Jasper got his name from a rock. As you can see in the photo below he was golden brown with a spray of black on his overcoat. (Click on the photo.) I didn’t think he was a very good-looking puppy, as puppies go, so he would need a nice name. Since his coat looked so much like one of my favorite stones, picture jasper, that’s what I would name him.
Looking back at this photo, taken the first night I had him, I can’t imagine why I didn’t think he was the most adorable puppy on the planet, but I didn’t. Maybe it was that smell thing he had going on. Or perhaps it was his complete disregard for me. From the moment I brought him into the house he acted as though I was someone who lived in his house and was there to take care of him.
He gave me no love, no cuddles, no sweetness. He was demanding and distant. He bit me, scratched me, walked between my legs tripping me up, he didn’t want to sit on my lap and was generally incorrigible. And he loved men. He went nuts over the pool man, the mail man, the gardener. It was embarrassing. My rescue dog could care less if I lived or died.
I became determined to understand him. Terrier being the only identifiable part of him, I bought a generic book on terriers. Never having been owned by one before, I thought perhaps there was something terriers specifically needed that I didn’t know to provide. The book did not provide any answers to that question, however I did learn that their self-assured arrogance is genetically hard-wired. Self-confidence is a positive trait. However, it’s my opinion that one can be confident without being aloof. This puppy was both and I didn’t much care for his attitude. I wanted to be loved, appreciated! I saved this dog from a terrible fate and I wanted to at least be liked.
As I came to know him, I found Jasper to be a very complex personality. His love is subtle, but evident. When I leave the house he sleeps on my bed which is near the front of the house so he can hear my car come into the driveway. I was away for a week recently. When I returned, he was so excited that he forgot he was Mr. Cool and licked my face all over and made funny little sounds of happiness. I adore this dog and in his own way he adores me right back. Life is good.
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