My Old Faithfull

[hawkeye the brave 7]

Well its been just over a year now since I lost my last terrier and I still miss her like heck , she would have been 19 years old on March 5th this year ,when I bought her it was just a few months after getting a Lurcher pup (something I had wanted for long time) and hence with work and and training the lurcher I negleted the terrier training (partly due to resentment of my wife wanting the terrier ) bad timing , so it was never to have been my dog origninally , I kept training the lurcher and just took the terrier out for exercise and so the first few times I took the terrier out she did,nt show any interest in work at all and I then took no interest in taking her on my permissions .

In the mean time my lurcher had developed into a lovely gracefull running hound and was taken out each time i went with ferrets or lamping ,I was also doing quite a bit of shooting and although the lurcher was ok with small cal. guns i.e. 410 - 2" and .22 subs she would,nt tolerate anything more , I considered getting a gundog again which i had before but then two dogs were enough in the house with three children as well , so that following Autumn I decided to try the terrier again and she did,nt let me down ,no fear og the gun ,no fear of anything come to that ,and she would work the hedges keeping me in sight wherever possible ,if she could,nt see me she would pop out and take a look and she would follow her quarry relentlessly , over the years i started using the guns less partly so i could use both dogs on outings with ferrets or bushing , as the lurcher came up to her nineth years she developed a couple of small lumps , i took her to the vet thinking it as being infection in her teat , they did tests and it turned out as cancer ,after reassuring me we had caught it early i went ahead with treatment for her , within a year it got worse and she started having fitts so bad I had her put to sleep , i was gutted but so was her lifelong companion - this little terrier

now became my soulmate coming everywhere possible with me ,as the years went by she lost her hearing ,sight and nearly all her teeth , we would walk together but she started not being able to keep up so i would go back carry her few hundred yards then she would ask to go back on her own feet and this went on until my wife reckoned that it was unfair to us both and she had that last fatefull trip with me to the vet in december 2011 .

[bobby blackheart 1,209]

nice write up pal-get yourself another dog and carry on were you left off

[smasher 1,055]

Nice little read,enjoyed reading that you obviously thought a lot of her,reminded me of one of my own that came to small for earth work but became a favourite with the family as she was a real character,and secured a place on the sofa,from about 6 months old she came with me every time I went shooting,and took to it like a duck to water,flushing anything that the covers held,rabbits,pheasants,fox or deer,if there was game in the cover she would not come out until it was flushed or she had caught It, and became a dab hand at catching the pheasants before they got a chance to flush to the guns which annoyed some but always put a little smile on my face.however recently she has takin a liking for going to ground,so will have to try and avoid certain places with her.

Edited March 19, 2013 by smasher

[fatasafool 216]

Lovely stories lads ..Simon Bates would have shed a tear reading them

[hawkeye the brave 7]

Got a Whippet now (he was a year old when i lost the terrier) partly due to having few sighthounds before with my Terriers and partly beause you can,t replace with same ,tried that before and its never the same as your expectations of the replacement dog , I started my shooting years with gundogs -

had spaniels and labs and although they are good retrievers and spaniels hunt well none of the gundogs come as good all round as a terrier and you can,t work a gundog with a sighthound like with a terrier , I think for all round hunting with gun or r.dog you just can,t beat them .

Mine would ,hunt ,rats ,mice, mink ,game birds etc as" Smasher " said she would have a go ,spent an hour one afternoon calling her and waiting when she had gone on a fox in a hollowed out tree ,she eventually came out covered in mud and earth splattered with blood , she was never a lap dog but laid on the floor by my feet when at home , she would,nt go to anyone other than my sons and then only when i was,nt around ,as with most terriers she had guts and tenacity one of the things i admire about them , they have boundless energy ,enthusiasem and stamina , i have hunted with her from 6 .a.m. until dusk in all weathers ,she was J.russel x Border , I have seen a dog called the "Teckel " which is known to be a excellent tracking hunting dog with rough hair and short legs but don,t know anyone who works them ,they are used in Europe for blood tracking Deer and Wild Boar ,anyone know them ?

I believe they are a Dashound cross .

[Alli 923]

good write up sounds like you got some good memorys with the terrier, theres a few guys on hear that have teckles and work them, sure you could find them if you did a search.

[Cleanspade 3,323]

good write up that, most folk that have terriers for any amount of time will be able to relate to that. ive not long ago put an old russell down sixteen .blind and deaf, and toothless. the only thing i regret is not putting her away a little earlier. it was selfish of us to hang onto her as long as we did.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Cleanspade

[Huan72 687]

Thanks for sharing that, I could really relate to it. The bond with your dog is truely special, soul mate, best friend. To make the decision to have them put to sleep is the most difficult thing to do, but I think it is the last and greatest thing that you can do for them. I owe my dogs everything and I think that you and your dog were very lucky to have met each other. I had to have my dog put to sleep many years ago because he bit someone on the face, the decision sounds easy I know but I felt responsible as I felt that I put him into that situation. Sounds silly I know but it took me years to get over it. Thanks again for the write up and best wishes.

[hawkeye the brave 7]

Thanks for sharing that, I could really relate to it. The bond with your dog is truely special, soul mate, best friend. To make the decision to have them put to sleep is the most difficult thing to do, but I think it is the last and greatest thing that you can do for them. I owe my dogs everything and I think that you and your dog were very lucky to have met each other. I had to have my dog put to sleep many years ago because he bit someone on the face, the decision sounds easy I know but I felt responsible as I felt that I put him into that situation. Sounds silly I know but it took me years to get over it. Thanks again for the write up and best wishes.

You sound as I think , I don,t know if any dog owner that does,nt work with their dog ever gets that connection that we do , I don,t know how far or how long I have spent over the years walking to exercise my dogs and actually working with them but if you make that connection with your dog it actually feels like he or she knows what your thinking and can anticipate your next move , I have felt a connection with a lot of my dogs but the previous two - lurcher and terrier not only made it with me but with each other , the average family pet never really gets the chance to think for itself or its owner - it has no need to does it ?