So as I was Saying
I almost killed my dog the other day, and I feel terrible about it. As well I should. If you ask me, I'd tell you it wasn't my fault. If you would ask the dog, I'm certain he would beg to differ. HK believes that her dogs could do no wrong, so that makes it my fault. Maybe I better explain.
Over the years, I've told you about our dogs. We have a female golden doodle (standard poodle, golden retriever mix) who runs the house, and a male Jack Russell terrier, Oliver, who is the enforcer of all rules. Even as he is getting older, and slowing down a bit, you still don't want to cross him.
Now it says on it's website, Jack Russell's aren't for everyone. They are extremely intelligent, resourceful, with a very strong instinct that can get them in trouble. If you have the patience, they can be a great dog. Over the years, we have had to have a lot of patience with him, which he does pay back. He is very loyal, loving and protective. Nothing happens in that house without him knowing about it. You just make sure to stay on his good side.
As a fighter he can be nasty. He has never bitten a human, but everything else he has. More than a few times HK or myself has had to grab Ollie and get him out of a situation, before it gets out of control, and some other animal gets hurt badly of even killed. He is like a gunfighter, cunning and charming. He goes off to kill, and comes back like nothing ever happened. Over the years, I have seen him lose only two fights. Both to the same 'critter'. A mean, nasty, feral cat that patrols the back alley.
When an animal loses a fight, ordinarily they try to avoid that situation. Not Oliver. He is obsessed with that cat. Revenge is his motivation. We keep him inside, but when he does escape, he heads right to the alley to find his old buddy. That cat is in his head. On occasion, when Oliver is inside, that cat will come on the porch and torment him through the windows. That just drives Ollie crazy.
So last week, that's what happened. That afternoon, the cat showed up on the porch, and teased my guy. Oliver didn't forget and was waiting for an opportunity to get out. And I gave it to him.
About 11 p.m. or so, I was shutting the house down to retire for the night. Problem is, I had left my phone in the car, and needed to go get it. The temperature was below zero, but I figured I make a quick dash out to the driveway and retrieve it. When I opened the door and took off, I didn't see that Oliver had followed me out, went through the gate that I left open, and was off for a 'scuff' with that cat.
I found the phone, ran back to the house, shut gate, went in and locked the door. At that point, I finished up turning off the lights, closed up the the fireplace down, and was looking to settle down.. As I am getting ready to head upstairs for the night, I hear Oliver barking. The barks sounded like they were coming from a distance, and I figured he was upstairs in bed. And true to his personality, he was mad about something. I was right.
When I got upstairs, he was still barking. Except he wasn't where I thought he was. In fact, he was nowhere to be found.
So I take off down the stairs, and start looking around. In checking all of his hiding spots, it was clear that he hadn't been in any of them for quite a while. By now, the barking had stopped, but I panicking, no Oliver. I went back out to the sub-zero back yard, to look around, but couldn't find him anywhere.
Back in the house I go, checking under blankets, in his food dish (don't ask), out on the screened in front porch. Still no trace. By now, twenty minutes or so passed.
He had to be outside. I mean, I checked the entire house, and he wasn't there. So again, I head outside, wearing, slippers, shorts and a tee-shirt. I'm not really all that sure what I would have done, had I had head off the alley and find him. Fortunately that didn't happen.
I'm looking everywhere in the yard, when I caught a flash of white, out of the side my eye. "Oliver", he looked up, and started jumping. (Jack Russell's jump. It's the darndest thing you have ever seen. My guy has a higher vertical leap than I do. By a great deal).
The second I opened the gate, he ran up the back stairs and to the house as fast as he could. He does have short hair, and he was frozen to the bone. Once in the house, he continued in a dead sprint, up the stairs, and onto my spot on the bed, and right to sleep. He didn't look back once.
In the couple of minutes it took me to lock the door, and shut the lights off, and get up the stairs, he was spread out all over my area. When I woke him up to move him, he was more irate than usual. I could almost recognize the look in his eye. "Let me see if I understand this. You leave Me outside in the bitter cold, and then you kick me out of this warm spot, because YOU want to lay down here? Come on, man."
He was so mad at me, he wouldn't hang out for a couple days. I couldn't touch or even get within a few feet of him. Finally, after dinner one night, I gave him some 'people' food, which got me back on the Christmas card list. But even though it has been a week now, he still won't sit up and watch TV with me at night. When HK goes up, Oliver is right behind her. He still doesn't trust me. Come on Oliver, it was an accident. I didn't know you were there.
He doesn't believe me.
Back Thursday with another Person of the Week
We will talk soon
Jeff
Over the years, I've told you about our dogs. We have a female golden doodle (standard poodle, golden retriever mix) who runs the house, and a male Jack Russell terrier, Oliver, who is the enforcer of all rules. Even as he is getting older, and slowing down a bit, you still don't want to cross him.
Now it says on it's website, Jack Russell's aren't for everyone. They are extremely intelligent, resourceful, with a very strong instinct that can get them in trouble. If you have the patience, they can be a great dog. Over the years, we have had to have a lot of patience with him, which he does pay back. He is very loyal, loving and protective. Nothing happens in that house without him knowing about it. You just make sure to stay on his good side.
As a fighter he can be nasty. He has never bitten a human, but everything else he has. More than a few times HK or myself has had to grab Ollie and get him out of a situation, before it gets out of control, and some other animal gets hurt badly of even killed. He is like a gunfighter, cunning and charming. He goes off to kill, and comes back like nothing ever happened. Over the years, I have seen him lose only two fights. Both to the same 'critter'. A mean, nasty, feral cat that patrols the back alley.
When an animal loses a fight, ordinarily they try to avoid that situation. Not Oliver. He is obsessed with that cat. Revenge is his motivation. We keep him inside, but when he does escape, he heads right to the alley to find his old buddy. That cat is in his head. On occasion, when Oliver is inside, that cat will come on the porch and torment him through the windows. That just drives Ollie crazy.
So last week, that's what happened. That afternoon, the cat showed up on the porch, and teased my guy. Oliver didn't forget and was waiting for an opportunity to get out. And I gave it to him.
About 11 p.m. or so, I was shutting the house down to retire for the night. Problem is, I had left my phone in the car, and needed to go get it. The temperature was below zero, but I figured I make a quick dash out to the driveway and retrieve it. When I opened the door and took off, I didn't see that Oliver had followed me out, went through the gate that I left open, and was off for a 'scuff' with that cat.
I found the phone, ran back to the house, shut gate, went in and locked the door. At that point, I finished up turning off the lights, closed up the the fireplace down, and was looking to settle down.. As I am getting ready to head upstairs for the night, I hear Oliver barking. The barks sounded like they were coming from a distance, and I figured he was upstairs in bed. And true to his personality, he was mad about something. I was right.
When I got upstairs, he was still barking. Except he wasn't where I thought he was. In fact, he was nowhere to be found.
So I take off down the stairs, and start looking around. In checking all of his hiding spots, it was clear that he hadn't been in any of them for quite a while. By now, the barking had stopped, but I panicking, no Oliver. I went back out to the sub-zero back yard, to look around, but couldn't find him anywhere.
Back in the house I go, checking under blankets, in his food dish (don't ask), out on the screened in front porch. Still no trace. By now, twenty minutes or so passed.
He had to be outside. I mean, I checked the entire house, and he wasn't there. So again, I head outside, wearing, slippers, shorts and a tee-shirt. I'm not really all that sure what I would have done, had I had head off the alley and find him. Fortunately that didn't happen.
I'm looking everywhere in the yard, when I caught a flash of white, out of the side my eye. "Oliver", he looked up, and started jumping. (Jack Russell's jump. It's the darndest thing you have ever seen. My guy has a higher vertical leap than I do. By a great deal).
The second I opened the gate, he ran up the back stairs and to the house as fast as he could. He does have short hair, and he was frozen to the bone. Once in the house, he continued in a dead sprint, up the stairs, and onto my spot on the bed, and right to sleep. He didn't look back once.
In the couple of minutes it took me to lock the door, and shut the lights off, and get up the stairs, he was spread out all over my area. When I woke him up to move him, he was more irate than usual. I could almost recognize the look in his eye. "Let me see if I understand this. You leave Me outside in the bitter cold, and then you kick me out of this warm spot, because YOU want to lay down here? Come on, man."
He was so mad at me, he wouldn't hang out for a couple days. I couldn't touch or even get within a few feet of him. Finally, after dinner one night, I gave him some 'people' food, which got me back on the Christmas card list. But even though it has been a week now, he still won't sit up and watch TV with me at night. When HK goes up, Oliver is right behind her. He still doesn't trust me. Come on Oliver, it was an accident. I didn't know you were there.
He doesn't believe me.
Back Thursday with another Person of the Week
We will talk soon
Jeff
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