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Our love affair with Jasmine started on a cold and snowy
December about 3 years ago. My husband Tom and I have
adopted many children with special needs. One of our
tiniest, Hope, was unstable and he had spent many nights
and weeks at the hospital in Denver with her. I began to
feel unsafe in my home out in Black Forest. We live in a
rural setting far from neighbors. I was getting suspicious
phone calls- hang ups- late at night. So I began a search
on the Web for a "protector".
I found Doberman Rescue. Chuck and I exchanged a few
polite emails then I asked him for a dog for our family.
We have 3 children in wheel chair and a 16 year old
autistic daughter. This dog would have to be very
stable... a perfect dog. We already had a very dominate
cockatoo, a cat and another old Boston Terrier. This dog
would have to adjust to a life style and home that was
very active, lots of people coming and going yet know to
protect us when necessary.
We drove up to Denver on Christmas Eve bringing a few of
the children with us. We met Chuck and entered his home.
Jasmine greeted us with a tail wag as did another dog I
called Itchy. I liked Itchy but Chuck insisted- well
almost- that Jasmine was the dog for us.
My husband liked her at once. She was a sturdy well formed
fem e, housetrained and spayed. Her only fault was she had
separation anxiety, liked to chew when left alone. Not a
problem in our house, she would never be alone. Chuck was
very honest with her strength as well as her faults.
We brought Jasmine home and I remember the first few days
getting to know her. Lou, our 4 year old with Down
syndrome, loved her.... long and hard and often. He would
lay all over her getting himself just right in the curve
of her body. She treated him like she would a puppy with
licks and signs and a very loving "I’m home" look in her
eyes. He would try to feed her, with a fork of course, and
gently she would take it We were family.
We enrolled Jasmine in an Obedience Class. She easily
became the demo dog and graduated with honors. As gentle
and well behaved as she is in our house, she is very
protective of our property. She will bark and defend us
from other dogs or foxes or deer. She will bark at kids on
bikes and others too close to our borders. We have the
best of both worlds the protector I wanted and the family
pet the kids needed. Chuck was right, Jasmine is the
perfect dog for our family. I feel very blessed to have
found them both.
Tom, Jackie, all the kids, and Jazz |
