Jasper
Walt Disney said “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” I’m reasonably sure that when he said ‘dreams’, he meant ‘aspirations’, or ‘goals’ …but maybe not. Maybe he meant ‘visions’. Those words are all related. Mr. Disney was consumed by imagination and fantasy and sadly, he isn’t here to ask for clarification.
Let me tell you a story about a dream I had.
In January (or there about…can’t remember exactly) I had a dream about a dog. I couldn’t really see the dog clearly, and didn’t know what breed he was. But what came through loud and clear in the dream was his personality, a specific trait…and his name. When I woke up, I told my husband “Our next dog will be named Jasper. I don’t know when or how…but Jasper is going to be ours.” What kind of dog was Jasper, he wanted to know. Seriously, I replied, “I don’t know…I can’t see him clearly. But he has one ear up and one ear down and he is a complete NUT.”
My husband, used to my strangely vivid dreams shrugged in acceptance and went back to preparing for work.
Over the course of a couple of months, I would occasionally dream of Jasper. Just fleeting thoughts, in a hodgepodge of images and feelings. I would wake in the morning convinced that Jasper was out there…somewhere. But, we really weren’t in a position to get another dog. The Queen of our household, a Lab named Raven, was set in her ways, and a little bit jealous. I looked at dogs at PetsMart while shopping, and while they were all worthy and deserving, none of them pulled at my heartstrings. None of them was the mysterious Jasper of my dreams.
On Thursday April 15, my husband sent me an email with a website link for a dog available for adoption. ‘Isn’t he cute’, he wrote. ‘Yes’, I wrote back, ‘but he’s no Jasper’. Back and forth for most of the morning we went. He’d email me a link and say “look at Pepe”…”did you see Gordo?”…”how ‘bout Tanner?”…again and again I wrote back that they were nice, but not Jasper.
And then I found him.
Jasper.
His name really was Jasper; a sort-of salt and pepper Aussie Sheppard mix. He was very subdued in his picture. I sent the link to my husband who called me and said “That’s not your Jasper. Both ears are down. He looks sad.”
The website had a phone number. When the lady answered the phone, I said (as calmly as I could muster) that I was calling to ask about Jasper. She launched into the story of why she had to get rid of him, and that he was really a very good dog, just not right for her. I asked questions, and all of her answers sounded reasonable and logical. Shot record? Yep. Regular vet care? Yep. Good with other animals? Well, occasionally (and accidently) killed her chickens. I assured her I didn’t have any chickens, and said that we’d like to come meet Jasper sometime. That’s when I told her it would be about a 5 hour drive to get from my house to hers. I could hear the shock in her voice when she asked me how I had heard about Jasper’s search for a new home. When I told her I saw him on the internet, she said “Oh, that is such a horrible picture of him. He is usually such a happy guy; running around with one ear up and one ear down…You’re the first person to call, and that site’s been up since January.” Goosebumps. I tried to stay calm. I finished my conversation and hung up with a shaky hand. When I called my husband, I was crying.
We drove up that very weekend to bring my Jasper home.
When we met at Jasper’s old house, he barked once when I got out of the car. I rushed forward to meet him, and without hesitation, I cradled his ears in my hands and put my forehead to his forehead, my nose to his nose. He licked my face and that was it. The woman stood surprised and blurted out “Oh my goodness; it’s like he knows you!”
Of course he did; we’d been dreaming about each other.
Have the courage to pursue your dreams, whatever they may be.
—LisaMarie
