Chapter 31: A visit from the Cooperslobbera

It seems like yesterday that I piled an 87-pound red-nose pit bull mix named Cooper into my car and became an instant foster parent, but it’s been nearly a year. I wrote a series... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 32: The case of the killer puppies

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

It was a Saturday afternoon in late April at San Francisco Animal Care and Control when Lana Bajsel, executive director of Give Me Shelter Cat Rescue, overheard two officers discus... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 33: Old dogs

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

On the same day that Jasmine Blue and I saw eight 6-week-old Weimaraner-pit bull-bulldog mix puppies off to their new foster homes and the beginning of the rest of their lives, we ... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 34: The Big ‘C’

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect July 7, 2010 for a drive down the coast. Jazzy and I had been invited to stay at one of the ocean-view, dog-friendly cottages at the R... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 35: The long road to Davis

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

The first appointment available for Jasmine Blue at the UC Davis Department of Dentistry was Aug. 18, a full two weeks after her cancer diagnosis. They were the longest two weeks o... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 36: The call that never came

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

That first night at the Stone Villa motel, I’m amazed I slept at all. The last word from the doctors at UC Davis veterinary hospital, when we left Jasmine Blue with them for yet ... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 37: Finding a Denny’s in Davis is like pulling teeth

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

One of the best things about being a dog is that you have no clue when you’re going to the dentist. Don’t get me wrong; I have a wonderful dentist, Dr. Sima Salimi on Union Str... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 38: Meeting Superman

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

Seven days after Jazzy’s dental work, we headed back to Davis to see if her mouth had healed enough to proceed with radiation therapy. The doctors had informed me it usually took... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 39: Floating away

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

The night before Jazzy’s first radiation treatment, I was a nervous wreck. I had no idea what to expect, and she had no idea what she was about to go through. We arrived in Davis... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 40: The simple life

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

Jazzy and I fell into a comfortable routine last September, leaving Davis Friday afternoon after her radiation treatment, spending the weekend at home in San Francisco, and heading... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 41: It’s going to get worse before it gets better

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

I thought living in Davis for a month would seem like a lifetime, but instead it was over before I was ready to go back to the fulltime hustle and bustle of San Francisco. Jazzy an... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 42: Jazzy Krueger

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

Side effects from Jazzy’s radiation treatments started to rear their ugly head during our final week in Davis, toward the end of September 2010, with red chapping around her lips... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 43: The Steller’s jay’s song

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

And oh, here come those sidewalks again And oh, here I go And oh, here come those long walks, my friend Where roses in canyons And night blooming jasmine still grow “Jasmine,” ... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 44: The holistic journey begins

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

My friend Kin is a scientist who works with cancer cells. From the time Jasmine Blue got cancer, Kin was always there – to lend an ear, to explain the anatomy of a tumor, to teac... Read More

Jasmine Blue's Tails of the Dog Park

Chapter 45: The Terror of Tiny Town

By Susan Dyer Reynolds

“Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face-to-face.” – Nelson DeMille September 2011 presented a month of milestones: Jazzy passed the ... Read More

Jasmine Blue’s Tails of the Dog Park