Jasmine was found roaming as a stray and ended up in a Virginia shelter. She was estimated to be about two years old and was found to be deaf. I was living in Maryland at this time and when Adopt A Boxer Rescue asked me to foster her, I never knew when I said yes that this girl would end up never leaving our home. Instead, she became a permanent member of our family until she passed in 2017.

Jasmine's personality was so incredibly sweet and she just loved everybody! She was always excited to meet people and no other dog could compare to her excitement when you would return home after being gone! She enthusiastically greeted you as if you had been gone a lifetime! I found out soon after Jasmine came to me that she was not only deaf and knew absolutely no sign language, but she suffered from severe anxiety and her social skills with other dogs was awkward at best but she did get along with other dogs. When left alone she would poop and pee in her crate and in the beginning it was so bad that every time I left her, I knew when I came home there would be a mess to clean up. But I was used to cleaning up after dogs having raised litters of puppies and I just looked at the situation no different than a puppy who needed cleaning up after. Thankfully I worked from home so was able to be with her most of the time and work with her and very quickly she started learning sign language. Her anxiety would always be with her but over time it improved greatly with having a stable routine and home life.

We fostered Jasmine for almost a year. At adoption events, people would fall in love with her initially and the deafness didn't seem to bother them but, once they found out she soiled her crate due to anxiety, they changed their mind. No one wanted this wonderful little girl. When I found out I was moving to Mississippi, the rescue advised me there was no other foster home available where someone was home most of the time to care for Jasmine. The rescue's only alternative was to put her in their boarding kennel. I knew, if this happened, the odds were no one would ever adopt her and she would be there indefinitely so, before we left Maryland to move to Mississippi, we adopted her and Jasmine officially became part of our family!

My other dogs always found her odd and did not understand her completely so they did't really interact with Jasmine, all except one anyhow..... my Maria was very patient with Jasmine and they played and wrestled. It was obvious Jasmine liked Maria too and she would lay close or on top of Maria when she was sleeping. Jasmine's crate issues eventually got to where she didn't poop in her crate every time but she usually did still pee, even if left for just 30 minutes. We were okay with that and were just happy to be able to share our life with this incredible and loving girl who no one else wanted. She had so many wonderful things about her that far outweighed any issues she had!

In May 2017 on a Saturday night, Jasmine was having trouble breathing. I rushed her to the Animal ER where they put her in an oxygen tent and toook x-rays to try to find out the cause. The next morning I was told she had a large mass in her chest cavity that was compressing her lungs. There was no option but to let her go. I went to the ER and she was so happy to see me but she was so tired. They said she had stayed up all night and never slept, no doubt because of her anxiety. Once she was in my arms she finally fell into a deep sleep. I held her and told her how much I loved her and let her have some time feeling safe and peaceful knowing she was not alone and felt comforted and loved with me. When the vet came in to give her the shot that would let her go, she never woke up from my arms and that is how she left, sound asleep, my voice telling her how much she was loved, while dreaming of what dogs dream...