Jack Russell Story Jack Russell Story
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Story Name: Is She or Isn't She?
From: Pat Andjelkovic
My Jack Russell Story:
I pulled my coat collar tightly around my neck as icy raindrops fell and froze on my woolen winter cap. Carefully I picked my way along the slippery sidewalk down a dreary Belgrade sidestreet towards my car, mumbling to myself how I must have been nuts to venture downtown in such weather, even if it was to deliver a belated Christmas gift.
To this day I don't know what made me turn around. Several meters behind me, slinking across the street after a man heading toward the dumpster with a pail overflowing with garbage was a small, thin, grayish dog. In a moment, the man crossed the street again, swinging his empty pail.
Now oblivious to the rain, I retraced my steps. Behind the dumpster stood the little dog, chewing furiously on a scrap she had found or was tossed. I squatted down and called to her. She timidly approached, lay down, and rolled over on her back. She was shivering all over and her coat was encrusted with ice.
My husband's words echoed in my ears as I carried her to the car. "Don't be Mother Teresa," he teased each time I brought back a stray to stay with us until we found it a home. We had our own dog, but my heart always went out to help another.
After her bath which still did not take the chill completely out of her bones, I discovered that she was not gray at all, but white with pale black spots, with darker markings on her face. She settled comfortably into our bathroom and enjoyed a bowl of cornmeal mush and milk, which must have been the first real meal she'd ever had.
In the weeks that followed, Daisy blossomed into an outgoing, intensely grateful, eager to please dog, so much so that she's become a part of our family forever. Even our dog, who has since passed on, accepted her.
There are few, if any Jack Russells here in Yugoslavia, although Daisy resembles one nearly 100%. "Is she or isn't she?" We'll never know, but her personality and love she's given us replace any pedigree she could possibly possess.