The Attempted Murder of My Jack Russell Terrier

My dog Jimbo is your typical Jack Russell Terrier.

He thinks he's a Great Dane, fears no other creature, and believes himself utterly invincible.

Every day of his canine life he has, in constant vigilance guarded and patrolled his territory, which consists of...me, my house, and six acres of a mostly wooded yard. And as he thinks his job intensely serious, he continuously seeks my attention...to take notice of this valiant and diligent vocation.

Each day, without fail, he will patiently wait for me to come home. And as my car approaches, Jimbo, purposely placing himself in my full view, will suddenly dart across the path of the car in seemingly hot pursuit of, it would appear some phantom intruder. And I always play along with this charade, praising loudly, commending the little ham for such astute service.

Recently one afternoon I sat sipping tea at my favorite spot on the back deck that overlooks the woods not twenty feet away. Jimbo sat contentedly at my feet when suddenly we heard some sort of creature, and one that, by the sound of the footsteps, appeared to be rather large.

Jimbo was immediately to his feet pointed towards the direction of the trespasser...and obviously ready to lurch.

In a moment the creature showed itself from behind the bush. It was a large doe and incredibly, as the deer in this area are extremely shy, was fearlessly coming nearer and nearer.

Jimbo, like a streak of lightning, did lurch, charging the doe with all the speed and agility so afforded Jack Russells. But to my surprise, as well as Jimbo's, this doe, without a shred of shyness, charged my Jimbo, coming very nearly close to stomping his little head with vicious ferocity.

But Jimbo was quick and escaped, albeit just barely. And this feisty doe, who held no resemblance whatever to the sweet and mild natured mother deer in the movie Bambi, glared at him as he skipped away, disgusted having missed the opportunity to utterly murder him, turned slowly and disappeared into the wood.

Now it was immediately clear that Jimbo viewed this hoof-pounding-near-death-experience as a triumphant conquest for him, and at the same time fulfilling a life-long dream...that I would at last be a front row witness to him in full action...the conquering homeland defense dog. And he couldn't believe his luck, that the challenger turned out to be a creature as huge as a deer! What a show of bravery! What a test of strength! And ALL with his master's full attention!

I never, ever saw him so cocky. However, little did he know that a week later he would be facing this same foe...but this time at Waterloo.

It was late Sunday afternoon as I sat at my computer on the second story of our home. My husband had just come up to get something from the balcony when, frantically, he slammed the door back shouting, "Something's Got Jimbo!!"

It was then that I heard screams that I never heard any creature make - sometimes like a woman, sometimes like gutteral gurglings of total and utter desperation. It was quite a distance from the house but amazingly my husband made his way to the crime in seconds. I could only stand on the balcony screaming Jimbo's name.

But just as my husband reached the spot, which was hidden from my view, I saw Jimbo spring from the bush running as I have never seen an animal run. Close behind was my husband, and following not far behind him, prancing a most sinister prance, was that same ferocious deer from the week before.

I ran downstairs and into the yard and found both my husband and Jimbo hiding in the shed out of breath, shaking, pupils dialated black with fear, complete terror still on their faces. I turned to see the lunatic deer, head proudly held high, again disappear into the wood.

To this day Jimbo wears a small dent in his skull just above his left eye. The attempted murder was unsuccessful and he still patrols our yard with all valiant diligence. However, he takes no notice, not even a stolen, fleeting glance of one particular tresspasser, one who frequently and most freely roams and grazes any part of our yard she so pleases.

Even teasingly she will feed close to Jimbo's dog house, daring him to but wink at her.

But he never acknowledges her presence, in fact...he does not speak of the matter at all.

Trisha Adams Jack Russell Pics & Tics www.jack-russell-terrier-pictures.com