You’re playing with your dog one moment, you turn around, and he doesn’t seem well anymore. It all happens in the blink of an eye. You can go from incredibly happy to incredibly worried in one second.
That’s how Susan and Gene Jaworowski felt when their dog, Bessie Smith, suddenly started acting lifeless. The couple thought they had overexercised her, or maybe that she had a weak heart. But no one thought what was really going on with Bessie.
Bessie Smith, The Great Canine Actress
It was a lovely day at the lake near their Fort Collins, Colorado home. Gene and Susan went for a nice outing with Bessie Smith. No, not the Bessie Smith, the famous jazz musician. Their Bessie is a Border Collie mix from a purebred Border Collie mom and an unknown father. She and her littermates were all named after famous jazz musicians and adopted from Bounce Animal Rescue Fort Collins several years ago.
When Gene and Susan got Bessie, she was only six weeks old, just a wee pupper. They raised her and did the best they could, and Bessie grew up to be a wonderful specimen of her kind. Coming from such a background (we all know how energetic Border Collies are), Bessie showed off her athletic side and how much she adores being out and about. And the Jaworowski couple loved how playful and full of sparks Bessie was.
Since they live near a lovely lake, a great place to go for a walk and exercise your dog, daily trips have become a habit. Bessie loved their outings. If she could talk, she would say that she would never leave the lake. Soon enough, that almost became true. Gene and Susan started noticing that Bessie hardly moved her paws when it was time to leave. She got so exhausted that her hoomans started believing something was wrong with her.
“During her second year with us she was dragging her feet up the hill to the car after an hour of retrieving sticks in the water, and after a few days of her doing this, we thought maybe we were overdoing this exercise with her and she may have a bad heart,” said Jaworowski for Newsweek. No wonder Gene and Susan were worried. Heart problems with dogs of any breed are quite common, and you can expect them to develop at any stage of their lives.
A Surprising Diagnosis
Naturally, they rushed Bessie to the vet, where they ran a series of tests on this sweet girl. Everyone was suspecting the worst, saying their prayers. Could this be the end of the sweet life with Bessie? When the results came in, Gene and Susan felt a bit foolish and surprised, but after a while of drama, they were relieved.
There was nothing wrong with Bessie. According to the vet tests, Bessie was as healthy as she could be. So, what was happening with her? Why does she always lose energy when it’s time to go home from the lake?
The answer lies in the question itself: Bessie simply refused to go home and wanted to stay longer at the lake! All that dragging of the paws and zero energy were a sign of protest. Oh, Bessie, all you had to do to stay longer at the lake was speak.
A Lighthearted Lesson
Now, who’s gonna pay Gene and Susan $150 of vet bills for nothing, eh?
Bessie’s story reminds us that sometimes our pets have their own ways of expressing their desires. In Bessie’s case, it was her love for the lake that made her the great canine actress. Gene and Susan learned to read her cues better, ensuring she got plenty of time at her favorite spot.
It’s a lighthearted end to a worrisome situation and a reminder of the unique personalities our furry friends bring into our lives.
