Jesse and Dodger

For those of you who might be unaware, Jamie and I have two dogs. Two wonderful dogs. Their names are Jesse and Dodger. Here is their story:

While living in our shithole cottage in West Seneca, I persuaded our landlady to let us get a "small" dog. She always said that there were no pets allowed but Jamie and I were good tenants...she conceded. That day, literally THAT day, Jamie and I went doggy hunting. We went to the SPCA in Erie County to no avail and then decided to trek on out to the Niagara County SPCA. We walked in and saw a beautiful, blond Shepherd mix. She was the only dog not barking and she sat there looking at us like she knew we were going to choose her. Mind you: we had looked at and walked about 30 other dogs that day...how she knew is beyond me. Well...

We asked the man-on-duty if we could take her out to play. (Tangent: the Niagara County SPCA is MUCH nicer than the Erie County one. They have a gated outdoor play area where the dogs don't have to be leashed...it is cleaner and the people are nicer.) We took Jesse out and she was wonderful. She loved us and we immediately fell in love with her. She showered us with kisses, rolled around on the ground with us, came to us when we called "here girl". She was a dream come true. Jamie and I looked at each other and we knew. (Tangent #2: I didn't tell Jamie that his landlady said we could get a "small" dog.)

We decided that she would be our dog. I signed my life away and we paid $60 for her. We immediately went to PetSmart (I THINK they had PetSmart back then), picked up a few things and went home. While we were driving home, we tried to come up with a name. We already had Joey and Jamie...I was determined to name her a "J" name as well...but a name that wasn't gender specific...sort of like Joey and Jamie. Jesse stuck. She was, and continues to be, a wonderful dog. Granted, we've had some hurdles to cross but, all in all, she's been great.

(Tangent #3: in between Jesse and Dodger, we (I) got a cat. Jamie hates cats. We named her Jordan. They got along just fine but (long story short) after we moved things didn't work out. I mention this only to reiterate my penchant for non-gender based "J" names.)

A few years later, I decided to get another dog. I really wanted a Jack Russell (Eddie looked so cute on "Frasier") and I was determined to get one. I had researched Jacks for a while and came across a breeder in Medina. She was awesome and (again, long story short) I picked out Dodger when he was only 6 days old. We spent WAY too much money for a dog but he was/is worth it. Now...how did I come up with Dodger, you ask? Well...

Jack Russells are very mischievous, smart and sneaky. I once played an equally mischievous, smart and sneaky role: The Artful Dodger. "There are no "j's" in that, Joe." Yeah, I know. BUT...the Artful Dodger's real name was Jack Dawkins...hence the "J". Not to mention, it is SO cliche to name your Jack, Jack...so I refrained.

I promise to bore you all with some of their good and bad stories...for now, however, I have to go give our puppies a big lick on the nose.