Our boy Jester

Brian and I have had Dalmatians ever since we've been married (13 years). We got our first dog Riley as a puppy. I'd never had a dog before and I was really in for a surprise! Riley was a very energetic, lovable, hell on wheels type of puppy. He liked to chew the corners of walls, window sills and spindles on staircases. We quickly realized that the key to taming Riley and correcting his behavior was to get another dog - Spencer. Note - this was actually our first mistake.

Spencer was offered for $50 in the paper. He was really cute and energetic as well. We thought he'd be a perfect match for Riley and then we'd never have to walk them again. They could just play together, right? Wrong. But, things got easier and we liked the chaos of having two dogs.

Then our beloved Riley died. We were distraught, devastated, sad beyond belief. I stayed home from work for 2 days crying it hurt so bad. Just having one dog (Spencer) felt so empty and miserable. So, about one month later we started looking for a replacement for Riley. Note - this was our second mistake.

We worked with an organization called Spots of Seattle. The women there said she had two dalmatians available, a female puppy and a male 9 month old, or so. I really wanted a female puppy but I told her to bring along the male just for fun.

When we saw the puppy, she was really cute and little and we liked her. But, the woman really wanted to show us the male she had brought as well. She brought Jester out of the car and I knew immediately I wanted him. He had the exactly same mannerisms that Riley did. It was freakish! So, Spencer got a new brother named Jester and life was back to normal. Right.

How could you not love this face.

We were assured a couple of things about Jester:

1. He was about 50 pounds, as tall as Spencer and done growing. 
2. He could stay in the house alone all day.
3. He got along fine with cats.

Turns out Jester kept growing. He grew to about 80 lbs and about 3 inches taller than Spencer. He also could not stay in the house by himself. The first day we tried letting him stay in the house ended in a trip to the vet where they induced vomiting. Apparently eating a pan of brownies is not good for dogs. And, not that I had a cat at the time, but Jester wanted to kill all cats. But, as time went by, he turned out great. He and Spencer got along pretty well too!

Jester and Spencer enjoying a ray of sunshine.

Jester had such a fun personality. He was a clown and always doing something to make us laugh at him. He would actually laugh and always greet us with a smile when we came home. He was just so much fun. We really cherished every moment we had with him. 

Jester in the throws of a good "flop" session. 

Jester started having health problems around 5 years old. He began to have seizures. The medication they put him seemed to control them just fine. Then, he developed pancreatitis. He had to put on special food and could no longer have dog treats. Instead we gave him plenty of other things like steak, chicken, vegetables. He managed quite well.

Then around 7 years of age we found out he had congestive heart failure. It came on with an episode of coughing that would not go away. We took him to the vet and were shocked to learn that he only would have a couple of months left.  I didn't quite believe it. He seemed normal to us. Yes, he had slowed down a bit but we didn't think it would be as serious as it was. We got the news in July and really had no idea how much time we'd have left with him. 

Jester, Spencer and I waiting for our friend Karen in the Capitol marathon. 

The vet put him on 5 different medications and we tried to manage as best we could. Over the next couple of months, we cherished the moments we had with him. I was still a little bit in denial. He really didn't seem to bad to me. He went for daily walks, ate, played, slept like normal. He was just a little bit more tired. 

His coughing came back one weekend that we were planning to go out of town for a bike race. Foolishly I felt like we could still take him to the kennel. Brian ultimately decided to stay back with Jester while I went to the race. I very much regret this decision. Jester died the following Monday with Brian at his side. He had a seizure and it was too much for his poor heart to handle. 

That was September and now it is December. We learned from mistakes #1 and 2 and have not gotten another dog. We've gotten close and even filled out some rescue applications. It was eerily quiet in the house after Jester died. We hated it. 

My absolute favorite picture of Jester. Pure happiness. 

 We've come to terms with his absence and have begun to enjoy our one dog household. Spencer has a much more subtle personality and loves to cuddle. We've realized that he was sort of over-shadowed by Jester's big personality. Spencer has calmed down and is a great little companion. 


We miss our Jester. My favorite nickname for him was Boppy Face. He had such a cute face.