Ornamental Illness

I haven’t written about Jasper much lately, so I think it’s about time for a Pupdate.

I apologize for not having a picture. At the time of this writing, I am snuggled down on the couch with both dogs, so I can’t be bothered to uproot myself to get a camera….oh wait…I HAVE a camera…on my laptop…hang on…ok…here:

So not as high quality as an actual CAMERA photo, but it will do. He was moving a lot too…trying to steady a laptop while holding a wiggly Boston is not easy. Notice how his tearstains have diminished? I don’t know why they were more noticeable as a puppy. He had his nine month birthday the other day. We took him to a pet store and let him pick out a toy…a stuffed jack-type shape.

Jasper is a nut. He LOVES my perfume. It doesn’t matter what kind…my own creations or commercial…he likes to sniff and lick my wrists. I try not to let him lick so he won’t lick it off me, as it wouldn’t be good for him and defeats the purpose of perfume, which is necessary with a Boston as I’ll get to in a minute. No other pet we’ve had, except for long-departed Natasha the Cat, has liked perfume. Most dogs and cats I’ve had really don’t like human perfume at all. Dogs especially prefer natural animal odors, and the stinkier the better. I don’t know what it is about Jasper, or Natasha for that matter, that makes them like the sweet smells.

Stan and I always kid around about what the animals would do or be if they were human. This will vary greatly from puppy/kittenhood to the time they are an adult. As a puppy, I always said Plato would be either a musician or a demolition expert. By the time he died, I realized Plato would’ve been the next Stephen Hawking. When he was younger, he would stare at my art, which would cause him to spin around, stare more at the art, and spin more. We said he was contemplating stars going around in his head. We were watching a Discovery show with Stephen Hawking at the time Plato was dying. They reminded me of eachother in a strange way.

Jasper has the makings of a musician and demolition expert as well (especially demolition of office supplies and personal care products such as emory boards, carmex tubes and unused feminine hygiene products). Jasper is a very musical dog, but his musicality is more in terms of what he does with squeak toys. He LOVES squeak toys, and makes great rhytyhmic sounds with them. Plato actually HATED the squeaker and would try very hard to remove the device from all toys that contained it. Plato’s musicality came more from his own voice…he used to sing as he whined. He sang so well until we boarded him for a few weeks one year (while taking Hieronymus with us…bad mistake–never, ever ever separate the pack…either board both or take both with). He was so lonely without Hieronymus, when we came to pick him up, he was practically hoarse from barking so much. He never sang right again. If Jasper and Plato could’ve known eachother when they were both young, Plato would be the singer and Jasper would be the musician. Jasper also clucks like a chicken. Sometimes we call him Chicken Dog.

Jasper is also an artist. We gave him some toys that were made of colorful synthetic rope. He shreded the rope, which created such beautiful fiber art. Hieronymus, named after Bosch, was supposed to be the Art Dog, but his vision was way too bad.

Jasper is a very social dog, loves to meet new people, very submissive with new dogs…very unlike Plato in that way. In other ways he reminds me so much of him….the way he “moops”, the way he “oofs” (must be universal Boston Terrier noises)…and the bad gas. Actually, as far as external body odor, I think Boston Terriers are the absolute best smelling dogs there are. You can put your nose right up against their body and they will smell so good…no doggy odor. Even Pugs, which are also very clean smelling dogs, do have a certain “Pug odor.” But not Bostons. Their short coat and lack of wrinkles probably help in that regard. However, do a search on “Boston Terrier Gas” and you will find that they are probably one of the smelliest dogs in that regard. They are very gassy. This is why I like need scented candles and perfume. But I’d much rather have a clean-smelling but gassy dog than a low-fart dog that has that constant doggy fur stink.

I just wish Jasper and Tim could’ve known each other as well as the other dogs knew Tim.