A Eulogy for Jules

Many families in America have pets that they love that are part of the family. They bring us love, laughter and amusement. We love our furry friends and unfortunately this time always comes to an end, because our pets rarely out live us.

Jules (our Blue Merle Sheltie) is one of my dogs ( I should say our dogs) because she is my wife’s too along with another Sheltie Patriot and our Collie Heather.

Julies was a sweet dog. She was a show dog for awhile and we purchased her off of the breeders that were showing her. They had grand champions but Jules wasn’t winning First Prizes – she was winning Second Prizes so the owners decided to sell her. My wife knows these people, nice folks that raised Jules and we decided to get her.

She was a fun dog – we got her at about a year old. She loved to chase you around the house and grab your feet. She also like to run on top of our retaining wall and chase me in her playful manner – barking and running back and forth like she was in a training routine. It was fun for her – and everyday when I came home from work we would play on the wall. After our playtime we would walk down to the grass and then she and my other dogs would do their duty – and of course I would clean it up. She would drink out of the water hose along with my other Sheltie and then it was back to the retaining wall to play a bit more. Jules loved her walks with me to the mailbox and was the best family dog you could have. With Wendy, Jules had a different relationship. She was always waiting for Wendy to get home. She would bark at anything to run and check to see if she was home yet. She was always so excited to see Wendy and would paw the railing on the deck as she pulled in the driveway and then run into the house to greet her. They had a game called bouncy-bounce where Jules would play with Wendy by jumping up and down and weaving between her legs. Jules really enjoyed that.

Jules was highly intelligent. They say Shelties are amongst the top 10 smartest dogs in the world. Jules knew lots of words. Walk, mailbox, mommies home, do you want your cosequin, want a treat, want a doughnut – want to take the garbage out – and there were many more words. With each command she would know what we were doing and there was a slew of more words she knew. She was demanding too. If you didn’t get her pill to her on time she would come paw your leg and look at you. If you asked her a question like “want your cosequin” she would bark the answer twice “yes, yes.” When she wanted attention she would paw your leg and stare at you and would not leave until she got attention. She loved her ears scratched and would moan when you massaged them telling you how much she enjoyed that. Jules was an amazing dog – so different than other dogs – full of love and a special personality that I will never forget.

When it snowed Jules loved it. She would play in it and sleep in it. She would stop me from shoveling the walkways. She would lay right in front of me, and get up and move as to say “hey leave this stuff here!” It was funny. She didn’t want me to clear the path. She loved the cold and snow. When she slept at night she wanted us to turn on the ceiling fan so she could lay under it – saying oh – that feels so good- thank you!

She was also my friend and companion. When I worked outside our home she would follow me and lay down to supervise. She would not let me out of her sight. She never was more than a few feet away.

Her love for everyone that visited was evident. She wasn’t like most Shelties and she went and talked to everyone. She adored my granddaughter Alexis, my mother and both my children Christie and Sherri. Jules was gentle and kind.

Jules had not been feeling good for a couple of weeks. She wasn’t eating very much and was just slowing down, walking slow and having a hard time moving. It was January 14th and we made an appointment at the vet hospital at 4 in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day – it was 70 degrees and sunny. Jules spent most of the day outside sleeping on our deck. I came home early from work – and laid down next to her and gave her love and attention. I carried her outside so she could drink from the water hose and tried to make her feel comfortable. Jules already knew her time was short and she licked my arms and face. She told me her time was short and was saying goodbye. Wendy was hoping for something that could be fixed with a pill and so was I. Once arriving at the vet blood tests were done and Jules was in renal failure. We couldn’t let her suffer and did what most pet-parents do – which is to let her be with God.

God took Jules from us on January 14th at 5:45 in the afternoon. Wendy and I held Jules for her last few moments of life and said our goodbyes. Its always tough losing our furry friends. Time always travels too fast. We want our animals to be with us forever.

It has taken days of edits to complete this eulogy. Many times I had to fight back the tears and yet I understand that Jules will always be with me in my thoughts. There isn’t a day that I don’t look for her – listen for her soft bark and look for her sweet demeanor. Heather and Patriot are looking too. I wish I could explain to them what happened but I think they already know. Its just sad because dogs don’t get to say goodbye to each other – they just grieve.

I will never forget Jules. She was such a sweet dog and we loved her with all of our hearts. I will never forget all of the good times she gave us and the love that she gave us. There is no better love than dog who loves you unconditionally. Jules died gracefully, a lesson we should all learn from. Life is a gift that so many of us waste on things that aren’t important. The important things in life aren’t money, politics and things. It is our family. There was not complaints from Jules; she gave us kisses goodbye and asked us to send her to Heaven. She knew it was her time and knew she had to leave us behind. She was hurting, but didn’t waste a second of her life on not showing how much she loved us. She is now there with all of God’s other creatures. We will miss her dearly. In our hearts – on our minds – always. Pictured below – Jules (left) Heather (Center) Patriot (Right).