Thoughts from Karenland: Jasper and Cosmo

On a Sunday morning in January 2010 my husband and I awoke to find our 14 year old Wheaton terrier named Jasper, a bit under the weather. He just wasn’t acting like himself. And upon investigation by my husband, we determined the cause. Jasper at some point during the night or early morning had consumed a 5 pound 10 x 10 x 10 inch raisin filled imported Italian pannetone (cake)—aluminum wrapper and all.

Now I immediately knew we had to get Jasper help right away—aside from the fact that Jasper had not trained in Nathan hot-dog eating contests and therefore did not have the stomach capacity required to physically hold 5 lbs of Italian cake (and the aluminum wrapper), I knew that raisins were highly toxic to dogs—particularly 14 year old dogs like Jasper with chronic degenerative liver disease.

So since it was Sunday, and my vet’s office was closed, we drove to Westbury to one of those really high priced veterinary hospitals that have flatscreen TV’s playing Animal Planet and 4 inch memory foam mattresses on the floor of the walk-in cage/rooms for its canine patients. Jasper’s condition was rather grave—they needed to pump his stomach, and then flush his system for 48 hours with IV’s and still hope with his already precarious liver condition that he would not die of liver failure. And not to appear callous, but this little episode, no matter what the outcome, was going to cost a big cha-chung—assuming he recovered-- $1000/day minimum in the critical care unit and the clock was already running.

So I hugged Jasper and sobbed the entire way home. And my husband could barely drive through his own tears. And when I returned home it was so quiet I thought I would lose my sanity. And that was when I knew for sure, I was never going to stand being without a dog. And I knew that Jasper’s death would be so traumatic that I would have to go out the next day and get a new dog. And I also knew that getting a new dog when you are emotionally confused was a bad idea. And that is when I started researching what my next dog would be.

The best breed of dogs in my mind is the golden retriever, They are gentle and smart and so soft. But I am also allergic to them. And I am also not a big fan of dog hair all over my clothes and carpeting, nor do I want a dog I cannot lift. So a golden was out of the question.

So I decided to consult an expert: my vet. I asked Dr. Devito what breed of dog she thought would suit my personality—and she said based on what she knew of me and her exposure to every breed of dog, , without question I should own a standard poodle (I wondered if it had anything to do with my big Italian hair). Now I happen to like standard poodles—especially Sabrina and Max--but standard poodles are big animals, and although they are docile and mentally sharp, let’s face it, standard poodles still look like— well--to put it bluntly-- they look like poodles.

So I started investigating pure bred and designer dogs on the internet. And after lots of googling and many days and hours later I discovered Amy Lane of Fox Creek Farm. I found my perfect “breed”: a mini goldendoodle. Amy Lane was a founding breeder of GANA—the Goldendoodle Association of North America--and she was well known in the dog world for her therapy dogs. And that was what I was looking for—a puppy who was well bred—not from a puppy mill—a puppy from an untarnished responsible breeder---a puppy who was easily trained and over-the-moon lovable. And so I wrote Amy a letter and mailed a deposit. And I told her exactly what I was looking for in a puppy: a calm, submissive, obedient, pleasant dog.

You see, Jasper was never a calm submissive dog. First off he was a terrier, so he was high strung. Secondly he was bred to be an Irish herding dog , so aside from being incredibly agile and athletic, Jasper was cautious about allowing people into the pack, and equally cautious about allowing them back out. So for Jasper’s entire life I had to worry about him nipping people when they came in the door, and then nipping them on the way out. But the most important factor I think that made Jasper take his job as deputy lieutenant in charge of home security to an extreme is that Jasper was a rescue dog. We adopted Jasper days away from being euthanized. Jasper had been on his own surviving without human intervention for a very long while. And the shelter that housed him knew Jasper had been on his own for a while because his coat was so overgrown and matted and because he was so possessive of his food.

Now you are probably thinking poor Jasper—and that would be true. But equally important was poor us: living with a not calm, not all that submissive, very smart, faithful only to his owners, exceptionally handsome, rescue dog. Had I not been as strong an Alpha pack leader as I was (still am), Jasper would have been gone a long time ago. Jasper was a ton of work to control.

So I thought if Jasper was going to die soon, and I had the opportunity to really examine the best breed to replace him, I was going to make it easy this time on myself. I was going to buy the dog of my dreams—and that dog was Cosmo: ¼ standard poodle, ¼ golden retriever, and 1/2 miniature poodle. Cosmo is all things golden retriever thrust into a poodle-ish body— 30 lbs of canine perfection.

Jasper did not die that January in 2010 from eating a 5 lb pannetone with raisins. Nor did he die from the anal cancer removed from his behind that May, nor did he die from the melanoma removed from his lip in June , nor the Brillo pad he ate in July , nor from his degenerative liver disease, nor his sluggish thyroid condition.

Jasper flips his paw at the Grim Reaper every day. Jasper is a survivor. Jasper is every bit of 15 years old and still has an excellent quality of life. He is a bit deaf and partially blind but he still takes his job very seriously. Sometimes I think he is my Grandpa Vespo reincarnated (in fact if you put glasses on him he would look exactly like Grandpa Vespo). And here’s the best part, Cosmo has rejuvenated Jasper: Jasper’s brain is sharper; and the increased physical activity from having a puppy around has made his arthritis less bothersome. My vet believes that Cosmo saved Jasper. And having a calm submissive puppy around has made Jasper sweeter—as if he needed a good-natured dog in his den to teach him how to be nice to humans.

Every morning when I wake up I hug and kiss Jasper and thank him for being with us one more day. Because let’s face it, Jasper is living well past his expiration date. And every morning I thank the good fairy Amy Lane who on January 29, 2010 sprinkled her magic fairy dust over her favorite stuffed toy to create Cosmo—the perfect puppy.