This little gal was as fearless as the famous outlaw that bares
her same name. She didn't pack a six-shooter, but she did have the true grit
that few possess. Maybe it had something to do with an incident with a horse
when she was only a few months old that changed her future and that of my cousin
Lee Rankin. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but she managed to get her
right hind leg stepped on by a horse and had to be rushed to the vet. The vet
told us that she would never have full use of the leg again. He said he could
save the pup if we wanted him to, but it wouldn't be cheap and she would require
special attention. We agreed, so he set her leg in a cast and bandaged her up
and sent her home.
As fate sometimes works, this may have been a blessing in
disguise for Jessie and my cousin Lee. You see, Lee had already taken a like'n
to little Jess and was the one that gave her the name and really wanted to buy
her from us. He had just moved back to Texas from Florida and was not working
full time yet, so he couldn't afford to offer us cash for her. (Not that we were
willing to sell her - or any of the pups) This was a good thing for these two
that eventually became the best of friends and a force in the woods that put a
pretty good dent in the wild hog population in our area.
Since Lee was not committed to a full time job yet, he was
helping us construct our new kennels and was able to take special care of little
Jessie in her time of need. As anyone that has ever raised a litter of puppies
can imagine, the other pups would have considered Jessie's cast and bandages a
new play toy, so obviously she could not be kept with the rest of the litter.
Lee took her under his wing and made sure her leg was given proper time to heal
as good as it could.
That was in the summer of '94 and by the time winter set in, she
was almost back to full speed. She walked with a limp and her leg was never
perfectly straight again, but you couldn't tell it by her attitude and it didn't
seem to effect her when she ran and played with the other puppies. When the
Rankin's gathered for the annual Christmas party at Leroy's house, there was a
little something special for Lee under the tree that year. I wasn't a really
large box and there wasn't even a big red bow, in fact it was just a simple card
. . . but inside was a little note that made him smile as big as ever. The note
read "For Lee - Rankin's Jessie of Texas" - Signed Leroy, Ken & GD"
I had the pleasure of hunting with Jessie many times and I can
attest to the fact that she did not have a handicap in the woods. I could tell
stories about her for hours on end, but I'd rather let Lee have that honor and
will reserve this space for him. Meanwhile, the photos of her taken in the brush
can tell a few tales . . .
Additional photos of Jessie can be seen in the Hunting Section
- follow the links below.
