Jack Russel Terrors

I have two Jack Russell Terriers. In case you aren't sure what they are, that's TWO too many. They are high energy, spunky, smart, fearless, yappy little dogs. They weigh 10-20 pounds, but fully believe they are 80 pound pit bulls. My husband and I were never allowed to have dogs when we were children. Naturally, as soon as we got our own place, we went dog crazy and ended up with TWO JRT's. Jacques was our first. We adopted him before we even got married. I was 21 and living in my own apartment. He lived with me, but it was agreed he was OUR dog. He was the sweetest little thing, but I should have known he was trouble when on the way home from picking him up, he pooped in the front seat of my car.

He was a handful to say the least, but was so much fun. Time went by and my husband and I married and moved in together. It was then that we got the brilliant idea that Jacques needed a playmate. We adopted a female JRT we called Lily. We thought having two of them would keep them busy all day long and they would love each other and live happily ever after. Well, Lily ended up dominating Jacques and little did we know we had just sentenced poor Jacques to a lifetime of servitude to the domineering Lily. These dogs were the center of our lives for years. When our son came along, the dogs took a back seat and now I'm sad to say drive me completely insane. They bark when my son is napping and they pee on my kitchen floor. There are days when I fantasize about putting a post on Craigslist and sending Jacques and Lily on their way. However, when I see my son with them, I am reminded why I got these silly dogs in the first place. The dogs and my dear son are in love with each other. JRT's are notoriously bad with children as many smart dog breeds are. Jacques and Lily, however, are so very patient with my son. He steals their bones and pulls their ears and pokes their eyes, but all they do is soak up the attention. I keep telling myself (daily) that in a few years this trio will be inseparable. (Plus I'll have someone to help me clean up the dog poop in the backyard)