Jasper, My rescue dog

by Leslie
(Oakland Ca)

I am finishing a divorce and my husband would never let me get a dog. However, Jasper and I became a family February 27, 2014. I visited him 3 times at the Oakland , CA Animal Services Animal shelter. When I went there, I did not know Cotons existed. I was looking for a gentle dog to keep me company and to be my walking partner around the lake which is right out my front door.

Snowy shared a kennel with an 8 month Maltipoo- mostly poodle. Snowy was billed as a Maltipoo -mostly Maltese.This poodle kept whacking at him and Jasper(AKA Snowy) just sat and took little nudges and pats from his shelter mate. Jasper just sat there. The pound grades dogs on personality. 3 being aggressive, 2 -normal and 1 was more shy or submissive. Out of all of the pit bulls and larger dogs, there were no 3s. Every dog there was a 2 except for Snowy. He was a 1.

However, when we had visits with him , he would prance around which was really cute I thought. Snowy had been a stray and that is the only history I had. It took me 3 visits to get all of the paper work right . Every member of the family had to meet Snowy before adoption. This was my sister and me. I had filled out an application on how I would react with him in different situations. I had to have a copy of my rental lease and a statement from the apartment manager that accepting Snowy/Jasper was OK.

Snowy had his chipped put in and was neutered and came home to us that night. This along with his vaccination, dog license and fees came to $145. I took him home and got him several toys( that he does not like), treats, 2 beds and lots of clothes. He was a stray the pound said, but I can tell that he was loved. He will let you sort of comb and brush him and baths are not too bad. It is very easy to put his Puppia harness on. when we go out side. He knows and gets this happy howl.

The service said to talk him to the Vet the first week. Well I did, and the Vet said she did not think that he was a Maltipoo. She said that she thought that he was mostly Coton De Tulear. I said what ? I made her write it down. I went home and studied up on Cotons and yes he mostly fits the bill. He has one ear that looks like a Westie Highland Terrier but the other could be Coton. He does not have he all black nose and his eyeliner on one eye stops mid way. Mostly he seems Coton though- especially his long fur. He had to have 7 teeth pulled (2 major extractions and 5 minor extractions) . The extractions plus a teeth cleaning cost $500. This plus adding a $600 Rental Deposit on my apartment were Jasper's initial costs. That being said, He has been worth every penny. He is guestimated to be 5-6 years old and I hope that we have many happy years together.

A funny thing about his new name Jasper is we have made it French. I often call him Jaspaar Coo-tawn. I say this with a French accent. It is kind of fun! He knows it now. He is just "Jasper" for short. This was his name before I knew he was a Coton. I think that it is a great Coton name though for a boy dog.

He wakes me up in the morning with kisses and pounces on me and I throw on some clothes and we go down the elevator and out the door to take care of business and walk along the water. He loves walking on the edge and even a little down the slope. Jasper loves birds. He loves ducks especially. On the leash, he will sometimes chase the ducks. After 15-20 mins or so we come back in and I get ready for work.
My sister walks him at lunch and then I get him when I get home and then before we go to bed we go out again.

We live in a really dog friendly building so he gets to see other dogs. At first he was shy and quiet like at the pound, but sometimes he now barks at other dogs. I have to reassert myself and make sure that I leave the apartment first and enter the elevator first and mostly try to stay with or a couple of steps ahead(pretty hard unless I keep him on a short leash). He picks and chooses who he will bark at and I am working on this.

Anyhow, he has a pretty good life I think. Somebody is with him most of the hours of the day for now. I live on the 20th floor and keep my sliders open so he is in and out on the balcony all day and night.

Thanks for listening. I'll keep you posted!