Should Have Called Her "Skippy"

Since I mentioned the first Jack Russell Terrier in my life in my Adventures post I thought I should introduce you to THE Jack Russell Terrier in my life: Lucy aka Lucy Poop, Little Bit and Lucy the Jack Russell Terror. Lucy is 12# of dynamite; a typical little dog who's really a big dog in a little dog suit. Totally size blind, Lucy will charge the biggest dog in the crowd only to turn and run away screaming like a little girl when the big dog turns around.

She was 7 months old when she came to us 3 years ago. A client was moving and couldn't keep her. I had already gotten to know Lucy while I was selling the house and immediately said "we'll take her!" We already had Rosey, a 2 1/2 year old Golden Retriever, so I had to say that if Rosey couldn't adjust, we couldn't keep Lucy but I don't think I could have ever taken her back.

I tell her all the time that she is the luckiest dog in the world. She's got us all wrapped around her little paw. She's got 2 acres to chase squirrels & chipmunks around and has Rosey, her big red sister who puts up with her antics on a daily basis. She loves peanut butter (shoulda called her Skippy) and waits patiently every morning to share Paul's coffee and cereal. In short, she's a brat.

Adventures in South Africa

A few people have asked me, "what's up with the jungle stuff?" Well, I have always loved animal prints. My favorites are African prints; leopard, cheetah and zebra are best. I don't wear furs but I do adore animal prints in fashion and use them as accents in decor.

My husband is a hunter; let's get that out there first and foremost. We eat just about everything he harvests but our house is also full of animal mounts and trophies. When we first moved into our home I christened what most would call a den, The DAR, short for Dead Animal Room. In that room you will find a bear head mount, caribou antlers, mule deer antlers and several duck mounts. And in 2002 I accompanied Paul on a safari to South Africa. Not all that keen on the trip initially, it turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for me and certainly a dream come true for my husband who has been hunting since the age of 9. So now you will find several African animal mounts in our home as well.

Back in 2001 when he first started seriously talking about an African hunt he came home from a sportsmen's show saying "I've found the professional hunter I want to hunt with in Africa. Do you want to go with me?" My answer was "that's nice, honey, but, no thanks. I'm not interested in going to Africa, have fun." He said "You don't understand, I WANT you to go with me. I want to do this together." Hmmm, that was different. Okay, I'll consider it, but I need more info.

So Paul took the list of references provided by Erik Terblanche of Amanita Safaris and called every single person on the list. One of the hunters had taken his wife, a nonhunter like myself, with him. So Paul contacted that couple and put me on the phone with Linda. I asked a million questions about the accommodations, food, etc., and at the end of our chat thought "hmmmm, this might not be so bad."

So in June of 2002 Paul and I flew from Boston to Johannesburg, South Africa for two weeks in the Limpopo Province of South Africa on the Botswana border. A Trip of a Lifetime, to be sure. The photo above was me sitting outside The Lodge with my little buddy Rascal, the first Jack Russell Terrier in my life, while Paul was out tracking the elusive kudu. Stay tuned and I'll share some photos and tell you more about our Adventures in South Africa.