This page is dedicated to my little Swisher. It all started in the early summer of 1999. Our son Jesse, had wanted to get a dog for a very long time. He always wanted a Chihuahua. Early one morning, in June of that year, I awoke to the sounds of whimpering. We didn't have a dog! At least I didn't know we did. I got up and went into Jesse's room. His friend Jason, was sound asleep on the floor and Jesse was sleeping in his bed. I tracked down the source of the sound in the closet. Jesse had a huge plywood box in there, that he kept his speakers in. However, the speakers were sitting on the floor outside of the box, and inside the box was not one, but two puppies. I woke the boys up and asked them what was going on and who's dogs were they? I was informed, that the pups were theirs. They had snuck them in after we had gone to bed. Jesse and Jason were so tired, because the puppies had kept them awake all night.
Jason named his puppy Vega, and Jesse named his Swisher. I asked him what kind of dog she was, and he said she was Pit Bull, RottWieller, Doberman and Dalmation. That's a far cry from a Chihuahua! Needless to say, we fell in love with her immediately.
Oh, we went through all of the usual puppy things. Potty training, and trying to keep her from chewing things. She didn't chew shoes or the normal things that pups are well known for. Her appetite was more for carpeting & drywall! She chewed a patch the size of a dinner plate, in the center of Jesse's bedroom carpet. She also chewed two holes in the wall in his room, plus two in the livingroom. Thank goodness she got over that within about 3 months.
Jesse, being 18, thought taking his dog with him everywhere, was great. The girls loved it! He played with her alot and he disciplined her. I thought at times he was too rough, but he loved her so much. And she loved him, too.
She is the only dog that I know of that can do somersaults. This is a daily thing when she is playing. She somersaults on the couch. She also thinks she's a cat. She chases laser lights and catches bugs. She is very smart, too. She can spell! You say, "P-o-t-t-y" and she bolts for the door! Swisher also sleeps on her back. In the photo on the left, she is sound asleep!
In May of the following year, 2000, Jesse and Jason were both murdered while sitting in the back seat of a car. It was the beginning of a nightmare for both families. It is one that we will never wake from. It affected Swisher in the same way. For 2 weeks, she stayed in his room and slept on his bed. There have been a couple of times that she has sensed his presence.
When Jesse used to hide from her, or when he was coming home from somewhere, we used to say, "Where's your boy?" One day, one of his friends came over and was sitting on his bed holding his urn. She looked at Swisher and asked her, "Where's your boy?" Swisher sniffed at the urn, and then looked out the window, up at the sky. This wasn't just once. Sarah asked her again, and she did the same thing.
Then one night, we were sitting in the living room, and Swisher started running around the house whining like crazy. She ran over to Jesse's door, which was closed, and just went crazy until we opened the door. Then she ran all over his room, just whining and sniffing. We know he was here, and so did she.
She has been such a great source of comfort for Ken and I. I just don't know what we would do, without her here to fill all the lonely hours of everyday. She is my bestest friend and I love her with all my heart. She is just like a kid to me. And yes, she is spoiled rotten!
Thank you Jesse, for bringing her home!
I love you so much, honey!
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