Jessie

My very special friend Jessie came in our home one year after I arrived, in January 2012 at the age of 3 years old. When she was 1 year old she was found in Spain, severely injured.  She was hit by a car and left on the side of the road. . She had broken her back and multiple bones and joints in her hind legs. Because she didn’t receive immediate care, her body did not heal well. It’s hard to imagine the pain she suffered…
She was first completely paralyzed, but due to swimming therapy she partly regained some feeling and can now partially use her right back leg.

When Irene  first saw her on a picture on the internet Jessie crawled straight into her heart. When she first met her at the airport she crawled deeper into her heart and soon … she deeply embedded in all our hearts!

If I have to describe her with one word, then it would be HAPPY with capitals and exclamation! If you only look at her she puts a smile on your face and somehow she is always smiling too. She is very open and happy in life, embraces all with great joy and walking/running around like life is one big party.

I have often been amazed what she can do with her body, she is very handy to use her body in the most optimal way. She just climbs into the wood hedge, come across high borders, lifts herself in a basket, and she even goes up and down the stairs! Going down she just moves her buttock on every step of the stairs (and she can do that very quickly) and up she pushes herself up with her front legs. Really amazing!  Of course Irene don’t let her do that too often because it requires a lot of muscle work at the front. But it’s clear she has a lot of energy and a huge willpower.

O and she is also a very fanatical digger, our whole garden has had a big metamorphosis.

When people hear about Jessie her disability or they only see her briefly in passing by or on a photo, they sometimes give Irene comments that ‘this is not dog worthy, you can better put her to sleep’ or ‘how sad it is for her’ …
Well, the nice thing is that if people look better and really see how Jessie experiences her life, they are completely amazed at how Jessie enjoys her life. They also see that we just let her be herself, she is not a disabled dog, but Jessie. She gives great life lessons and we are all very grateful and really happy that Jessie and we came on each other’s path.

Jessie has a particularly special place in her heart for me J. She often lies together with me, sometimes with her head softly on my body, that’s so nice.

I think it’s very clear how Jessie enjoys her life here and how we enjoy her being with us. She is such an amazing soul, so full of life and enjoying every moment intensely!