Breaking Out

by Teresa Sherman
(South :asadena, California)

It was the end of summer 1990. Our nephew, Alan, was visiting from Michigan. My three sons were 9, 7 and 3 at the time and playing in the backyard. My oldest son, Daniel, ran into the house and said that a dog was at the side gate looking in the yard. This cute face with a "broken coat" was looking at us and barking to come in. Really! The dog had a collar and ID tags. My sons said, "Mommy can we keep him".

Well of course, we let him in. He was friendly but I was cautious since I did not know this dog. Well, I checked his ID tags and found out his name (Beeman). He and his owners lived up the street. I called the number and left info on the answer machine. Meanwhile, the dog was playing in the yard with Alan and my young sons. Beeman loved playing catch and running around the yard as if he was boy number 4 in my household. His owner came to retrieve Beeman.

I asked Mrs Straw what breed her dog was and she said a Jack Russell. It was love at 1st sight! Beeman frequently wound saunter down the street and wait patiently outside the gate until the boys came home from school. How we loved him. Then 1 day, Mrs Straw said that her family and Beeman were moving and it was time to say good-bye to our loving playmate.

Within 2 weeks, our very own JRT, Morgan, came into our home. Morgan was 12 weeks of age and grew up with our boys. To meet other JRT owners, we became involved with the South Coast Jack Russell Club. Morgan grew with my boys being both good and bad (he frequently got into trouble like they did). At 16 years of age, Morgan went over to the Rainbow Bridge. Morgan taught our sons to be responsible pet owners; discipline and love were important.

And now I look forward to bringing a new JRT puppy into our household!

Editor Note: Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story on how Jack Russell's can change and brighten our lives!