Celhaus Jubilee Is Now 13 Years Old!
as of July 19, 2011 (photos taken July 23rd)
see Jubilee "killing" the Indestructible Ball (She doesn't play a long time, but she still plays enthusiastically)
Still looking good at 13, after whelping five litters! That's a natural stack I just happened to catch with the camera while we played.
Oh, does she love her pool. It's hard to keep her out of it on these summer days, but who cares if she drips all over the house?
Jubilee is thirteen. Amazing for a German Shepherd. In all my years
of German Shepherds, I’ve had only one who lived longer than she has.
Shawni lived until 14. I’ve been remembering back all these thirteen years
with Jubilee. I drove all the way to Toronto to breed her mother to a
high-powered German import, paid a huge stud fee, and only got one pup.
She was such a character I decided to keep her, and since she was obviously a
party girl, I named her Jubilee. It was 1998, and another reason I named
her that was that the world was all wrapped up in the coming millennium with all
the worries that crop up every time there’s a big date change. Of course
I was working for the Church at that time and we were involved for two years
preparing for the traditional big Jubilee year of 2000. Strange to
remember all those doomsday predictions that had so many people upset.
I x-rayed Glory a couple of days before her due date and the vet said he thought
she had 2 puppies. After all the expense, I was disappointed but two was
definitely better than none. Glory went into labor right on time and after
some effort popped out a BIG pup. Then she said she was finished and
settled down to admiring her baby. I, of course, said no we aren’t, but
she was adamant, so I finally hauled her back to the vet for another x-ray.
Sure enough, she was done. He said Jubilee must have been stretched out so
long in the uterus that she looked like 2 pups. I have always thought that
was SO typical of her. She has always celebrated life and sung her way
through it at every chance. She still can’t wake up in the morning and
head outside to potty without singing her joy. She really has a party
every time I get home, or if she goes in the car, every time I return to the
car. It’s loud and often embarrassing--and she has no “off” switch.
I just have to let her run down.
She was in great shape until early February, when all of a sudden I began to
notice both mental and physical decline. She’s slightly senile now, seems
to be able to see and hear less, and gets tired very easily. Her nose
isn’t working as well either. She keeps losing her Kong when I throw it,
so I’ve had to mow everywhere we play in the mornings so her Kong will bounce,
attract her attention, and stay in sight. She also sets it down and wanders off
to sniff and can’t remember where she left it. She still enjoys her
playtimes, just wants them short and easy, and of course we sing all the way out
to the play area. She continues to really enjoy her meals and all the
treats she can talk out of me, so I continue to fight her to keep her weight
down so it doesn’t aggravate the two places of bridging in her spine.
Because of the bridging and arthritis, she continues to become weaker in her
rear but she can still run and trot when she wants to, and she still enjoys life
to the full.
In her younger years she was a superb athlete—probably the reason for the
bridging in her back since she was too quick for me to stop many of her antics.
She would jump up into my arms at the slightest opportunity—it’s a wonder I
never hit the ground at those times. She was also well known for jumping
into the bed of a big ¾ ton 4x4 pickup from the side when I was unloading it.
She was a great tracking dog and agility dog until the bridging in her back
caused me to retire her.
What a girl! I hope her kids and grandkids have as long and as happy lives
as she has had and continues to have. She had the “J” litter, sired by
Droll; the “M” & “Q” litters (My Quinta is from the Q litter), sired by Search &
Rescue dog Comanche; the “N” litter, sired by Caz; and the “V” litter, sired by
Mem’ry (Chaos’ half brother). She is grandmother to the X, Y, AA, CC (My
Lively is from the CC Liter), the EE litter and the upcoming FF litter.