself to guard our home from these suspicious and
"dangerous" critters. She would sit in the room that overlooked the
backyard, alert, and ready to attack. Much to our amusement, Ginny never
caught anything. She would run with all her might, slam herself up against
the fence, and miss the squirrel...of course. This came as no surprise to
anyone...but Ginger. The father of the family, Mitch, insists that Ginny
did, in fact, catch two squirrels in her life; gutted them both and left the
skins in the small yard we have in the back of the house.
The
children, Genna and Matt, disagree. They'd like to know how a dog that
could not catch a ball could catch a squirrel. The daughter, Genna, often
would say to Ginger, "ready, don't catch this." She was amazingly talented
in this regard. A few times, the ball found her mouth, but never the other
way around.
Affectionate without slobbering, she was always thrilled to see us, whether
it had been five minutes or two weeks. Coming into the house late at night,
it was a soft thumping of her tail in the dark, the sound of her warm, dry
nose sniffing in the dark. We will miss her every day, especially curling
up with her on the floor.
Thank you for operating this fine service. We've had a decade of enjoyment
and love with a wonderful dog, a real sweetheart.
Be right back, Ginny.
Mitch, Joanne, Genna and Matt Lyons
Newton, MA
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Dear God,
Please remember these few things when taking care of my boy.
He likes to walk back and forth in the pond, chasing the fish, watching
close for you to reel in the "big one." He will then "hold" the stringer for
you. Please take him fishing.
The lizards in the tree stumps won't be safe anymore, so you'd better hide
the lizards. If you put dog bones in your robes, he will "wave" at you until
you give him one. Give him two.
His day bed is the one closest to the fireplace. If there is a female lying
in it he will come and rest his head on your knee until you remove her. His
bedtime is 8 pm; please help him up the stairs.
Don't leave freshly baked pies on the counter, no matter how crippled he
becomes, he will always eat it. Blueberry is his favorite, with just a
little cinnamon.
If there is a child in the water he will bring it out, especially if it is
having a good time. If there is a small child walking with a cracker, he
will keep the child from overeating. Please give him a child to follow.
Don't leave any ladders leaning against your house, he will be found on the
roof. I hope there is a playground nearby with lots of kids, he will wait
his turn at the slide, and bark when he gets to the bottom.
Be careful when you spell out words like "C-A-R R-I-DE" and "E-A-T," even
"B-U-N-N-Y." He knows how to spell so you had better be ready to follow
through. When you take him on a trip, and stop to rest, just tell him to "be
a good Boy," he will lift his leg whether he has to go or not. He can't "go"
with a leash on, it makes him cough.
He can't go for a walk without his Dummy in his mouth, he likes the orange
one the best. He can't make it past the gate and please walk slow.
The top of his head will become pointed if you don't kiss it often during
the day. Then his hats won't fit. He can't sleep unless he is on the right
side of the bed.
When you give him a marrow bone, make sure his mom is there, too; he likes
to use her back as a table and get her all slimy.
If you tell him to "stay," make sure you come back to release him or he will
stay there for days.
During the football games, if you get a chip, he gets a chip. He doesn't
like the nuts with the shell on them, peel them please.
If you go to the lake then stop for ice cream on the way home, he always
gets the first lick and then the bottom of the cone too.
Don't use a Buoy to tie off your boat, he will spend all afternoon trying to
drag it to shore. If you take him
camping, he has to sleep between you and Mrs. God, on the softest part of
the foam pad.
Don't get mad at him when you come home and his head is in the dog food bin.
He has to stretch his stomach muscles every now and then.
That's all for now God. Tell him we love him, miss him and hope he likes the
food up there."
~from
all loving dog owners |
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