Amber’s
Sweet Jasmine
June 1997 - April 7, 2002
A Christmas Hug for Jasmine.
|
I
walked into the Humane Society in Burnsville, MN a little under 5
years ago. I was not expecting to find the love of my life. I walked
into the puppy section and saw her. She was so beautiful. She was
stark white and so beautiful. I had never seen any animal that
looked like her. She looked like a white lab, if there were such a
thing. She had beautiful soft, velvety ears and was so sweet. They
said that she was a Lab/White German Shepherd mix. I didn’t
even have to think about taking her home; I just knew that she was
mine. I could not wait to take her home.
I decided to go to school two hours
away…Duluth, MN. I did not want to leave my baby, but I knew
that she would be in good hands with my parents. She was my dog and
they were going to look after her while I was gone.
I had so many dreams for us "someday."
I was going to have her move in with me when I graduated from
college next year (03) when I would be 24 and her 5. That is when I
was going to get my jeep. I wanted to ride around with her smelling
the fresh air. She was the perfect “jeep dog.” She loved
taking car rides with me. That was one of my favorite activities
with her. We would drive all around the city so that we could be
together in our favorite place. She never would hang her head out
the window and I always wondered why. She would always sit there so
calmly and look at me. She wanted to be as close to me as possible.
I was so looking forward to having her with me again. I had always
thought that she would be here; but I was wrong. I lost her too
soon. I didn’t think that she would ever get cancer.
This past Christmas (01) I was so
looking forward to coming home for break from school. I knew that I
would have a month to be with her. The first night that I was home I
noticed a lump on her neck. I told my parents and we made an
appointment the next day. I found a lump when I was rubbing her
neck. I thought it might be an infection so I took her to the vet.
She noticed that all of her lymph nodes were enlarged, did a biopsy
right there and then and told us that she had lymphoma. I was
devastated and so shocked. I didn't think that my baby could get
that because she was so young. My vet told me our options. ; I did
not want to put her through chemo only for her to go into a short
period of remission and be back where she started. It wasn't fair to
her. It was a very tough decision because Jasmine was my life. The
vet told me that she could live 2-12 months. It just depended on the
dog. I was hoping that she would have a lot of time.
I came home from school as much as I could; weekends and
breaks. I did not want to waste any time. I knew that someday I
would not have her. That someday was approaching fast. I wanted to
spend as much time with her as possible. I took as many pictures
that I could. I videotaped her while she was happy and playful. I
wanted as many memories that I could get. I now cherish those
pictures and memories even more.
Well, she did very well for a
couple of months and was a very happy doggy. Then the nodes on her
neck and everywhere else were becoming large and we wanted to do
something for her pain and swelling so we called the vet and put her
on Prednisone. It helped her, but it made her urinate, pant, and
crave water ALL THE TIME. She had to be let out once a half hour or
more. It was very tiring. She still seemed to be happy and that was
what mattered. We were going to help her with her pain and keep her
comfortable.
My family and I made the decision
that Sunday would be the day for her to go to peace. She was
suffering and we wanted to stop it. So I spent Saturday night by her
side on the floor on an air mattress. I wasn't sure that she would
make it through the night, but she did. She was so uncomfortable and
did not get any rest. I wished that she could have gotten some rest.
The
next morning came so fast. I had not gotten much sleep at all. I
couldn't! My family and I spent time with her and told her how much
we loved her and then we assisted her to peace. It was very sad, but
we were so relieved that she was finally at rest. She was fine the
previous week, a little weaker than normal, but was eating and
drinking. Then on Friday she just stopped eating. She became so weak
that she could no longer walk, be let out, hold her head up, or
drink water. It came on so fast. She was definitely in a lot of
pain. I think that she had been in pain for some time, but had not
been showing it. She had to be carried into the house from being
outside. I was stunned that her condition had weakened so quickly.
The previous weekend I had been there and she had been playing and
running and acting happy. It all happened so fast.
On
Sunday (04/07/02) Jasmine had to be assisted to peace. It was the
hardest decision of my family’s life and me. We all loved her
so much. She was like a sibling. She was my fur sister. I have no
siblings; therefore I become very attached to animals.
All in all she was my dog. My
family had become very attached to her and loved her so much. We
were all so close to her. Jasmine and I did everything together. I
miss her so much. I have so many happy memories of her. I wish that
there could have been many more. I will hold her in my heart
forever. I will never forget my sweet Jasmine, my Honeybee. I don’t
think that I will ever be able to love any animal the way that I
loved Jasmine. We had such a unique bond.
I am having a very difficult time
and am very sad, it is just so hard accepting the fact that I will
never see her again. She was my baby! The decision to not go with
Chemo was my choice. Some people are successful with Chemo and their
animals continue to live. It is entirely up to the person. If you
don't decide to continue with chemo, it doesn't mean that you love
your pet less; you want to spare them suffering and let them
continue their normal life for as long as possible. If they could,
they would thank you. I know that it is very hard, but it was the
right decision. They know that we love them and care.
We had so many wonderful memories
together; I will never forget our trips to Petco, her biting all the
green layering off of tennis balls, running in the front yard, car
rides, ripping the toilet paper off the roll and eating it, and so
many more.
Jasmine
you were my beautiful baby. I loved you so much and I always will.
You were so perfect. I think about you everyday and I will always
think of you. My family and I couldn’t have loved you more. You
were our baby. We will always think of you and we will always miss
you.
Have fun playing, sniffing,
barking, and being a sweet doggy. We love you sweet honeybee! We
will see you again someday! I love you Jasmine!
Amber, Beau, Rita, Mike…her
fur sister Tiffy and her fur kitty Morsel
Funny girl with Deer
Antlers, Christmas 2001.
For more of the Endlesslove Group
Angels
http://endlessloveangels.com
*Next Page*
*Samson's
Story *My Gang
*Sunny,Simmy,Barney,Pixie
*Friend's Gallery
*In Loving Memory
*Histio
Roll Call *Bernese Art
*Berner Fun Stuff
*Berner Articles & Info
*Berner Shop
*Longlease Links.
*Humour.
*Guestbook.
*Berner Fundraisers*
*Longlease Bernese Mountain Dogs Home
Page*
|
|
|
|
|
|
