The Beloved Beasts.

Time to lighten things up around here! So onto one of my favorite subjects: my dogs….

These are my three well-loved dogs. Spot is the oldest and biggest, an Akita-Aussie mix. When he was a puppy, he had a more-prominent black splotch on his head, hence his old-school name. The middle one is our black-and-white, rough coat Jack Russell Terrier named Gus. He is my bestest dog buddy, really an amazing animal. When I am at home, we are never apart.

Fiona is our little girl, also a rough coat JRT. She came to us from a breeder in Ohio, on a plane, in a crate. She has perfect “conformation” (in case that means anything to you) and is completely neurotic.

For instance, her favorite thing to do in the whole world is chasing the weeds you pull from the garden–not mice, or lizards, or bugs. Weeds. I usually don’t go to breeders for dogs (I’m a pound puppy person) but, when I got Fiona, I was mourning the loss of another female JRT who had unusual markings very similar to Fiona’s, so I went looking for as near a match as I could find. Probably not the best reason to adopt a new dog, but it ended up working out pretty well. I always thought I was a “big-dog person” (had a collie growing up) until I got to know JRTs. They believe themselves to be big dogs. R. calls them “thugs in white clown suits.” He read that in a book.

I am now smitten with the breed. My car’s bumper sticker reads, “Got Jacks?”

Oh, yes. Yes, I do.