RIP Jett the Australian Kelpie

Jett the Australian Kelpie

November 6, 1999 - February 8, 2013

David and I are so sad to say good-bye to our friend and companion of nearly a dozen years. Jett was rescued from a puppy mill breeding operation when she was around a year old. She spent her formative time locked in a crate and was never properly socialized. When we got her she was afraid of flowers and long grass and even her own shadow. She remained somewhat suspicious of strangers all of her life, though she loved children and puppies, other dogs and her cat, Tiger-Lily. It seems likely, too, that the poor nutrition and bad conditions she experienced in that formative time contributed to the crippling arthritis that led to her passing.

Though she wasn’t keen on grown-up humans, Jett had the warmest heart and the fear she felt never translated into mean, even in the most trying situations. Over the years people often told us how good it was of us to take on a dog with so many challenges, but we really never felt that. She was the sweetest dog either of us had ever met and she thanked us for sharing our lives with her in so many ways, every single day.

It sounds trite to say we miss her, but that really doesn’t even begin to cover it. If good dogs do, in fact, go to heaven, we have no doubt that Jett is there, running as fast as she can, happy to feel the wind whip at her spectacular ears and to be finally free of pain.