Jubilee Ryan

Jubilee Ryan

August 16, 2011–June 30, 2025

Jubilee Ryan departed this life on Monday, June 30, 2025, at approximately 11:49am after gracing this world for 5,068 days or 13 years, 10 months, and 15 days. She was home to her family, a steady presence of grace, joy, and love.

Jubilee was born on August 16, 2011, in Bryan, TX. She bounded into the lives of her family on October 7, 2011, and she barely stopped moving since then until she slowed in the final month of her life. Jubilee was a Texan who dealt gracefully with the Texas and South Carolina heat, obsessively chased rabbits and cats that ended up under the backyard deck or storage building, and loved running and chasing a ball (and her dad) at the Cotton Belt Trail and Carleen Bright Arboretum in the Waco area and the Riverwalk in West Columbia/Cayce. For over ten years of her life, Jubilee and her humans walked a mile every morning and ran about three miles every afternoon in neighborhoods, parks, greenways, and trails.

She never met a human being or a ball of any shape or kind that she did not immediately love. If she spotted a ball on a walk, she had to pick it up and carry it proudly. When she encountered a group of kids or when her family played a board or card game, she had to lay right in the middle of it all. Jubilee did not allow closed doors; she needed to keep an eye on and have access to everyone. One morning she even bolted out the door to follow some kids on to a school bus. She was always attuned to her family’s emotions, responding to their excitement with her own enthusiasm and refusing to leave them alone when sad or upset (and for this reason, watching sporting events turned into an anxious experience for Jubilee).

While extremely social, she could also be awkward because she could not contain her excitement. Friends and visitors were always met with Jubi’s undivided attention. She insisted that they pet her and play with her.

Jubilee had so much energy for so many years that her family became convinced she discovered the fountain of youth. After she moved to South Carolina with her family, veterinarians gave advice at times about getting her to take it easy for a while or slow down a bit as she aged. But they clearly did not know Jubilee very well. She always had immense energy, a love for play and attention, and a verve for life, even until the end. Her desire was still there but her body no longer cooperated.

We, Jubilee’s family, are so grateful for all of it. We are thankful for all of her quirks that made her Jubilee: how demanding she could be because she knew what she wanted; how she barked at birds, a new trash bag, the lawn mower, squirrels, cats, golf carts, and us when she wanted to play; how she inelegantly put her entire face into her water bowl and walked around dripping water all over the floor; how she loved jumping for bubbles and thought she could jump high enough to scare birds off the roof; how she ate peppers off the vines in the garden before we could get to them; how she poked people with her nose in the most inappropriate places because she knew it would get their attention; how she disliked when we ate dinner at the table; how she had to stop and say hello to every person she saw when out walking or in public spaces; how she loved biting at water from the hose; how she always pulled hard on the leash and sprinted to her people when she saw us; how she would stop and look back to make sure we were still there when running off leash; how she always misunderstood aggression from other dogs because she did not have an ounce of aggression in her; how she pawed at us and craned her neck if we stopped petting her; how she longed for our approval and the pride she took in our praise.

We would do it all again in a heartbeat. We had many good years together, but the years still do not seem like enough with a dog like Jubilee. We will miss her as long as we live. We hope there never comes a day that she does not cross our minds. We also hope fervently that in God’s future a resurrected life and bodily re-creation and transformation somehow will be reality, and that God’s new creation will include all things, even our beloved non-human companions, especially our beloved Jubilee.

Jubilee was among the best of the many good canines. She was loved deeply. She will be missed forever.

Goodbye, sweet girl. We love you, Jubi. We are so glad you were our doggy. Sleep well. We hope somewhere someday we can do it all over again.