Dear Friend Born December 1982 Gone from me March 2000

Forever and a day

I met Jasper on a cold winter day. I was running around the barn preparing our facility for a clinic. I can't recall the name if the the instructor but I do remember the litter of puppies that a recently adopted stray we called Missy, short for "missing" surprised us with under a hedge.

I know that somehow in the tumble of puppies he was the fellow for me. He just kept coming my way. He had a little hound face, the only pup in the little with a long tail and a gentlemanly demeaner. Jasper Julep Longtail fit the bill. To a T.

He became my heart, my second nature, my shadow. My friend of many adventures. I thank all my blessings that I knew him.

He taught me patience and wisdom, to savor what you love, to hug friends and family, to be openhearted. To be brave in the face of pain and discomfort.

And to forgive as generously.

To strive for the pure heartedness of a dog, be it purely to play, sneak a snack, run wildly through a field, or to kiss a nose is high praise.

I love you little boy.

When Jasper was 12, he was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus.

It was very scary as I did not know a thing about diabetes, much less diabetes in a dog. Jasper had been drinking a lot of water and was very weak. When his veterinarian, Kris Boudreaux, told me the news she gave me a big hug. I cried. Sheesh! Jasper looked at me and his face said "let's fix this shall we?"

With the help of Dr. B we began insulin treatment. Two shots a day seemed impossible, Jasper was my little heart and I knew he didn't like shots. We toughed the first eight months out together. My knowledge base was overshadowed by my denial. I figured we could march along with just shots. His highs and lows were a mystery to me and with only urine testing I just knew I wasn't totally helping him.

Fool, eh?

Finally I checked out a newsgroup, rec.pets or something equally huge. I posted a question about diabetes and received a very importand email from an awesome lady named Brenda. I joined an email list, which eventually evolved into www.petdiabetes.org, which is an awesome site, by and awesome person, Donna.

I can not explain how much I learned on the list. I learned to blood test, just like a human does, how to monitor, how to watch for symptoms, oh the list is endless. There are not words enough to thank the folks who helped me.

I am so grateful for the extra time I was able to have with Jasper.

.	Always in my heart	.