well as airfare and lodging for three wedding attendants. Private firms donated Jesca’s wedding dress, the formal-wear rentals, and flowers. “We are eternally grateful and humbled for the opportunity to celebrate our love and life with the people who we love,” Jesca says. “This whole experience will be one our family will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
Daniels, in his twelfth year as an active-duty Marine, has seen two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan and Japan. Aura is his strongest link to his past tours and has become the center of attention for the active family. “The girls absolutely love her,” says Jesca, “and the feeling is mutual. Aura covets snuggling with Rory (Aurora), keeping her from emotional meltdowns, and loves to play fetch with Nilly (Annalily). They are all peas in a pod.” Jesca laughs when recalling one tender incident. “Aura is quite the comedian. Rory was put in timeout, and Aura was so bothered that she had to go lie down with her. I looked over about three minutes later to see them snuggling, asleep together.”
active handler until she was retired after twice injuring her cruciate ligaments in 2014 training incidents stateside. At that point, Jesca started preparing mentally to take Aura. “I was kind of nervous because Mark left for Japan, and I had never interacted with her without Mark,” she recalls. Jesca visited the kennels weekly to build a relationship and comfort zone with Aura, whose retirement paperwork was being processed. Their first meeting was entertaining and engaging. “She buried her face in my chest and smothered me in kisses. At that point I knew we were good to go. I got the call on my birthday (May 22) to come get her. I couldn’t get there fast enough.” Any apprehension Jesca had about Aura’s interaction with the girls were relieved within five minutes. “Aura jumped on the couch (they refer to it as Camp Couch) and immediately cuddled with the two girls. And she has been doing so ever since.” Daniels returned stateside about one month later for training, and thanks to Mission K9 Rescue, he and Aura enjoyed a sugary, heartwarming reunion for a short time before he returned to Japan. “That’s when she, the girls, and I really bonded,” explains Jesca. “In his absence for that year we held each other up. Aura represented a piece of him to physically love. So instead of feeling like his dog lives with us now, it was more like our dog came home.”
The importance of the date and the ceremony was, Jesca emphasizes, a chance to celebrate her husband’s life, the gift of family and friends, and a “new normal.” Aura waits with Daniels to get a first glimpse of Jesca in her wedding dress at the special Missouri ceremony in June, funded by Hope For the Warriors. Credit: Vintage Lens Photography The Daniels originally married in May 2009, just a month after losing their first-born child, Jaxon. But that ceremony was without family or friends. “That’s why this one (attended by 60 family members and friends) was very special,” she says.
Aura enjoys her ninth birthday this year with Dad and daughters, Rory, left, and Nilly.
But making Aura a full-fledged member of the household was not easy. Daniels was paired with the dog in 2010 and was her only
Daniels, a Military Working Dog handler and kennel master, adds,
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 22
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