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By John Holtonwww.abcdeeg.com

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I like cats. We always had one, or sometimes a lot of them. Timmy was the first, when I was a kid, beautiful, tabby Timmy. Independent, feisty…a cat! He once sat in the middle of the road and made a city bus wait for him to move. The driver got out to shoo him away and received the look, a mixture of bore-dom and disdain that only a cat can give, as he slowly moved to the curb and nonchalantly licked his paw. Further eye contact was unnecessary and far beneath his dignity.

When I was grown up, or at least I got older, depends on who you ask, my wife and I got our first cat. Stan, pure black, and able to disrupt a room with his withering glare…something about a black cat. The list grew over the years, as we became a drop in center for every stray and orphan. It culminated with Oscar, a full 28 pounds of feline magnificence. He was something else, a gentle giant and undisputed leader of the house.

It’s said that dogs have owners and cats have staff. Well, we worked for Oscar, no doubt.

We were undeniably “cat people”. Now, cat people are sometimes over-proud of this designation and they wear it like it somehow gives them superi-ority over those others, you know, the “dog people”, who can’t tolerate the independence the feline species displays so well. It’s as if tolerating aloofness and complete and utter unconcern for your life and breath is a virtue.

Well, this went on for the first 57 years of my life and suddenly we found ourselves without a cat. I don’t remember the exact sequence of events that brought me to the decision, but I had mentioned that those Jack Russell Terriers we pretty neat. A friend alerted me to an ad about JRT’s for sale. $400 bucks later and I held this tiny, wiggling ball of…no other way to say it…a wiggling ball of love!

Jack had entered our lives and things changed entirely. Complete disdain

By John Holtonwww.abcdeeg.com

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was replaced by total trust, unconditional love, and utter dependence. It was intoxicating.

Jack Russell Terriers, or as we say Jack Russell Terrorists, are not for the faint of heart. They require complete commitment and attention. Their activity level is off the charts and sometimes people acquire them because they’re cute, or trendy and soon find themselves overwhelmed. Their cute puppy becomes a raging maniac and threatens to destroy their lives and property. Many such dogs become unwanted. They become rescue dogs. Enter Tonka.

Tonka, or Bonko, as Jack called him…don’t even ask…Jack talks! Accept it, trust me.

Anyhow, Tonka was a rescue dog from Ontar-io…we live in Prince Edward Island. We paid for his flight to Charlottetown and this 8 year old basket case became ours. He was a handful at first, neurotic,

but gentle in a sad kind of way. He lived with my son and daughter-in-law and I was gramps. We had a connection.

Poppin became the third, another rescue dog. This time from closer to home and our first girl. She quickly became the boss…HBIC… Head Bitch In Charge. I can use this term when speaking about dogs…relax! She was pure JRT and ran headlong into any situation with her two henchmen. A pack!

We live in the country and have acres of fields and forest teeming with mice, squirrels, chipmunks and the elusive and tantalizing cheese filled chip-squirrel. Some think they are just a myth, but Jack Russells are convinced of their existence and are dedi-cated to their eradication…and besides they taste great!

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Our situation is ideal for the guys as I call them. They are happiest when we’re all togeth-er. We are an integral part of their pack and they seldom leave our side. Wherever we are in the house they are there too, usually in some form of collapse. Jack informs me that rest is necessary for peak performance. JRT’s can go from total inactivity bordering on coma to frantic chaos in less than one second. This can be brought on by a knock on the door, the rattling of a tree branch on a window, the slightest whis-per of the word squirrel, or merely spelling the word, W,A,L,K.

Nighttime sleep is another matter. They are useless as watchdogs in the middle of the night. Dynamite would fail to stir them from serious nocturnal dream time.

Unconditional love, complete

dependence, and unwavering

trust wrapped up in cute,

cuddly and dynamic packages

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They have their individual beds…three JRT’s on a bed is akin to placing three concrete blocks in the most obtrusive positions possible for your own comfort.

In total, they are completely useless and a waste of oxygen. They contribute nothing to their upkeep and demand complete attention and we love them for it and would do anything for them. Why?

The answer: unconditional love, complete dependence, and unwavering trust wrapped up in cute, cuddly and dynamic packages. We have become “dog people” and wonder why it took so long. I like cats…I love my dogs!

I like cats...

I love my dogs!