I had my heart set on a harlequin female…. no one was going to change my mind. I had no interest in showing - she was just going to be a pet. When I saw that Tracy had 2 pups left from her litter and one was a harl female (the other a mantle female) …. I made contact and just about begged for the harl…. She said she was keeping the harl but if I wanted the mantle girl I could have her - she wanted me to show her though…. Jim and I drove the 4 hours to NY to pick up the mantle girl…. and we brought home Jessie - Dulce’s Jessie’s Melody…….. and our lives changed forever…..
She taught me so much in her almost 14 years….. because of her I started showing in Conformation- hook.line and sinker….As much as I loved it Jessie, however, wasn’t a fan. She attained a few points but didn’t like the ‘show thing’ much at all. ( most likely because I was a nervous wreck every time we went…. I’m sure she picked up on that)…. we would get in the car on the way home and she would smother me with kisses - glad to be leaving…. so as beautiful as she was - a show dog she was not. At the time we got her we had just moved into our house in Higganum and we had two foster sons with us. They were 7 and 9 and they had come from a very bad situation…. Jessie never left their side … and when they had a bad day they would curl up with her and she was the only one that could calm them. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body - she loved everyone…. and everyone loved her. She especially loved children and when my grandchildren were born and came to visit she would get so excited….. she let them brush her and walk her around on a leash. If they tripped and fell she would right away come to their aid. She loved them. 
She gave us 2 beautiful litters of pups….. In 2006 she had 8 puppies - It was our first litter and the beginning of FOXRUN DANES. We kept Dozer, Sophie and Annie (Yeah - we didn’t know better at the time about keeping 3 puppies - it was a good lesson :o} ). In 2008 she had her second litter of 7 pups. She was the BEST mommy EVER….. not only to her own puppies but every litter that came after hers she was ‘Nanny’ to…. And all the pups loved her…. She helped raise every pup that we kept - Harleigh, Lacey, Chloe and Tori….. They all felt safe with Jessie and would curl up with her wherever she was. She tolerated all their puppy antics and would just look at us with that maternal look. 
She was the absolute stubbornness dog I’ve ever met! When she wanted something she was going to get it - she would persist and persist until we would finally give in…. She always managed to get that ‘one last cookie’ as she would look at us with her ears down like the ‘beaten’ dog….
She was such a strong girl…. in all her years we never heard her complain once. Even the last few years when I’m sure she was hurting sometimes…. she never showed it. At 12 1/2 she had gall bladder surgery and came through that with flying colors…. She started losing strength in her back end at about 13 and we needed to support her with a sling to help her walk. I knew then that we would never let her suffer but as long as she had the will to live and she was happy we were going to do whatever it took to be there for her…… the best dog ever. Her hind end became weaker and weaker and about 4 months ago she couldn’t support her back legs at all… so we became her legs…. and we had a cart that she could ride in to cruise around her yard. Through all this … and because of her stubborness - she NEVER peed in the house - she would let us know when she had to go out and we would take her out. The rest of her pack was constantly checking in on her and they would take turns laying with her…. she loved it - it showed …. She knew she was special and we all loved her so much. 
Yesterday morning she was breathing differently … not gasping but taking longer, deeper breaths…. I knew it was time. I held her close with my face buried in her neck sobbing and wondering how I was ever going to say goodbye to her ….. I kissed her face and she looked at me and gave me so many kisses…… We both knew…..she was ready. I knew at that moment that my heart was breaking. Jessie was there for me through so many things… she taught me so much… She loved so deeply. She will always live on in my heart……I wish I could just hold her one more time….. I know that it will get easier as time passes…… The rest of the pack is staying close. I want to thank all of you who have expressed their sympathies and support… it means so much to us - more than I can say. We will go forward from here feeling so grateful that we had Jessie….. She was one in a million….. truly - one in a million. Thank you Tracy Powell for the mantle girl that changed our lives forever…… she was just amazing!