Our Little Jager

We got Jager, like Guinness, at the Durham Animal Shelter. I was looking online one day and saw him on the website. He was named Hank and I knew I wanted him. I convinced Matt to go and look and as soon as we walked in we saw him! He was out in the lobby and I knew that, as I always say to Matt, that it was meant to be. He was so freaking cute!

Jager and Guinness got a lot pretty well. We decided to hook up their cages to one giant one so they could be together during the day. Jager was pretty well behaved except for a few memorable incidents. He stole a part of a Christmas ham, our door blew open and left our house and went into our neighbor's house and went to sleep in their living room, and of course, there was the time he ate almost everything under our Christmas tree.

The afternoon that we were supposed to leave for WV for Christmas we heard some scratching nosies at our front door. We unlocked the door to find Jager had unwrapped and eaten a whole mess of gifts under the tree, including his and Guinness's gift. He chewed up rawhides, treats, wrapping paper, gift cards and lord know what else. He was a still small but his belly was HUGE. We were worried that he would have some major digestive issues while driving five hours to WV. Thankfully, he slept it off during the ride to WV.

In 2013, Jager was diagnosed with diabetes which was a huge shock. We started him on insulin shots twice a day and had to monitor his sugar with a glucose meter. Shorty, after being diagnosed with diabetes his eyesight got worse and one day we was completely blind. We took him to a dog ophthalmologist and made an appointment to have cataract surgery. The ophthalmologist said that when Jager woke up from the surgery he immediately wanted to get up and go once we realized he had his sight back.

As the years went on, he had a few minor issues with increased protein levels and infections, but all in all he was pretty healthy. In the most recent months, we noticed that he wasn't doing well and finally, when his back legs were no longer working, we knew it was time.

Jager was always good for snuggling. He loved to sniff people's ears. He hated to get his paws wet and refused to go out when it was raining. We affectionally called him "Princess Pretty Paws". He loved squeaky toys and having his ears rubbed. He loved licking plates, especially when we had pasta. He was great at catching popcorn when Matt popped popcorn from the popcorn maker.

Everyone knows that putting a pet down is truly heartbreaking. We had Guinness and Jager almost as long as we have been married. It has been difficult without him, but we are getting through it. We still have our crazy, Sammy, who is still a handful at two and half.

I would like to thank Dr. Brink at Falls Village Veterinary Hospital for always being there for us. She takes amazing care of all our dogs and is amazing.

Even though a piece of our heart is gone, we know he is at peace.