Jasper Lily at nine months!

I cannot believe I have had Jasper Lily for nine months. She has come SUCH a long way! I am so proud of her and how she has let her walls down and embraced her new life. I also cannot believe how much her personality has changed from the first couple of months. She is still pretty submissive in general but finding more and more confidence. Unlike Shelby, she definitely knows that she is not the “alpha dog” in this house but she is testing her boundaries more and more. I like to call it “channeling her inner Shelby”.

For example, I left for work the other day and forgot something and came back upstairs and saw Jasper slinking out of the kitchen – a place where she never spends anytime and frankly had NO business being in. It reminded me so much of how Shelby would do that and that usually ended in total destruction of the trash can.

Today I got home from a couple spin classes and found a nail file destroyed on the floor – next to her overflowing box of toys.

Last night we went for cocktails at the local Mexican place and she forgot ALL her manners and barked like a bad ass (we were outside), pulled on the leash and was an overall “PITA” (pain in the ass).

And her barking….. oh her barking.  This is so not a non-barking dog! She has found her voice, from the bark, to the low growl to the constant moaning … she has SO much to say all the time. I don’t mind barking for an alert but I hate that when I tell her quiet or enough or shut the F up (not proud) she does not stop. Usually, she will bark and then switch to the low-growl which is still hilarious to me.

But she’s perfect, from what I am told, at daycare. She cuddles with the staff, is quiet and a total darling. So maybe I bring it out in her?

It feels like she has always been here and yet it feels like Shelby just left. I definitely love little Jasper Lily and I definitely hover over her more than I ever did with Shelby. It was 90 yesterday at the beach and our power went out and thus no fans and I was busy icing Jasper’s ears and making sure she wasn’t hot all while knowing that dogs handle heat by panting and usually they are fine. She has taken to going under the bed and into her airplane carrier. She’s probably smarter about the heat than I am!

I still miss and talk to Shelby every day and feel every day, more and more, that Shelby had her paws in sending me Jasper. There is also so much of “Shelby” within Jasper that comforts me and yet Jasper is entirely her own dog. I know the two of them would have been fun pair to watch.

So nine months … if I was a real mom, that’s how long it would have taken to create a real baby … so it makes sense that it took about that amount of time to feel fully bonded to my new furbaby. She cuddles, she loves and she knows she is home. To see her happy warms my heart and soul.

Sorry I ate your nail file, madre.

Jasper is batman! Love those ears!

What, madre? You mean I cannot be on the kitchen counter?

Jasper’s Fort of the Day