Joey Schoolmeester-Bright passed peacefully, surrounded by her family at their home in Las Vegas, on July 7, 2023, after a short battle with cancer. Always exceptional, she dealt with three different types of cancer, a feat not previously seen by her internal medicine vet. Joey was a beautiful and slightly neurotic German Shorthair Pointer, nearly 14 years old, athletic well into her senior years and a loyal companion through her last breath.
According to the rescue, she was born sometime in late July or early August of 2009 in Turner County, SD. On September 2, she was one of 173 dogs seized from an alleged puppy mill and became evidence in a court case. Her Gotcha Day was November 1, 2009, when her mom, Jules, took her in as a foster pup to help with the overcrowding in rescue as the case moved through the court system. The family that had been fostering the litter gave all the pups rap names—there was a Tupac and a Biggie. She was called Bones, but it reminded Jules too much of Star Trek. With mom being a massive Bob Dylan fan, it was decided that she would be Visions of Johanna, call name Joey, henceforth.
It took Jules about 12 hours to fall completely in love and realize this would be a foster failure situation. Since Joey was still considered evidence, Jules consulted lawyers and had several friends willing to take Joey in the event that she was ordered to return her. Puppies run away all the time, right? Thankfully, this was not an issue and Joey had a forever home in Sioux Falls, SD with her mom and fur sister, Alli, another GSP. Together, those two were lovingly known as The Bitches.
The Bitches loved spending time outdoors, tearing up the yard and bringing their mom treasures—rabbits, squirrels, and birds being at the top of the list. They also loved family walks and runs. In 2010, The Bitches helped their mom train for her first half marathon. Many training seasons ensued over the years and Joey completed about 10,000 miles, not to mention all the walks. Her farthest run was 22 miles. She continued to run 10Ks through spring 2023 and her diagnosis.
The Bitches moved to Portland, OR with their mom in 2016. They loved getting up early for trips to Cannon Beach and Joey especially loved the Banks-Vernonia Trail. That was the place she spent many miles with her mom after Alli passed away. Joey’s mom wants to publicly apologize for Joey getting blamed for getting into the trash for all those years. It was Alli the whole time.
Portland was where Steve came into their lives and Joey finally had a papa. Joey loved taking the MAX train to her papa’s place—she called it her city home—where she kept a fierce lookout of anyone carrying a box down NW Lovejoy Street. She loved Sunday morning runs along the Willamette, except for the time when the Gene Simmons-like Canadian Goose freaked out on her.
Always athletic and headstrong while often curious, Joey was asked to leave a daycare in Oregon. Her mother was assured that Joey was, in fact, a very good dog and well-liked by the staff, but with her fence climbing and jumping, they just did not have the resources to keep her safe. Too athletic was the case, culminating in the night where she climbed out of her kennel and helped herself to the kibble bags being collected for a pug rescue. She stole from underprivileged pugs. Not to worry, a donation was made to offset the loss.
Then in 2017, the family headed to a new home in Las Vegas. Joey adapted to desert life and made friends at the Hydrant Club, where she attended until her cranky Golden Girl nature (she was a Dorothy) meant she would have more fun at home. Her brother, Vonny, joined the family in 2018, and sister, Cassie, was added in 2023. She played nanny to them both, setting the expectation for behavior. She racked up the miles in Vegas and enjoyed stopping by the tennis courts in her community to say hello to her human friend with the same name.
Joey’s family would like to thank the staff at VCA – Nellis for their care and especially Dr. Lindaman for his vigilance with her bloodwork which sent them to the specialty veterinarian. A huge thank you to Ashley and the staff at the Las Vegas Veterinary Specialty Center for the excellent care, and to Dr. Smee for performing the surgery that kept Joey in their lives for an extra two months. They also are grateful to Lap of Love and Dr. Nick for his compassionate care at the end of her life.
Joey was preceded in death by her sister, Alli, as well as many fur buddies and cousins, including, but not limited to little Dickie, pillow pooper Jackman, sweet Sammie, and several Hydrant Club playmates. She is survived by her most handsome brother, Vonnegut; sassy sister, Cassiopeia; many family and friends, both fur and skin; and her adoring humans, Jules and Steve.
If you are able, please consider donating a bag of kibble to your favorite dog rescue to help the kids who have had a rough start and are looking for their magnificent middle. And once in a while, when someone is being ridiculous, shoot them a glorious Joey side-eye.