Desperately Seeking Jasmine (er, Casey?)

I have fostered four dogs over the past few years. Of the four, I have been fortunate enough to know where three ended up. I know how they are doing.

Daisy, my first, lives with me and is doing very well despite a rough beginning. Clyde (formerly Pixel) is a Dalmatian and came to me scared, unsocialized and very attached to his sister. He is a wonderful dog. I really had a hard time giving him up. Fortunately, he was reunited with his sister, Bonnie (to which he is very attached), and both were adopted together. They now live with a wonderful woman who has been patient, understanding and kind with both of them. I even get to see them on occasion at the dog park!

My last two foster dogs, Jasper and Jasmine, are Shelties and were purchased by a kind woman who just wanted to get them out of a pet store that was in a deplorable condition. Both came to me scared, unsocialized and very attached to one another. I considered adopting one, but couldn’t choose between them so I eventually returned them both to the shelter to be adopted. As luck would have it, Jasmine passed her assessment with flying colors and was adopted right away by a couple. However, Jasper did not pass his assessment. He was too afraid to do all the things necessary to be assessed properly (he prefers to eat his food in private). So, he came back to live with me and Daisy. They have since become great friends and companions.

As a foster parent it is always hard when you have to say goodbye, but the “not-knowing” is the worst part. You can’t help but wonder how they are doing in their new homes with their new parents. Are they okay? Do they miss their sibling? What do they look like now that they are healthy and grown up?

All I know about Jasmine is this… she attended doggie daycare one day (soon after she was adopted) at a facility where my friend works and her name had been changed to Casey. That’s it. Nothing else.

So, day after day I look for her. Every time I see a Sheltie that looks like Jasmine my heart jumps a little. “Could that be her?”, I wonder. My deep desire to know how she is doing makes me approach the owner to ask “Is your dog’s name Jasmine or Casey?” Time after time the answer has been a curious “no”. It is then that I explain the purpose for my question. Everyone is kind and understanding, but unfortunately, they cannot help me. And so, I continue to search.

It is my one great desire to see her again, to know she is okay. It would be great to reunite her with her brother, Jasper, just for a play date, but I would be happy with just knowing how she is doing. So I continue to desperately search out that one dog, that one Sheltie, that looks like Jasmine in hopes of finding the answer to my questions. My hope is that I will someday I will get my wish.

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