Modern Dog Blog

I happened to look down at Jester today and suddenly realized it’s been ten years. Ten years that he has faithfully followed me around, indulging in my every whim, making sure no crumbs are left sad and homeless, dutifully curling up next to me every night under the covers. Ten years. That’s a long time. That’s a whole lot of life changes for one little dog. From Nevada, to California, to Wyoming, and back to California, he’s been with me through it all. From being the littlest and only boy in a pack of three, to being the head boss of four with yet another dumb boy dog to be in charge of and a pain in the ass little sister. He’s been drug to puppy class after puppy class, and used to quietly lay on top of a crate and supervise while I taught classes. He’s been the guinea pig for dog aggressive dogs a million times, cause he could be counted on to throw insults and piss them off. He’s half-heartedly attempted agility cause I asked him to, and when I suggested flyball he told me perhaps I’d lost my mind. Marriage, divorce, multiple retarded boyfriends, and marriage again - Jester has been a constant. He was very open in his disdain for certain male friends, and showed his disgust by peeing on their side of the bed. Subtlety is probably not his strong point. I think he’s pretty happy now, nothing has been peed on in quite a while.

I guess I was just a bit humbled today. Ten years I have asked this dog for a million and one things - that he be quiet, that he be loud, that he be polite, that he be rude, that he wait patiently for me at home, that he come along for the ride. That he be my baby and let me dress him in ridiculous clothes, and that he be my babysitter for that little black mongrel that came to live with us. And he has, although occasionally somewhat begrudgingly, always come along with me for whatever harebrained scheme it is I have in mind. Because all he ever wanted was to just be my dog. To lick my face when I cried, to sit on my lap in the evening, to lay in the sun with me, and take walks in the morning. His best days are the ones where we go back to bed and snuggle under the covers. Really, what more could you ask for from a little brown dog?

What a gift I have been given in this dog. I hope I have many more years with him, and that as he hits his “senior years” I can tend to him the way he has always tended to me - with patience, dedication, but most importantly, with love. Jester Pester, where would I be without you?

Posted on March 21st, 2008 by michelle
Filed under: My dogs, Random run ins, The Naked Part