Jaspers road to recovery

One year ago today..Jasper was let out into our fenced yard early in the morning, no one realized that the gate was not secured. Jasper found his way out of the yard and was hit by a fast moving car on the highway.  Today is not the day he lost his leg but the day he lost use of his leg.  (Surgery to remove his leg was on the 13th of February 2015)

In just a few days it will be the one year anniversary of Jasper’s “new ” life as a 3 legged dog. Some of this video is hard to see, but please know he is happy, healthy and living each day to the fullest.
When his accident 1st happened my thoughts were of the worst possible outcomes and trying to figure out how to say goodbye to my best friend, and toBrittany‘s service dog. Then the vet came out and told us he was going to survive and that he had A LOT of fight left in him.
Just a few days after his accident we had to figure out how to raise funds for his surgery and learn how to take care of a tripawd. But we did it… Could have not been done without the help, prayers and people with connections and sharing to get our story out to more people.
I am happy to report back that Jasper will be celebrating his one year anniversary with lots of loves, lots of cuddles and a visit to the wonderful vet hospital that saved his life! I wish I could thank each and everyone that donated to his surgery fund, everyone that held us in your thoughts/prayers, and to everyone that listened to me cry. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

 

 

One of my friends on facebook posted cute pictures of her Golden dressed up….. well once Jasper saw it he decided that he wanted in on all the fun….. and as everyone knows once a Golden has their mind on something they won’t leave ya’ alone until you do it…. so we played dress up!!

 

 

And somewhere or another Jasper heard that Blond Golden’s have more fun…….

My beautiful boy at the airport today to see my mom off…. He walked through out the airport, got lots of pets, and recognized from being on the news when his accident 1st happened. Even a HUGE  Boise police officer could not resist petting him. Jasper is one happy and spoiled puppy dog!!! He was not to fond of the elevator and the escalator was a big NO!

 

I hate that I can’t update more but there is not much to say Jasper is doing so well. He is very happy and not slowing down anytime soon. His biggest complaint since the accident is he tires out a little bit quicker and that is it. He usually always has a ball in his mouth waiting for some one to play with him, he loves playing with his little brother Rosco (Border Collie), chasing the cats only to catch them and grab their tails and drag them across the wood floor. The older cat seems to enjoy this weird play, but the kitten is unsure of what is going on.  He is still on his special diet from his vet and now weighs a perfect 60 pounds so since his accident in Feb. Jas has lost over 20 pounds. 🙂  But again his weight is probably what saved him when he got hit by that car.

With all the foster kids in and out of our home Jasper is loving all the attention of the kids, and he is great therapy for kids that come to us “broken”, kiddo’s that feel like they have no reason to smile, trust or love again. Jasper knocks those walls down and shows them that even though you are broken you cant give up on life. It is so awesome to see the kids hug on him and slowly they start to trust, smile and love again.

 

I would love to give a big shout out to Murphy’s mom and Dad who gave Jasper Murphy’s lifejacket…. we decided today was the day to try it out and see how Jasper does.

To start with he ran down the walk way to the waters edge and jumped in before I could get the life jacket on him (Next time its going on as soon as we unload from the car) and he took off swimming like fish…. got him to the shore and got his life jacket on him and off he went.  He loved being back in the water… you could see the smile on his face the whole time he was there.

Today was also the 1st time Jasper jumped off a dock…. the 1st time was more like a slid of the dock and then he started jumping off (YES into deep water so not to hurt him self)….

When it was time to go he was a pain in the butt!!! We all got out and he decided he was not going to come with us and kept swimming farther and farther away…. When someone swam to get him he went further. I tried walking to the car to see if he would follow and he would swim to the shore and just stand there but when some one tried to grab him he would take off and swim deeper…. finally some boys grabbed his handle on his life jacket and got him to the shore so I can get the leash on him and I SWEAR he pouted the whole way back to the car.

Happy 4th of July from Jasper and Family…. Be safe

Talking to a old friend and talking about Jasper and can you guys believe it has been 4 months 3 days since his surgery!!! At times if feels like it was just yesterday I was sitting at the vet office crying my eyes out not knowing if my boy was going to make it and wondering how I was going to tell the kids that he didn’t make it…. And then then most days I don’t see him as being a disabled dog that this is just our “normal” everyday life. But I know there is NO WAY I could have made it through this whole ordeal without the love and support of everyone……

 

Blue really loves his Jasper!! They are always together. Some times I think Jas gets annoyed at how clingy Blue can be.

Jasper is doing amazing! Most days I forget that he is “disabled”…

Last week I took him to Brittany’s Resource special ed class, she did a report on Golden Retrievers and she brought Jas in to show and tell. The kids were awesome with him as he was with them. It was good for the kids to see that just because he looks different and may have some limitations he is just like every other dog. They were surprised to see him run down the hallway after a ball, and to hear that he can still dig huge holes in the yard (I know bad Jasper!!). My parting message was just because he is “disabled” doesn’t mean he is out of the game!!

Can you guys believe it has been 99 days ( 3 months 9 days) since his surgery!!! Some days it feels like it was just yesterday and then some days if feels like it has been forever!!

Without each one of you and your thoughts/prayers, calling me checking on Jasper, being there for me to cry to… I DO NOT KNOW WHERE WE WOULD BE TODAY. Thank you all so much for being there for Jasper and my self. I would also like to say a HUGE THANK YOU TO SNAKE RIVER VET CLINIC …  If you guys are ever in our area and need a caring, compassionate, loving, gentle vet please look up Snake River Vet Clinic they will love your baby like he/she was one of their own!!!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

 

How is possible to love a dog so much?

Every day I look at Jasper and each day I love him more than the day before….

He is such a character a big goof ball!!!