They say that dogs take on the traits of their owners over time. Certainly seems to be that way in this household. Our dogs have always been, let’s say, out of the ordinary. We have Hershey, who climbs trees. We have Princess, who lifts her leg to pee as if she were a male dog.

And there was Jasmine, our lab mix that passed away last week. Jazz liked to sleep on her back. To do so, she would contort into interesting poses that we merely called “the dog wreck.”

Jasmine loved to chew up charcoal. She didn’t really seem to eat it, but she always wanted a treat whenever I fired up the grill.

Jasmine using the wood as a pillow

She also liked to carry around a big chunk of wood. Sometimes she would sleep on it, like a pillow.

Jazz never met a person that she didn’t assume was a friend. She would have been a terrible guard dog. Once I took her to the animal shelter to get vaccinated. It so happened that there were no other dogs there at the time. As we made our way from station to station, each person would pet her. By the time we got to the last station, Jasmine immediately flopped on her back, ready to have her belly rubbed.

Of our three dogs, Jasmine was the only one that liked to play with us. Princess ignores a ball when you throw it, and Hershey cowers in fear. (Hershey cowers in fear at a lot of things) Jasmine really liked Princess and couldn’t stand Hershey. Hershey loved to lick Jasmine in the face, I think just to make Jasmine bark and complain. When Princess and Hershey would fight playfully, Jasmine would egg them on noisily. She would try to get Princess to play with her as well, without Hershey.

Jasmine’s Corner, with the wood and bone at her grave

We fixed up a spot in the corner of the yard that Jasmine liked to lie in. We placed her chunk of wood at the head of her grave, along with a big bone. (Oh, yeah… the others don’t chew on bones. They will pick them meat off of them, but have no interest in the bone itself) When things cool off a bit, we’ll plant some plants in Jasmine’s Corner.

“The righteous care for the needs of their animals” (Proverbs 12:10)

We’ll miss you Jasmine.

Jasmine’s Corner