Jojo passed peacefully over the rainbow bridge this morning. He came to us in late November, 2011, shortly before his second birthday. We have had lots of dogs over the years and Jojo is the only one whose birthday we knew since we adopted him from a former student’s mom. (She had to downsize from a house with four dogs to a condo with just one.) Not only did we know his birthday, but I have remembered it all these years because it was the same as mine!

Jojo’s name was Cujo when we first got him. If you know anything about Cujo, you can see why we had to change his name immediately. Jojo was the exact opposite of Stephen King’s rabid Saint Bernard. He was always sweet and deferential. He moved at a slow pace, even when he was younger. He never bit anything or anyone (not that it would have hurt once he lost so many teeth), but his growl kept everyone at a distance. You see, he was kind of a loner, rarely sleeping with but always near the pack. When he was younger he loved long walks but hadn’t worn a harness in several years.

Jojo was a handsome dog, a black long-haired tweenie dachshund with beautiful speckled paws. His good looks were always noticed by everyone and earned him one of his monikers, “Decorative Dog”. He also was called “Fat Boy Slim”. He wasn’t fat at all — it’s just that his hair was so fluffy, especially after a bath and blowdry. He loved baths. Only dog I’ve ever had who hasn’t fought me in the tub. He was a “walking dust mop”, always sniffing the perimeter of a room to make sure everything was ok — though I’m not really sure he’d know what to do if he ever found something amiss. LOL.

Jojo was an easy-going dog, even at the end. We’ll miss him but we still have three energetic dogs to keep us on our toes.

Dogs we have loved:

Polly

Peanut

Luna

Millie

Kleiner

Lucy

Tyson