Inquisitive & Intelligent
Loyal & Obedient
Playful & Fun-Loving
Eager to Please
The Life of the Party
Bosom Buddy
Watching this dynamic duo train & play at a local park I couldn’t help but remember my own German Shepherd Dog, Jessica.
I named her after the little girl next door whose father was shot down over North Vietnam on the very day his daughter was born.
Jessica’s sire was the #1 German Shepherd Dog in the United States in 1969, Grand Victor Ch. Arno von der Kurpfalzhalle, SchH III.
I trained Jessica in three languages: English, German, and hand signals. At the time I was involved with a local Schutzhund training club. We met each Saturday morning in a vacant field next to the Burbank Airport. I was the kid in the padded suit foolishly playing the role of “agitator”.
I don’t have very many pictures from back then. But here’s a short slideshow spliced together from some faded images I recently discovered in an old shoebox.
Jessica was my constant companion. We roamed the country from coast to coast in my little orange VW. She lived to be almost 13 years old. When the time came I chose to have her put to sleep on my birthday.
Jessica: February, 1972 – December, 1984
I really liked this post. The photos and commentary are great and though I still have dogs in my home, this post reminded me of one of my best friends, a mutt that I saved from euthanasia as a pup.
My Beltrami was so tuned to me that even when I was 5 minutes away in a car, she would go to the front door and start barking and wagging her tail. Do dogs have ESP? I think some do.
I know this is a cliche, but dog spelled backward is….
I have really enjoyed the posts on God. Excellent questions and points raised. I always look forward to your posts.
Thanks, Beth. Yes, dogs are the kind of friends we never forget!
Lovely tribute to Jessica! I loved the pictures of her with the orange VW in the background! That says it all … your faithful travel companion on the road of life through thick and thin. I think dogs are with us in those moments that seem insignificant at the time, when you’re not really doing anything … but in retrospect those are the moments that count the most. Nice to see those officers playing with their four-legged colleague. Jessica was a beauty, and that last picture by the water really shows her off.
Thanks, Claudia. I know that you have recently lost a great friend in Sadie. In that regard it’s funny that Jessica seems as much with me now as she was 40 years ago. A friend that much a part of you never dies.
Moved to tears. You’ve had the best with her. And of course too, the best yet to come differently, but again, with these most precious friends who live so briefly in our arms then for eternity in our hearts. Jessica is very beautiful. I’m glad I met her here.
“Eternity in our hearts” is absolutely right! Thanks…