A Jack Russell tale
My younger sister calls me up one day and says "I am thinking of getting a dog". As a new home owner I thought this would be good for her and encouraged her to do so. She then teels me she is bringing home a Jack Russell that very day!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I screamed.......
To late....when she asked why, I warned her that this would not be like the family pets we have shared over the years but a whole new ballgame. Training this dog would be a lot of work. "But he has a grade 5 heart murmur and the pet store will not sell or keep him...he is to be put down".
The vet that inspected the puppies for the store told me this dog would be lucky to live 3 months...6 at best. I advised my sister that for that short a period I did not think the dog would become a problem for her.
My concern was that she would not be able to train this type of dog and that instead he would soon have her and her roomates well trained. Since the dog would not live long training did not seem to be an issue. I advised my sister just to let him be for the short time he has.......
5 YEARS LATER
Barney....lovingly refered to as 'the little bastard' is master of all he see's. He is certainly the most ferociuos little creature I have ever encountered.......fearless... ...has taken on front end loaders gripping the knobs on the tires as the diesel engine roared in his ears.......chased a moose back into the forest at our cottage. Made a popsicle out of my Staffy (a red nose pitter) and any other hound that has the balls to growl back at him.
Just an unbelievable specimen on the whole. This summer he finally showed some signs of fatigue. While running about like mad he will often drop to his belly and pant away like a dog with a serious heart condition. He never understood physics.
So here we have an untrained Jack Russell going on 6. What an adventure it has been. My own dogs have passed and when I am ready I would love to have a pair of my own........well trained of course!
JBud
