Nicknames - Jess, J.J.
Jessie was the first dog we had as a married couple. She was a stray who my brother-in-law's family found wandering. I had been wanting an Australian Shepard, but I think Jessie was more German Shepard. She was probably two or three months old when we got her.
TS rigged a fenced area out of chicken wire and posts, but we had to take it down when we got our house. We didn't have enough money to put up another fence. That was before we had a shopping center nearby, so we allowed her to run, like all the neighbors dogs. Our neighborhood was rural, there were acres of fields between us and the main road. None of the neighbors fenced their dogs.
We also didn't make much time to train her. She knew sit, and shake, and come. She wasn't very good at come. She had a dog house during the day, and at night we brought her in with us - but it wasn't a good situation. She started terrorizing the paper boy and nipping at him, until he was afraid to deliver the paper to our in-laws house next door.
The final straw was when Jessie dug up two hundred dollars worth of plants the neighbor had spent an entire weekend putting in. We had no way to repay the neighbor. Our finances were stretched so tight some weeks food was all we could afford - and basic food, not fancy stuff.
At that point, the neighbor who had no plants and TS's parents both asked us to take her to the pound. We didn't have much of a choice. In 1983 the Humane Society only kept surrendered pets for 3 days, and then they were euthanized, so TS told them she was a stray. In a way, she was - just one that we had kept for 7 months.
She wasn't a bad dog, but we never should have taken her in the first place. We had no fence. Even though it was a "no fence zone" for dogs at that time, she needed a fence. I think also, looking back, a dog was too much of a committment. We were always on the go, working, partying. A dog is a big responsibility. She was a very pretty girl, small for a shephard, and obviously mixed with something a little bit more agressive, but she was nothing but sweet to us.
We learned the hard way the basic things a responsible pet owner needs to have a dog. There's a lot more to it than just food and water, which are not that expensive. Jessie ate better than we did sometimes. We also groomed her regularly
We also needed -
A fenced yard.
Enough money to take a dog to the veterinarian for shots.
Money to alter a dog when the time comes.
Time to train a dog in basic obedience.
The day TS took Jessie to the pound, I made a vow we would never do that again.
Once a pet was ours, it stayed.
If we found a stray and couldn't keep it, it would go to PAWS.
PAWS, the no-kill shelter existed at that time, but we didn't have the money to pay for the gas it would take to drive there.
Yes, that's how poor we were back then.
I still remember how Jessie put her paw on my arm, and leaned against me while I told her goodbye, and cried.
I cried for days afterward.
Since then, we have stuck to the promise I made to myself. I regret to this day that we had to take her to the shelter, because she was a very nice dog. I hope she found a home.
I doubt it.
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