Jasper

Jasper arrived in our lives on the 22^nd March 2017.  We had seen the beautiful photos of him on the BDW site and instantly fell in love with him.  Having lost our beloved Dally boy very suddenly at the end of last year (2016) we were ready for a new spotty friend in our lives again.

We collected 3 yr old Jasper on a stormy day at a motorway service station on the M27.  We’ll never forget the nerves and excitement as we waited for his arrival – Would he like us?  How would he settle in?  He had come from a very devoted family who had reluctantly reached the decision to put him up for adoption through very difficult circumstances.  Because of the love he had been shown in his previous home he greeted us warmly and enthusiastically.  With tail wagging and trusting demeanour he gave us both an exuberant ‘Hello!’, which literally knocked us off our feet!  And from that beginning our relationship with lovely Jasper has gone from strength to strength.

Of course Jasper understandably was a little homesick at first, but this manifested itself in him being rather quiet and taking his time to familiarise himself with his new surroundings in a calm and inquisitive way – very unlike the typical Dalmatian he has now proved himself to be three to four months later – the ‘Here I Am’  Jasper!  He is such a wonderful character – mischievous and intelligent with so many amusing traits – he knows exactly what he wants and how to achieve it!  He loves all sorts of ball games, especially the slinger, and will play for hours.  He looks forward to his walks and of course his mealtimes with gusto. He is good at reminding us of both should they slip past their due time.  He has started using his Dally grin to his best advantage.

Jasper is still such a puppy in a lot of his behavioural traits, with curiosity aplenty, making birds fly out of his garden and loving to have a good long stare at stone ornaments of foxes and badgers on one of his walks, waiting for the chase which never materialises.  It has to be said he is not all that fond of other dogs, but we think this is more a nervous trait than an aggressive one.  He is happy enjoying long walks with our daughter’s dog, a Patterdale/Jack Russell cross called Tilly  – both eager to be the first to find the best scents. He also loves using Tilly’s bed, even though it’s much too small for him!  We are convinced that he would be fine with most dogs once he was comfortable with them.  This is still work in progress, and we look forward to many happy adventures in the years ahead with our new and loyal pal.  Jane & Stuart