Jazmine's journey

DALTON GARDENS — When Jazmine was found wandering around Colorado, Bill and Dawn Shaffer believe she was trying to get home — which was 1,000 miles away in Dalton Gardens.

She made it, with a little help from a lot of friends.

“We had so much faith in finding her,” Dawn Shaffer said on a cool Wednesday evening after she and Bill finished playing with their two dogs, Jazmine and Cooper, in their spacious backyard.

“Like Homeward Bound,” a smiling Bill Shaffer added with a laugh in referencing a 1993 movie that saw two dogs and a cat make an incredible journey home.

Jazmine’s journey wasn’t quite as miraculous, but still incredible.

It took 10 drivers covering 14 legs of wintery roads through four states to finally deliver her back where she belonged.

“I had no idea about all these strangers that loved animals would volunteer,” Dawn said.

The Shaffers' five-year-old dog, which they had since Bill found her as a puppy, disappeared three months ago, Oct. 17.

They were driving to their cabin near Round Lake when Bill pulled over at U.S. 95 and Honeysuckle to adjust hay stacks in the back of the truck.

He didn’t realize it, but his phone fell out of his pocket.

When he finished, they drove for another 40 minutes to the cabin. There, they discovered Jazmine was gone and figured she must have jumped from the truck's bed when they stopped, perhaps trying to get Bill’s phone back.

They backtracked immediately but didn’t find her. They called animal control and the sheriff’s office. No dogs had been picked up.

Jazmine would normally have been wearing an identification collar. But because they were headed to the cabin, she was outfitted with an orange collar that didn’t have the ID.

While Bill got his phone back from a FedEx driver who found it on the road, there was no sign of Jazmine, who was microchipped.

They posted notices on social media and alerted everyone they knew. Every so often, a lead came in but failed to pan out

“Days went into weeks, and weeks went into months,” Dawn said. “She just disappeared.”

Bill guessed that someone picked her up and decided to keep her. Perhaps she had a good home.

“She loves people,” he said. “She’ll play with kids all day long.”

While they never lost hope, they wondered if they would see their loyal companion again.

“She’s a huge part of our family,” Bill said.

He recounted how he first saw Jazmine through the scope of his rife, a puppy alone in the woods, peeking around a stump, when he was elk hunting near Potlatch.

When he patted his leg, she practically flew to him.

“She was just prancing right next to me, proud as can be,” Bill Shaffer said.

Jazmine, named for her jazzy personality, became a faithful friend.

“I took her home from there. She’s never left,” he said.

“I was happy to welcome her into the family,” Dawn said.

On the morning of Jan. 18, Dawn got a call from the Larimer Humane Society. They had Jazmine. She had been found in the Fort Collins area.

The LHS caller asked Dawn when they would be returning to Colorado to claim their dog.

“We live in Idaho,” Dawn said. “So does Jazmine. I don’t know how she got there.”

Later, they learned Jazmine’s new owners in Colorado showed up at the shelter and tried to claim her.

“Sorry, we found the true owners,” they were told.

They admitted they picked her up on U.S. 95 and took her home, Dawn said.

“She had a collar on, so they had to know she belonged to somebody,” Bill said.

With Jazmine found, their next challenge was how to get her the 1,000 miles home.

After checking around, they came across Big Rig Animal Transport. Within 24 hours, foster care and a transport plan were arranged. Ten drivers would share 14 legs through four states, from Colorado to Wyoming to Montana to Idaho, passing Jazmine off along the way.

It was a good trip for the friendly canine, who was treated to fine food and even a night in a comfy motel bed. Pictures and videos of her adventure were shared on social media.

On Sunday, Jan. 24, Dawn, her daughter and a friend met the final driver at Lincoln’s Silver Dollar Bar in Haugan, Mont.

The driver opened the back hatch and Dawn saw a sign: “Hi mom, I missed you.”

An excited Jazmine bolted out, tail wagging, smiling, leaping all around.

“I knelt down. She put her paws on my shoulder and give me a kiss,” Dawn said.

When Jazmine arrived at her Dalton Gardens home, it was a joyous reunion as she was greeted by the Shaffers' family and friends.

She remembered.

“As soon as we got her in the gate, she ran right to her toy box and grabbed a ball and came out to start playing fetch,” Bill said. “She couldn’t wait.”

”I think I threw the Frisbee at least 30 times and she was still ready to go."

“Like she never left,” Dawn said, smiling.

Jazmine was healthy, too.

“She might have been a little light because she eats pretty good here,” Bill said, laughing. “Somebody gives her lots of treats.”

The Shaffers appreciate everything Big Rig Animal Transport did for them. And having Jazmine waiting to play when he gets home from work as an Avista line foreman, it’s like old times.

“Part of the family was missing,” Bill said. “She’s back.”