The Spreading Love Project

On April 27, 2022, at 8:00 am in the morning, I had to say goodbye to Little Jo, my big, special, beautiful boy. He was 15 years, 7 months and one day old. He had been in my life since 2 months old. Angela, my fiance', was with me as I hugged and kissed and petted him and gave him all my love as I watched him take his last breaths. He went very peacefully and felt all of my and Angela’s love as he fell into his final sleep. It totally broke my heart as I sat there with him in my arms and watched him go. He was a Border Collie, and the most amazing dog imaginable… I loved him with all my heart. He and I gave each other so much love for all the time that we shared together on this earth. I will love that big, special, boy forever, and I will always cherish every beautiful memory of our times together, forever. 

That was one of the saddest days of my life. This was the second time I have been through that experience. The first was on December 23, 2004. That day in the same way, I said goodbye to Mojo, my other big, special, beautiful, boy who was 15 years and 7 months and 16 days old on the day that he passed away. He was a Border Collie as well, and he too had been in my life since about 2 months old. My heart was broken on that day also. 

On the morning after saying goodbye to Mojo in 2004, I started writing a song that I called "Doggie Heaven". A month before that, I had gone through another very traumatic experience, probably the most traumatic of my life, which left me in a fragile state of mind for a long time. Because of my frame of mind, and truthfully, probably because I was a less developed songwriter and producer than I am now, I never finished writing that song. Perhaps one of these days I will. However, almost 20 years later, on the morning after Little Jo passed away, I arose at 5am after hardly having slept from being so sad about Little Jo, and in about 45 minutes, in one of the most beautiful songs I have ever written, I expressed all of my raw and honest emotions to Little Jo. This time, I recorded it immediately. The name of the song is "So Sad You're Gone". It's obviously a very sad song, but as I said, I think also a very beautiful song, and writing and recording it was an incredibly cathartic experience for me. I dropped everything from my life for a few weeks and put all of my energy into that recording process and when I finished, I made a video to accompany it, my first video ever, which I posted on Facebook. Over 16,000 people watched it in just a few days, and the outpouring of love and empathy that I received in the comments from the hundreds of people, many whom I didn't even know, was one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had, particularly since it was in the face of such a terribly sad experience. In their comments, friends and strangers alike, said so many lovely and heartwarming things, such as: "Beautiful song in honor of your dog... this should be the anthem for all of us dog lovers for when our dogs go to heaven." and "Omg i am crying and sending virtual hugs to you in your sorrow….what a grand memorial song and full of your love for the beautiful boy" and "Beautiful song & video Steve . Made me cry like a baby  but I know exactly what you were saying. Rest in Peace Little Jo. I hope he meets up with my baby girl Jess 2007- 2021"... and hundreds of others!

My mother, who is now 94 years old, suggested to me that, because this video had touched so many people's hearts in such a profound way, I should consider including Little Jo in some way in "The Spreading Love Project". I thought that was a great idea, and so I did. I started a "The Spreading Love Project" YouTube channel, and I ended up making a few more videos, all in honor of Little Jo. I have included 2 of them below. My mom was right... so far, almost 300,000 people have watched them. In the 2nd video “Message From All Pets In Heaven”, Little Jo, in a very cute way, explains his involvement and role in "The Spreading Love Project". (Spoiler… he has taken on the role of being in charge of marketing!) 

I really hope you enjoy watching them as much as I did making them. If you, either have now or have ever had a pet during your life, I am certain that you will enjoy them, although please know that you will likely cry… everyone does. In addition, however, most people also tell me how much comfort both videos bring to them. So please grab a handkerchief, get comfortable, and join me and Little Jo as we share our lives with you, and allow us to honor your lives with your beloved pets… past and present.

With all our love,  

Steve and Little Jo

P.S. To see all of our “The Spreading Love Project” videos, please visit our YouTube channel by clicking on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/@stevejacobson-thespreading7775/videos