Jaci
Adoption date: November 26, 2006
MEMORIAL TO A HERO…
August 1, 2005 - December 22, 2007
…JESSI’S STORY
(Editor’s note: This story came to us by several emails and is being told by Jesse’s adopted “mom” with a note on Jesse’s history at the end.)
APRIL 28, 2007
I wanted to give you an update on the Australian Shepherd you had at the shelter not once but twice! Her name was Jesse. You have a picture of her at the bottom of your webpage. We now call her Jaci (like Jay-cee). We still can't believe that this great girl was given up twice. The only good part about it is that we got to have her then!!!
She adjusted very well to our house last November. She got right into our schedule. Our cat came out of hiding the second day. I couldn't believe that since the cat is 11 years old and has had the house to himself. There is not a love between the two of them but there is mutual respect. (If you remember, she was brought back to your shelter the 2nd time because she caused a problem with that owner's cat.) Jaci is so happy when we stay home! We take her in the car most places we go because she loves to ride too. Jaci gets a 30-45 minute walk every day rain, snow or sunshine. She needs a lot of exercise. Jaci also gets to run in the timber and by the river a couple of times a week. (We live by the Des Moines River) She loves the water! Jaci gets to swim in my grandma's pond too. Our six year old son loves to play outside with her. He throws a tennis ball for Jaci and she loves to catch it!
Now to the part I wanted to tell you about the most! About a month ago we had an unseasonable warm day. It reached 80 degrees that day and it was very hot in our house. We decided to leave the sliding glass window open and just have the screen there when we went to bed. (There is a patio there and it comes into our dining room.) I woke up about 12:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep. I was lying there trying to get myself to fall asleep. At about 12:50 I heard a noise. I thought, "That can't be the screen door opening!" A split second later Jaci started to growl and bark like I have never heard her. She sounded like a KILLER dog. My husband woke up then and was telling her to stop it. I told him, "NO! Let her bark. I think someone is in our house!!" Jaci ran out of our bedroom like there was no tomorrow. She was so loud and so scary sounding that I was shocked. Never before or since then have I heard her sound like that. My husband looked around and said no one was in our house but the screen door was part way open- open enough for a person to fit in or out. We could hardly go back to sleep as you can imagine. We tried to explain away the door thing. Could the cat open the screen with his claw?? Anything but that there had been an intruder! The next morning we looked in our dining room to see if we could see any clues. THERE WERE MUDDY FOOTPRINTS ALL OVER OUR CARPET BY THAT DOOR! My purse had been on the dining room table and I then figured out that it was no longer there. BUT- just think what might have happened if we hadn't had a dog like her???? Could that person have done something much worse? That day I fell head over heals in love with her. I thought I loved her before, but that day I looked at her with deep admiration. She saved us! She still rarely barks. If she does.....I PAY ATTENTION. I know she is warning me about something.
So thank you for doing what you guys do. Your shelter united us with a wonderful pet!
DECEMBER 27, 2007
I am writing to tell you that our family is devastated. Saturday (Dec. 22nd) our Australian Shepherd from your shelter was hit and killed by a car. She was out for her daily running and didn't see the car coming. It has been so sad for my husband especially. He took her out every day to get a lot of exercise. They were so bonded. While she was at the shelter her name was Jesse. We renamed her Jaci. Her picture is at the bottom of your web page. We just wanted you to know. While we were at your shelter you could just feel how much you all love the animals there. We knew you would understand our pain. Thanks for letting us get Jaci. She was a joy in our house.
JANUARY 9, 2008
Yes, Lesli, we all remember Jesse / Jaci and we were very sad to hear the news of her death. The year she spent with you was without doubt the best year of her life. We are very grateful to your family for giving her a chance at a real home. What follows is Jesse’s search for happiness.
Jesse was born August 1, 2005 in South Dakota, but somehow made her way to Estherville, IA where she lived as an “outside” dog for 1 year. She was surrendered to us on October 26, 2006 because her owners “had another dog.” At the time of her surrender, they stated that Jesse was smart, knew some basic commands, was good with children, but had always lived outside. She was not house trained. She had never known what it was like to spend the night inside with her “family” watching TV, or sleeping at the foot of her master’s bed.
In the following week, Jesse kept her kennel spotless. Like many dogs who have always gone to the bathroom outside, going inside is strange and they just prefer to “hold it” until they are let outside again. On November 2, 2006, Jesse was adopted to a family in Spencer. They had children and 2 cats and none of us were concerned about possible house breaking issues. However, Jesse did not have a history with cats, so we offered guidelines for introducing the dog to the cats.
Two weeks later Jesse was returned to the shelter. Her new owners said she tried to kill one of their cats and had broken its leg. They reported to us that no one was home when the bookcase was overturned and the cat’s leg was broken. We reassessed Jesse’s behavior and reviewed the records. Could it be that Jesse had been playing or chasing the cat and one or both collided with the bookshelf? Could the cat’s leg have been broken in the crash that might have followed? If Jesse had wanted the cats to be dead, would they have survived 2 weeks with her? We decided to relist Jesse on the internet and look for a home without cats.
Almost immediately, we were called by the veterinarian that had attended to the cat’s broken leg. He strongly advised that we euthanize the dog. We gave weight to the Veterinarian’s opinion and we were sorry for what had happened to the cat, but animals sometimes cause injuries to other animals. The question seemed to be - should the dog lose her life because of an injury to a cat that no one witnessed and may have been nothing more than an accident? We just didn’t think so.
Two days after relisting Jesse, your family contacted us and drove 150+ miles to meet Jesse. You had an 11 year old cat! We informed you of Jesse’s alleged aggression toward cats. Your family discussed it and made the decision to take her anyway and we adopted her conditional that if there was any sign of problems between Jesse and your cat, you could return her to us. The rest as they say is history.
Jesse’s story needed to be told, not only because she is a hero, but to tell the story of a shelter dog. Why they are given up, what happens if an adoption doesn’t work out, how many adjustments a dog might have to make in the quest for a loving, forever home. We feel comfortable in the knowledge that Jesse knew she had found her loving, forever home with your family. Jesse was a good dog!
Kate Whitrock
Executive Director