You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,

'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'
--Dave Barry

Sixteen wonderful years -- a lot of marriages don't last that long.  Jumper was an absolute angel and my dearest dog.  She knew all my secrets and shared a lot of laughter, tears and adventures.  I was so lucky to be able to take her to work with me over the years - we were together almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  So when she was gone, it left a huge vacancy in my life.  I looked for her to come around the corner for a long time after she was gone.  Jumper was a healthy, happy little dog.  In her last years, we had a special language - she had lost her hearing and her eyes were clouding over - but we always knew where the other one was.  She waited for me to carry her up and down the stairs or lift her into the car.  Jumper never had to suffer, she was healthy and active up until the last night she was with me.  Although her parting was fast, I am glad that she did not have to linger through a long illness.  In one night, congestive heart failure took her from me.  I was able to hold her while she took her last breath.  To this day, I still catch her out of the corner of my eye snuffling on the lawn or watching me from the corner of the room or laying in her little basket at the foot of my bed.   

Jumper had one litter of puppies and her puppies were as adorable as she was.

Jumper tolerated all the other animals in the family with grace.  Although small in stature, she remained the Alpha animal in my house her whole life.  She welcomed all new comers and showed them the rules and "ropes" to make life easy.

When looking through my photo album during the time Jumper was alive, she is in almost every picture with me.  She was my shadow.  Even my family was upset when she left this world.  Jumper is still with me in spirit. 

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

So many times I needed you,
so many times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I'd walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our heart's chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.

Author unknown