We got Jessel from a breeder in west Virginia. We were going to get a different dog from the first litter of the year, but the one we wanted had a hump on its back and though the hump was removed, my mom figured that it could have an underlying medical disorder and us not having a ton of money didn't want to have to pay thousands in vet visits. Jessel was in the second litter. He was a chubby puppy and chased butterflies and tried to eat grasshoppers. They were too fast for him. He was a year younger than my now twelve year old sister. I remember he had a red leash on the day we got him and he kept trying to eat it. He hated having his nose squeezed but since it was so squishy I would squeeze it anyway.
Jessel's name came from the show the telly tubbies. I was watching it and there was another dog, a collie maybe, that was named Jessel and when I found out we were getting a dog, I just knew he would be my Jessel.
I know dogs are colourblind, but I could swear he watched tv. He would come sit by me in my playroom and stare intently at the screen. Somedays I would sneak him upstairs and hold up two outfits and say "pick one" and he would nod yes or no. I'm not entirely sure if we taught him that or if he was just smart, but it helped me pick some good outfits. I remember if you ever ran away from him, he would chase you around forever. Not to attack you, but to see if you had a toy. He stopped barking when he was one, so I would always think of him saying, "I'm too good for barking" in a smart alecky voice.
When we got our unplanned 2nd dog Cassie, he really liked her. He liked her do much that months after we got her she was pregnant. Cassie gave birth to eight little black puppies. We think they took after Jessel's mom. She was a black hunting dog named breeze.
Jessel was always afraid of the puppies. Maybe he just hated them. Either way the puppy that we kept, midnight, and him never got along. I guess they were friends though because today midnight sat on his grave for an hour whining according to my dad.
We don't know how Jessel died entirely, just that my dad came home and found him under a tree. Kinda like in the movie Marley and me. I think it's fitting though, that he died under a tree. He was always carrying huge branches around and eating leaves that we're floating in the creek by the house. Hopefully the tree was by the creek, Jessel spent half his life in there just swimming around.
Well that's basically a blog sized summary of Jessel. I think I might write a short story of his death possibly. He was an inspiring dog and the first person/dog(because he was like a person) I've ever had die that was close to me. My living fluffy pillow. But since I cant change what's already happened, I hope that heaven(or something similar) is where he is. He deserves it.
