To Jasmine Graves

Mostly blind and deaf in her later years, she could still find my mom in a crowd of people.

I've had a rough week.  One of my family members, an 18 year old Cockapoo-dachshund named Jasmine was put to rest.  I liked to joke that she had already lived longer than she deserved, as a cat fanatic she and I didn't always see eye to eye, but in her later years she was nothing but sweet to me.

I love pet names and finding out how they were chosen.  Her name was a bit oddly done.  My mom picked it and if you do the math and know your Disney history well then you might remember that she was named not long after the movie Aladdin came out.  My sister and I thought that was how mom had thought of it.  But my family is quite unique.  My parents own a music shop and they have always sold extra items like incense and tiny bottles of oil in many different scents.  That is where my mom got the name.  She liked the scent of the perfume and thought that the name sounded pretty.

As a pup I think you'd have to call Jasmine a fire cracker.  She was tiny, fiesty, and filled with the need to run all over our house.  She had her quiet moments too and was a huge comfort to sick people.  In my family you knew if you were really ill because Jasmine would cuddle up next to you and loyally stay put through coughs, sneezes and everything else.  You also knew when you were getting better because she would jump ship and become my mom's shadow again.

We took her on trips with us whenever we left the house.  She was great to my extended family and when we all got together at the cabins she would adopt them all and happily greet those who came to our door.  It was only outsiders who got the occasional growl.

The only time that she didn't live with us was for about a week or two 11 years ago when she dug her way out of the yard hoping to follow us one day.  She was picked up and taken away when she was found on the street.  Our family went nearly mad with worry, I think my mom did go crazy for a little while.  The only reason we got her back is that someone mentioned that our lost dog posters should show a reward in case she was being held for money.  That afternoon we finally got the call and that person certainly was in it for the $50.  I still think of those people as dog-nappers and as evil as Cruella DeVille.

It is hard to imagine my parents house without her.  She will be missed but she will also be remembered.  Goodbye Jazzy!