Hello, Jessi
Yes, we have a new baby in the Hart household here at Tesoro Viejo in Madera County. Like almost every baby, Jessi is cute. She has the requisite two eyes and two ears, a nose that can sniff food from 100 yards away, and a mouth that can instantly inhale that food.
Jessi also has four legs because, you see, she is a dog. A Maltese mix, to be exact, though we do not know exactly what the “mix” is. We have no idea who her mother and father were because Jessi was abandoned in a farm field near Fresno, along with one brother and one sister.
They were found when they were about a week old. Their eyes were open, but they were too young to know how to eat. So the person who found them took them to the animal shelter, which called the Animal Compassion Team in Fresno. That organization bottle-fed the pups, gave them their shots and spayed and neutered them.
Then they named the pups and put their pictures on their website.
Now, you may well recall that we lost our beloved cat, Rocky, just before Thanksgiving. Rocky had been with the Hart family 17 years. We grieved when we had to have her euthanized, and to this moment, we still get emotional when we think of Rocky, which is often.
But Sharon had long wanted a dog. We did not want to burden Rocky with the task of accommodating someone or something new in her home, so we agreed to wait until after Rocky was gone to find just the right dog.
A few weeks ago, there we were, looking at websites, when we found Jessi. She was eight weeks old, cute, and we loved the name the ACT folks had given her.
The weekend before we picked her up, we went shopping at one of the “Pet” stores — Pet Smart or Petco. I can’t remember which. We got help from a friendly clerk and dropped a cool few hundred bucks at the store.
We thought we were ready.
Then — the following Wednesday — we drove to south Fresno and picked up Jessi. She weighed a bit more than two pounds.
And since then — it’s been Katie Bar the Door, in terms of our “learning” curve. And Jessi’s.
She is not the first dog we’ve had — but she’s the first we’ve gotten when we weren’t both working at fulltime jobs. So, we’re home all day — and determined to train her the right way in such things as going to the bathroom, walking on a leash — you know, the basics.
Well, there’s been a whole lot of training going on, all right. For us.
Jessi started out by using our house as her personal bathroom. Her favorite spot was in the front hallway, near our front door.
We’d spend an hour outside, playing with her and urging her to “go.” Then she’d come inside, and immediately head to that hallway.
Oh, my.
Well, we’ve pretty much gotten her over doing No. 2 inside — and mostly over No. 1. (By the way — who gave those bodily functions their numbers, anyway? And why is No. 1 — No. 1? I suppose I could Google it, but it’s a lazy, beautiful Saturday afternoon around these parts, and I don’t want to spend the time or energy. So there.)
Then there’s the matter of eating. Jessi will chow down anything we put in front of her. And we are trying to give her only the very best food — a brand-name, highly recommended kibble, along with highly recommended meat on top.
She loves all of it. We are feeding her three times a day at present. We have learned to let her outside immediately after she eats and drinks. And for the most part, she takes advantage of being outside (you know — those No. 1 and No. 2 things).
And then, of course, there’s the matter of sleeping. In the first couple of weeks we had Jessi, she would wake up once or twice during the night to go to the bathroom. Now, she is starting to sleep mostly through the night — a major breakthrough for all concerned.
The issue is — she’s ready to hit her well-appointed sack in our bedroom by 7:30. If we’re lucky — she’ll sleep until perhaps 4 or 5 a.m.
If we haven’t gone to bed about the time she does — we are, to say the least, sleep-deprived.
We’d like to train her to stay in bed at least until six. But so far, she’s the one doing the training.
Jessi likes being driven around our little community in our golf cart. We put her inside a carrier between us, and she peeks out the top, just enough to have the wind blow into her face.
I’m told that some females enjoy having the wind blowing into their faces when they’re in a vehicle. Jessi is one of them. (Now, don’t take that as a sexist sentence. I am not sexist. Like I said, I was told that by an excellent source. A female, whom I happen to have known for a half-century.)
Jessi also likes being in the front seat of our car when we’re on the road. She is not yet ready to take the wheel, I am pleased to say.
Jessi seems to be good with strangers. Of course, the only strangers she has seen are the vets we take her to. She appears to like them, but after all, they’re giving her treats. 
And they should give her treats — and us, too. After all, each visit to the vet has cost us $250 for the exam, for a shot, and for (this last time) a fecal test (for those who need the guidance — this is a test of No. 2 to see if anything untoward is in it).
So — long story short (you’re welcome) — Jessi has, in just a few weeks, changed our lives. We get less sleep (or, at least, sleep at a far different time than we’re used to). We do not go out to lunch or dinner anymore (she won’t stay in her travel carrier long enough). We are always “on guard” inside the house for trouble with those numbers (No. 1 and No. 2). And one of us must stay outside when she’s out so we can see if she takes care of those numbers.
We have not traveled any distance, and cannot quite figure out how we will again. Not that we’re traveling much, anyway. Those days are gone — we’re getting older — though we may try to get to Disney World again. Maybe. But how will Jessi take to being in a kennel while we’re gone?
If we’re doing a short trip by car, she could come with us, of course. Some hotel chains accept dogs now.
But that’s in the future, perhaps. Meanwhile, we are enjoying the heck out of Jessi — who is a whirlwind — and we continue putting nighttime lotion on our hands because we both have “dog hands” — which is defined by bruises caused by puppy teeth continually nipping at them.
Jessi will not replace Rocky in our memories, of course — but she’s creating wonderful new memories for us. And at our advancing age, there’s a whole lot to be said for that.