Day 13

     My proofreader told me I now had endless blog content.  She may be right.

     I remember when my first grandson was born.  We would go out for supper every Friday night with a group of friends, "The Supper Club".  Every Friday night I would bore the group to tears with new pictures of my grandson.  

     Now that I have a new dog, it may be the same scenario.

     I was there when Runtly was born, one of seven tiny Jack Russell Terrier puppies.  If you missed that episode, you can refer back to "And Then There Were Seven".  He was so tiny and not very handsome.  I felt kind of sorry for him, thinking the other pups might not let him play any reindeer/puppy games because of his stature. When I would stop to visit and check on their progress, I always held Runtly.  After all, he was easy to pick out of the squirming white mass of puppies because he was so tiny.  

     All of these puppies were supposed to be sold.  I began to limit my visits because of this.  On Christmas Eve, during a family gathering, my son-in-law took a phone call.  It was someone from Iowa, they were in town to pick up Runtly, he was the last to go.

     I thought I knew that I was going to get Runtly.  There had been too much "puppy" talk going on, especially from my husband, Mr. Nolikeanimals.  But, later in the evening, when my son-in-law posted a picture of Runtly saying "good bye" in the arms of some unknown Iowan on Facebook, my heart sank.  He was gone.....no Runtly for me.

     Of course, that all changed Christmas morning.  My second grandson, whose pictures also bored the "Supper Club",  told me, after the big surprise, "Gramma, we've known this for a REALLY LONG time!"  It was nearly more than his ten years of learning how to keep a secret could stand.

     It has been nearly two weeks since Runtly came in to our lives.  In that short amount of time I have spent more money on this dog than I have on my self in the last three years.  He already knows that if I carry a sack into the house, there is something in it for him.  He knows that the furnace register in the office is the warmest place in the house and gathers all his toys, blanket and extra bed into a pile in front of it when its time to take a break.  He knows that when the tone of my voice changes something is not quite right and can look very guilty. I know this is not a true admission of guilt, Runtly has no guilt.   He knows that Tigger the cat is loads of fun, but when Tigger has had enough, he bites.  Tigger always has had enough long before Runtly has.

     Jack Russell Terriers are a special breed of dog.  Not that other breeds aren't special, but most breeds do not go from zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds or bounce off the walls like a steel ball in a pinball machine.  They are very intelligent but can fall into attention deficit mode when focused on a new moving object, whether that be a bug on the floor or their own shadow.  They also have a mind of their own and I have already witnessed the look that says, "Your lips may be moving, but I'm not listening."

     The book, Jack Russell Terriers for Dummies, seriously, there really is a book with that title, by Deborah Britt-Hay says that it can take up to 8 months to house/potty train this breed.  Not because they are stupid, but because it can take that long for them to decide if they want to follow your plan...........sigh.  I will admit, I've gotten more exercise in the last 13 days than I have in quite awhile.

     In the meantime, Runtly seems to be falling into a daily routine of learning what works and what doesn't........or maybe I am.