Mowgli

An event occurred on 11/7 that almost went unnoticed. Mowgli, my Jack Russell terrier, turned 11. I almost called him Bubba. But remembering the Kipling character from the Jungle Book, Mowgli seemed much more fitting and it stuck.



I bought a house 14 years ago with a big fenced-in back yard thinking I would get a dog. I had seen Jack Russells and really liked the breed. Friends of mine new someone here locally who bred them and bought me the runt of the litter as a gift. They gave him to me right before Thanksgiving 1997. He was a small energetic ball of smooth white fur with black eyes, nose, and smile.



He has been a great companion. He's here to great me when I get home from work, when I get up in the morning, when I walk from one room in the house to another, etc. I should have named him Under-foot. He's extremely interested in whatever I'm doing.



I won't say he's low maintenance. When he was about four years old, he developed allergies. I've had to buy fancy venison and potato food for him. Unfortunately, none of the petco-type places carry it. I have to get it at the Vet's office. Right now it costs over $3 per pound. I remember when it only cost $1.5 per pound. I'm not complaining, he's worth every penny of it.



He's as full of energy as you can imagine. For the first nine years of his life, he very rarely sat down. He was in constant motion. He'll chase a ball until you're tired of throwing it. Once in a while I'll buy one of those big, 2-foot, plastic balls and toss it in the back yard. He'll chase it around until I think he's going to stroke out before I take it away from him. He gets so hot he'll sit in his water bowl to cool off.



An old friend dog sat him while I was away on a trip several years ago. She had enough after about a week and boarded him at the Vet's. I'm told he nipped at the heels of a serviceman who came to the house to do some work. He was mesmerized by her cat.



He is extremely territorial with the back yard. He'll chase off squirrels, raccoons, or opossums whenever given the chance. On occasion, he's caught them and sent them to the big forest in the sky. I'm glad I've never pissed him off. He even gets a little testy if birds approach his air-space. He once dug up a yellow jacket nest because they had invaded his kingdom.



He's starting to show his age a little. He sits once in a while and I've even seen him curl up in a blanket and sleep. He's even been known to go into the bedroom and curl up in the covers on the bed.



An old friend a portrait painted him for my birthday this year. She really captured his personality on canvas. The swirls in the background are extremely telling of his personality. She paints from photos but has had a good deal of experience with him in the flesh over the years. If you're interested in a pet portrait of your own, contact me and I can give you some contact information.



Well Mowgli, old boy, here's to you. The first eleven years were great and I'm looking forward to many more.