each is different

We have a lot of dogs now. One hardly qualifies as a dog anymore: old, feeble, going deaf and blind, its all she can do to eat, go outside briefly, then back to sleep.

But Jasmine. Traded two chickens and a dozen eggs for her in a parking lot in Lancaster. They said she was a Jack Russell. She is not. At all.

She lives to chase things. Not to hurt them, but just to nip at heels and get things where she wants them. She has the heaviest, thickest coat of any of our dogs. She's the one who burned her fur but not her skin. And makes Claire sneeze, even though Claire is really allergic to cats and not any of our other dogs.

The school bus drives in front of our house most days. Mid-afternoon. If Jasmine sees the bus driving towards her she does her best to chase it down. At 3:15pm today she was quietly sitting, all be herself, in the front yard. In the sun, next to the tree, with ears up and an intense gaze up the road. I'm certain she has figured out how to tell time, and when that bus will zoom past she will run, at top speed, along the fence line trying to catch it.

None of the other dogs do this. While Chaz is barking every time a firecracker pops, Jasmine snoozes. When Luna is barking and fighting with the pigs over a stale loaf of bread, Jasmine is quietly ignoring her.

She is the most content dog I've ever known. Happy to see everyone. Rarely barks. Always looks like she's smiling. Not picky about anything. Not destructive. 

But if you are a big yellow school bus, watch out. She has learned to tell time and she is waiting to give chase.