Natural Instinct
Working Jack Russell Terriers
Living with Jack Russell Terriers
The Quest
It all started in November 1995 , we had came during the natural course of our lives came across this fine beast called the Jack Russell Terrier. Kate had decided that Her Beloved ( Me) needed one of these fine creatures and began on a quest to find a JRT. One of the first things that we found out about this breed is that not all pups presented to us as Jack Russell Terriers were necessarily so but a mix of some JRT and Something else. We visited various folks that had the JRT pup that we were looking for and were quite surprised at the breeders not being able to give you any history or ancestry of their pups.
As fate would have it we where put in touch with a lovely lady called Shirley Walker from Derby Downs Farm near Owen Sound Ontario . I was Quite surprised when I called this Lady as she seemed to be questioning me about why I wanted a JRT and what was my plans for the pup , this was altogether a different approach from previous breeders whose only concern was selling the pup.
After finding about my interest in a dog to hunt with Mrs. Walker told me she had one that would fill the bill but that others were interested and coming in the morning to see the litter. We Arrived the next morning as the others where leaving with their new JRT and I had this sinking feeling in my gut but was so relieved as Shirley informed us , "I have kept this female pup for you , I'm sure she will be a good hunter" and she brought out this beautiful pup that was white with tan head and patch and set it down.
Mom Meggie appeared and Shirley said to her "get that Sassy 1 " at which
Meggie and this little pup began to ruff each other . The pup would not back down from her
mom but faced her with a fierceness that you would not think possible from such a small
young thing. Shirley told us how Meggie had singled out this pup and spent her time
training it to stand up to her while the others just would just roll over when Mom tried
it with them. Shirley was certain that this pup would grow up to be a great hunter and if
we thought we could give her the kind of care she needed we could have her. We very
quickly said "YES" and life has never been the same since.
Now for a Name
One of the things that Shirley requested was that we would get in touch with her when we decided to name the new one and she also suggested that we might be interested in a thing called the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Canada.
Off we went with our new master ( yes that's right master as you can never own a Jack
Russell Terrier but will be owned by them ) and found a whole new avenue of life that
never existed before. The first task that we set out upon was to try to come up with a
name for her. It just seemed that nothing but nothing would fit this pup for a handle. We
almost settled on Joy because she brought so much of it into our home. This term only
described what we felt and just never fit that dog. One night I was talking to Kate about
the name thing and lamented that Joy just did not fit and Kate replied that the Name
Shirley had unknowingly called her as she was telling Meggie to get that pup was one that
definitely fit to a tee . I could not have agreed with her more and so we now have SASSY 1.
Sassy has accompanied us constantly since that fateful November day and changed the whole household order till it met with her approval.
Sassy 1 wants to be a Mom
As we lived with Sassy 1 and she grew up to be a fine young lady we became aware that she had a desire to become a mommy and so began the process of finding a proper Dad for her family. This can be a very hard thing as not just any old dog will do. We contacted some local folks that own Jack Russell Terriers and they gave us others to contact. After talking to about a dozen different folks (Ma bell really loved us that month) we decided to make a trip to Guelph and Visit the Home of Foxport Tucker Of Vagabond, His folks are Wayne and Marla and are they ever proud of Tucker. With Good Cause Tucker has won may hunting events and was Canadian Champion many time over. We where happy to find someone who Knew what to do in the hunting field and even had good looks, Sassy1 fell for him immediately and we arranged a date for the two of them when the time was right.
Sassy's Family
Sassy1 had 3 lovely pups, 2 males and one female. The boys where named Radar and Bear while we could not decide on a name for the girl. My daughter kept calling her a real doll etc. and she eventually got called Dollie and rightly so. Radar and Dollie stayed with us and Bear lives with some real nice folks not to far away. Sassy 1 really enjoyed her family as did the rest of the household.
Through the summer Radar became quite attached to our eldest son and goes most places with him while Sassy 1 and Dollie hang with the rest of the family. We are all one happy family for a while, hunting and traveling and relaxing together.
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Living with Jack Russell Terriers
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