Jack Russell Story


Courtesy of kirk@texaslonghorn.com

Story Name: Loosing My Dogs (and my mind)
From: Kirk Dickinson

My Jack Russell Story:

On Saturday, March 1st, about 11 AM we were out feeding cattle and I let Kallie and Daisy out to run around a little. There are lots of rabbits in an old barn close to where I let them out. I thought they would stick around. I was wrong, they headed west as fast as they could go. I yelled at the top of my lungs for them to come back. They acted like they were deaf. Kallie was 6 weeks pregnant at the time and had been waddling around grunting and groaning wanting sympathy, but that didn't seem to bother her when she ran off.

I started driving nearby pastures looking for them. I ran a whole tank of gas through my Datsun pickup looking. Not a trace. The worst thing was that they ran off to a pasture they weren't familiar with. I feared that they couldn't find their way home even if they wanted to return.

I was losing my mind about this time. I scanned in their photos and made some flyers. I posted them in every local store and passed them out to all the neighbors.

We had 4-5 different groups of people out searching the countryside. Some people that I didn't even know volunteered to help because they were dog lovers and couldn't stand to see a fellow dog lover in grief.

Finally about dark, I went to the local airport and talked a friend into flying me over the whole area. It is very flat here with very few trees so they would be easy to spot. We flew for 30 minutes 3-4 miles in every direction from where they took off. Not a trace.

At least there didn't appear to be any badger type holes were they could have gone to ground.

Kallie had a collar with my phone number on it. If anybody honest had found them, they would have called me. I was starting to suspect that somebody picked them up to keep. I decided to check the humane society when they opened.

When it started getting dark and the temperature started dropping, I thought the dogs would go to somebody's house if they were able, but I didn't get any calls. By this time I was beside myself with anxiety.

I had a bad time sleeping without my dogs. I kept waking up thinking they were barking outside, wanting in. They weren't. I was up the next morning early passing out flyers.

First thing Sunday morning, I called Mike Bilbo and he decided to drive down from Evergreen, Colorado (2 hours drive) to help me search. Maybe if the dogs went to ground somewhere, then his dogs could find the same hole. He called Pat Scanlan who decided to come help too.

We went flying again this time for over an hour. No luck.

About noon on Sunday, I went home to check the messages on the answering machine and as I left, Kallie was laying by the back door in the sun like she had been there all along. I was so glad to see her. I picked her up and gave her a great big hug. That was about the time that Mike Bilbo and Pat Scanlan showed up to help me search. About 10 minutes later, my cell phone rang and somebody that I gave a flyer to had found Daisy in her garage. I guess she dug under the door and couldn't get out. She was whining, and their dog found her. I was so happy to have all my dogs back.

Since Pat and Mike were already here we went out to an old barn to go let their dogs do some rabbit chasing. It was a successful hunt and all the dogs had fun.

Here is the Poem that Lynda Prime kindly wrote for me about the experience.


Tale of Two JR Terriers:
by: Lynda Prime

This is the tale of Kallie and Daisy Two JRT's far from lazy One the first day of March they decided to stray And off to west they both did run away.

Now to Kirk their Master This spelled disaster For as well all know JRT's a hunting love to go

Driving the pastures and searching all day Not a trace he found to his great dismay

His eyes were blurry his mind half gone His two JRT's had never been missing so long So up in plane Kirk did fly Looking for Kallie and Daisy from the sky

Flyers he posted and passed out by the bunch Friends he contacted for a hunch Called in the tracking dogs along with Pat and Mike But before they arrived Kallie had finished her hike

For out in the yard who did appear A tired thirsty Kallie who Kirk held so dear

One dog found another to go Daisy where are you, we all want to know? Minutes later the phone it did ring And Daisy was discovered in a garage a whining

So Mike and Pat and their dogs stayed for some fun Running after bunnies out in the sun..

The moral of this tale is easy to see Don't give JRT's a chance to flee... Cause hunters they are as hunter will be But oh how they love to sit on Kirk's knee.

As a footnote, Kallie had Seven Beautiful puppies exactly two weeks to the day that she came home.

http://www.texaslonghorn.com/jrt/rogue/kallie/puppies.html


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