Lucy's Mum
08-06-2004, 01:20 PM
Not sure if it's appropriate to post this here, but it sure helped to type it out.
Jasmine P. Green (the P stands for Pup or Princess)
“Is that a seal or is that Jasmine?” -overheard at the beach one day
The first lab that owned me. Jasmine was with me every step of my learning to windsurf. The first summer we had her we spent a month in Hood River, Oregon, where I was just learning to windsurf. Ever so loyal, she would lay under the van and watch till I was tired. I would come to the van and she knew that it was her turn. I would come and get her and we would go for a swim and play frisbee. As I got better at windsurfing my husband wanted to travel more which meant more swim time for Jasmine. We would go to Lake Isabella on weekends, which happened to be her favorite place. One time while I was out in the water on the windsurfer, the wind died and I had to swim my gear in. Well, once Jas saw that, she swam right out to me to lend me a “paw”. I would grab a hold of her tail and would kick my legs while she towed me in.
Our chasing of the wind meant tons of water time for Jasmine. We found a wonderful windsurfing spot in Baja, Mexico which we made an annual trek there for the next 10 years during the holidays. Jasmine knew when we were going, she would sit and watch us pack 2 40lb bags of Nutro, load “the human water toys” onto the roof racks of the van, load up her floppy disk and her chuck it. She knew she was going to live, play and breathe water for the next two months.
We would reach the campground and be greeted by all of friends that we made throughout the years. Did they care about us?? No, not really, the first words out of their mouths were, “WHERE’S JASMINE??” By that time, Jasmine was tired from the last five miles of a 1,000 mile trip, from barking and telling us that she knew we were close and that she could smell the water and see the water.
As I continued with windsurfing, I was going out a little ways very slowly and turning around and coming back with Jasmine swimming right next to me. The next year I was a little better, I would go out further than I wanted Jas to follow me, but I wasn’t staying upwind, and would come back to the beach down wind of Jas. After a couple years of this, she would head down the beach to great me and would swim back as I walked my gear back. The year before last I was actually staying up wind and coming back to the beach which I think disappointed Jasmine, for she didn’t get to walk down the beach and swim back. This continued on till this past season. I learned how to kite surf and was staying out in the water longer and a lot further off shore and now Jasmine was tired of worrying of me so she took up refuge with a good friend of mine that windsurfed. Personally, I think she was such a princess she liked the motorhome over our tent!
I noticed Jasmine slowing down. I had to tell people to stop playing with her at 3:00 PM for she couldn’t walk, her legs were so tired and sore, she literally played herself out. Our last day in the windsurfing campground we loaded Jasmine up in the Jeep Wrangler and headed home. We had stopped in Scorpion Bay and played some Frisbee with Jas. We stopped in Scammon’s Lagoon to view the whales while Jas patiently waited and was given Frisbee tosses by the local kids.
We were journeying home and took another detour, towards San Felipe. Once we arrived in San Felipe, that’s where it happened, the beginning of the bloat. We rush her to the vet in town. I bring up bloat and he tells us it’s pneumonia. He sent us on our way. Deep down, I knew what it was but didn’t want to tell my husband, we both knew how horrible bloat is and the vet didn’t have the facilities to do the x-ray or all that is involved, and if you know anything about bloat, you know that by this time it was too late and the damage was done and all you can do is wait. I wasn’t about to let a vet put her down in a place so unfamiliar to her, plus, Mexico has a different way of caring for dogs than we do. Anyways, all through the night in our tent Jasmine couldn’t get comfortable, the whining and crying. Several times both my husband and I dozed in and out of sleep to wake and find Jas sitting and watching us, as if she was getting in her last look and memories of us. She didn’t want to leave, but knew she had to. The next morning we got up and started loading up the car, it was 5:30 AM and we figured maybe we can get her across the border and to a vet in California. We had to hang her leash on a tree while packing for a couple of times she wandered off which was very uncharacteristic for her but not for a dying animal. As she was on the leash she let out the most horrific cries I ever heard from her. I just wanted the suffering to stop. We get in the car and my husband is going to look for this vet at 5:30 AM. I am in the back seat with Jasmine trying to comfort her while she wails. She puts her head on my husband’s lap, he turns to me with tears streaming down his face, “What is she doing?? What does she want??” I told him, “It’s time. Stop the car.” We get her out and something just isn’t right being by the edge of the road in a Baja desert. I told him to get back in the car and I am driving. I found a dirt road that led to the water. Jasmine layed in his lap with her head out the window barking again leading us to the water like she had always done before. I stop the car and we get her out. She runs as best she can down to the water with her tail wagging. She is too weak to keep going so Mike picks her up and carries her the rest of the way. She lies in the water where I am crouching, apparently I am too far away, she gets closer and falls/lies in my arms, Mike has his arms around her as well. Her breathing gets less and less and then, she is gone.
Jasmine Pup Green passed away on the morning of March 6, 2004, as the full moon was setting in the west and the sun was rising in the east. She was 13 years old.
Jasmine gave us the gift of following her to the very end of the circle of life by having to bury her ourselves and knowing that we did the right thing. She is buried at Kilometer 172 overlooking the Sea Of Cortez. The sunrise over the water will always be my greeting from Jasmine. We know that Jasmine had a good 12 week vacation and did not want to leave the Baja, her favorite place.
7 weeks later someone from the Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue emails me to tell me they have a black lab pup that is in need of a home if we are interested. At this point I am not, but I miss a pup. We weren’t supposed to get another pup till the end of August to give us some time to mourn, plus our breeder’s female wasn’t in heat yet. Well, Lucy was born the day Jasmine passed away so here again, Jasmine gave us another gift. There are so many characteristics in Lucy that come from Jasmine even though they are completely different pups. I still have a lot of “heeling” of a broken heart but Lucy is such a character and sure helps.
I look forward to meeting up with Jasmine again at the Rainbow Bridge.
Jasmine's last picture.
March 12, 1991 - March 6, 2004
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d627b3127cceb397b36414b20000001610
Jasmine P. Green (the P stands for Pup or Princess)
“Is that a seal or is that Jasmine?” -overheard at the beach one day
The first lab that owned me. Jasmine was with me every step of my learning to windsurf. The first summer we had her we spent a month in Hood River, Oregon, where I was just learning to windsurf. Ever so loyal, she would lay under the van and watch till I was tired. I would come to the van and she knew that it was her turn. I would come and get her and we would go for a swim and play frisbee. As I got better at windsurfing my husband wanted to travel more which meant more swim time for Jasmine. We would go to Lake Isabella on weekends, which happened to be her favorite place. One time while I was out in the water on the windsurfer, the wind died and I had to swim my gear in. Well, once Jas saw that, she swam right out to me to lend me a “paw”. I would grab a hold of her tail and would kick my legs while she towed me in.
Our chasing of the wind meant tons of water time for Jasmine. We found a wonderful windsurfing spot in Baja, Mexico which we made an annual trek there for the next 10 years during the holidays. Jasmine knew when we were going, she would sit and watch us pack 2 40lb bags of Nutro, load “the human water toys” onto the roof racks of the van, load up her floppy disk and her chuck it. She knew she was going to live, play and breathe water for the next two months.
We would reach the campground and be greeted by all of friends that we made throughout the years. Did they care about us?? No, not really, the first words out of their mouths were, “WHERE’S JASMINE??” By that time, Jasmine was tired from the last five miles of a 1,000 mile trip, from barking and telling us that she knew we were close and that she could smell the water and see the water.
As I continued with windsurfing, I was going out a little ways very slowly and turning around and coming back with Jasmine swimming right next to me. The next year I was a little better, I would go out further than I wanted Jas to follow me, but I wasn’t staying upwind, and would come back to the beach down wind of Jas. After a couple years of this, she would head down the beach to great me and would swim back as I walked my gear back. The year before last I was actually staying up wind and coming back to the beach which I think disappointed Jasmine, for she didn’t get to walk down the beach and swim back. This continued on till this past season. I learned how to kite surf and was staying out in the water longer and a lot further off shore and now Jasmine was tired of worrying of me so she took up refuge with a good friend of mine that windsurfed. Personally, I think she was such a princess she liked the motorhome over our tent!
I noticed Jasmine slowing down. I had to tell people to stop playing with her at 3:00 PM for she couldn’t walk, her legs were so tired and sore, she literally played herself out. Our last day in the windsurfing campground we loaded Jasmine up in the Jeep Wrangler and headed home. We had stopped in Scorpion Bay and played some Frisbee with Jas. We stopped in Scammon’s Lagoon to view the whales while Jas patiently waited and was given Frisbee tosses by the local kids.
We were journeying home and took another detour, towards San Felipe. Once we arrived in San Felipe, that’s where it happened, the beginning of the bloat. We rush her to the vet in town. I bring up bloat and he tells us it’s pneumonia. He sent us on our way. Deep down, I knew what it was but didn’t want to tell my husband, we both knew how horrible bloat is and the vet didn’t have the facilities to do the x-ray or all that is involved, and if you know anything about bloat, you know that by this time it was too late and the damage was done and all you can do is wait. I wasn’t about to let a vet put her down in a place so unfamiliar to her, plus, Mexico has a different way of caring for dogs than we do. Anyways, all through the night in our tent Jasmine couldn’t get comfortable, the whining and crying. Several times both my husband and I dozed in and out of sleep to wake and find Jas sitting and watching us, as if she was getting in her last look and memories of us. She didn’t want to leave, but knew she had to. The next morning we got up and started loading up the car, it was 5:30 AM and we figured maybe we can get her across the border and to a vet in California. We had to hang her leash on a tree while packing for a couple of times she wandered off which was very uncharacteristic for her but not for a dying animal. As she was on the leash she let out the most horrific cries I ever heard from her. I just wanted the suffering to stop. We get in the car and my husband is going to look for this vet at 5:30 AM. I am in the back seat with Jasmine trying to comfort her while she wails. She puts her head on my husband’s lap, he turns to me with tears streaming down his face, “What is she doing?? What does she want??” I told him, “It’s time. Stop the car.” We get her out and something just isn’t right being by the edge of the road in a Baja desert. I told him to get back in the car and I am driving. I found a dirt road that led to the water. Jasmine layed in his lap with her head out the window barking again leading us to the water like she had always done before. I stop the car and we get her out. She runs as best she can down to the water with her tail wagging. She is too weak to keep going so Mike picks her up and carries her the rest of the way. She lies in the water where I am crouching, apparently I am too far away, she gets closer and falls/lies in my arms, Mike has his arms around her as well. Her breathing gets less and less and then, she is gone.
Jasmine Pup Green passed away on the morning of March 6, 2004, as the full moon was setting in the west and the sun was rising in the east. She was 13 years old.
Jasmine gave us the gift of following her to the very end of the circle of life by having to bury her ourselves and knowing that we did the right thing. She is buried at Kilometer 172 overlooking the Sea Of Cortez. The sunrise over the water will always be my greeting from Jasmine. We know that Jasmine had a good 12 week vacation and did not want to leave the Baja, her favorite place.
7 weeks later someone from the Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue emails me to tell me they have a black lab pup that is in need of a home if we are interested. At this point I am not, but I miss a pup. We weren’t supposed to get another pup till the end of August to give us some time to mourn, plus our breeder’s female wasn’t in heat yet. Well, Lucy was born the day Jasmine passed away so here again, Jasmine gave us another gift. There are so many characteristics in Lucy that come from Jasmine even though they are completely different pups. I still have a lot of “heeling” of a broken heart but Lucy is such a character and sure helps.
I look forward to meeting up with Jasmine again at the Rainbow Bridge.
Jasmine's last picture.
March 12, 1991 - March 6, 2004
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d627b3127cceb397b36414b20000001610