'Black Wolf' Jet....happy spirit-journey.

[Tobi]

To remember my dear friend, 'Black Wolf' Jet. Faithful and true from 2001 until your passing November 8th 2013.
You were a close companion, mate and friend to Misty too. We all did make a good team, roaming the countryside at any opportunity.
You were a good-hearted chap, although everyone was afraid of you, except me, and Misty. We saw your true colours.
(Yes, I know you weren't really a Wolf. But since our first meeting 'Black Wolf Jet' kind of stuck.....along with the stagnant pond-water, fox-muck, and various other country items.)

Blessings to you dear friend. You are buried now in an unmarked grave at the edge of a field. You loved the wilderness, and weren't one for frills. That suits you fine. I planted a yellow primrose there. It is in flower right now.
Thanks for everything....have a good spirit-journey....and I hope Misty and I will be able to visit you one day. Blessings.
    (you used to be blacker round the face, but this was taken in August 2012 and you were already an old feller.)

    (Misty and Jet April 2012)

[Catherine]

Farewell Black Wolf Jet.

You must really miss him after all the good years you had together. It always seems that they are too brief, the years that we share with our beloved animals. I am glad you can at least see the primrose growing on his grave.
He sounds like he was a special companion to you and Misty. I wish I could give you a big hug and tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Someday you will be reunited again in peace and love.

[LPC]

I remember from your book that your first encounter with Jet was hearing him growling at you! It just goes to show that first impressions don't always last. He was a good and loyal friend to you and Misty.

Roam free on astral fields, dear Jet!

[Tobi]

Yes, he was growly when I first met him.
Short excerpt from the book Angel From the Streets:

......Then one evening, as we returned home though the fields, I heard a growl behind me and spun round to come face-to-face with a large black dog. Teeth bared, hackles up, he challenged me. Misty, knowing dinner was on the agenda, had already reached the field gate, and hadn't noticed him. Ignoring the black dog, I kept up my pace, but he challenged me again, with the canine equivalent of:
"Get the heck out of my territory."
The dog seemed to be suffering a clash of emotional interests. His front end didn't synchronise with his back end. His vocal threats were in opposition to his waving tail.
Wary, but not afraid, I bent to pick up a stick, showed it to him, then threw it in a wide arc. His snarling instantly stopped, and he stared at me, unable to grasp the audacity of what I’d just done. But he was compelled to turn and find the stick. Still wagging and growling at the same time, he retrieved it to drop it at my feet.
Misty had back-tracked to investigate, already greeting the dog with a whistling-whine down her nose; her usual song of friendly meeting, which always melted the heart of any canine stranger.
The dirty black dog responded with the usual courtesies, reacting to her charm and instantly forgetting all about me.
I noticed he wore no identification collar, so had no idea where he'd come from.
We all played together, but a look of dismay crossed his face every time it occurred to him that he had forgotten to growl. Whenever that happened, he backed up all merriment with a show of teeth. I responded with irresistible laughter. The slanting evening sun caught in his brown eyes making them glow with a reddish light. He looked like a cartoon-sketch 'bad dog', or a nightmare after over-indulgence in cheese.
After a while I said, "Right, you'd better go home now."
To my great surprise, he turned and trotted away up the hill. It was the most surreal dog-encounter.......

[Catherine]

I am going to have to speed up my reading so I can get to that part and find out more about Black Wolf Jet. Now I am curious.

[Knight of Albion]

To have loved and been loved by an animal is one of life's greatest blessings.

How association with animals enriches our lives and gives us a broader and more enlightened outlook on life and the myriad of other beings we share this beautiful planet with...

There is a lovely analogy in that story. Initial suspicion and mistrust, fear even, and yet when the hand of friendship is extended ...

[Tobi]

Yes that is so true, Knight. Jet had a bit of a reputation for being a 'scary dog' and unpredictable. Most people were afraid of him. Now what I noticed was that when a little bit of friendship and love was extended to him instead of fear, he showed a true and loyal side of his character, and never betrayed that from our first meeting. He never once behaved badly with me, or with Misty.
Yet he would 'set' people who were scared. I would snap him out of it with my voice and a gentle hand on his head. Then I would hand the scared person a stick, and ask them to laugh and change their feelings for a minute, and show him the stick, then throw it. And after they had done that a couple of times, Jet was quite peaceful with them.

Part of the reason people were afraid was because of the way he looked. So they gave out 'vibes'. He did look pretty wild in his hey-day. When he was covered in smelly pond-slime, it was worse....

That excerpt above could have done with a little editing. Never mind. Too late now as I don't want to start messing with the published book. Knowing me, something will go wrong....
At least it showed what our first meeting was like.

[Catherine]

So true, our lives are enriched by the animals we love. Whatever we love enriches us. How lucky we are to have the bonds that we have with animals. I feel very blessed. Even the bond I am forming with my new frog is something unique and I will grow from it.

When you think about Black Wolf Jet, people got the reaction from him that they expected. They were suspicious and he did not trust them. You were open to possibilities and you were rewarded with a special relationship with a remarkable dog.

[Tobi]

Who is the frog??
I would love to see a picture.
What's his/her name?

[Catherine]

The frog is new. He is a young albino Pac Man Frog and I have called him Garth. There is a thread in the reptile section. I posted pictures of his kind of frog, but I am having trouble getting a picture that is in focus.
Pac Man Frogs are fierce eaters, but I think if I am gentle and respectful of him we can form a bond. I am going to try. He at least knows I exist since I give him food and water.