Now I lay me down to sleep,
The king-size bed is soft and deep…
I sleep right in the center groove
My human can hardly move!
I’ve trapped her legs, she’s tucked in tight
And here is where I pass the night
No one disturbs me or dares intrude
Till morning comes and “I want food!”
I sneak up slowly to begin
My nibbles on my human’s chin.
She wakes up quickly, I have sharp teeth -
And my claws I will unsheath
For the morning’s here and it’s time to play
I always seem to get my way.
So thank you Lord for giving me
This human person that I see.
The one who hugs me and holds me tight
And sacrifices her bed at night.
~Author Unknown
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“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” – Andrew A. Rooney
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.”
~ Milan Kundera
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A Staffordshire Bull-terrier Puppy
Very Few south Africans haven’t heard of Jock of the Bushveld.
Jock of the Bushveld was a brown Staffie (English Staffordshire Bull Terrier) that belonged to a Percy Fitzpatrick in South Africa during the 1800s. As an ox-wagon transport driver, Fitzpatrick used to take his dog Jock with him on his travels. He would recount his adventures to his children on story-nights and as bedtime stories.
Some of the events in Jock’s life included:
- Jock was the runt of the litter and was saved by Fitzpatrick who adopted the puppy.
- Jock was coerced into fighting a baboon by a gambler and bcame a fighting dog
- Jock his hearing due to an injury.
- Jock was shot because he was accused of killing chickens. He was however not guilty and only defending the
chickens from an intruding canine.
Personally I think this is terrible. It would be terrible even if he did kill the chicken. Dogs have a natural hunting instinct. How selfish and hypocritical of the humans to shoot him for what humans do en masse (killing chickens).
Fitzpatrick’s friend Rudyard Kipling encouraged him to write a book about Jock’s adventures. The book, based on the true story of Jock’s life, was published in 1907 and was very well received. It was also translated into several languages.
A movie based on the book was made in 1986 but some people didn’t like it because it lacked a happy Hollywood ending. Another movie with a happier ending was made in 1995.
The is a statue in honour of Jock in from of the city hall in Baberton, Mpumalanga (South Africa), that was sculpted by Ivan Mitford-Barberton. The Kruger National park reflects on this canine hero and has paid tribute to this famous dog in the form of the The Jock Safari Lodge. Jock also has his own FaceBook fanpage
Jock of the Bushveld is definitely an interesting story. You can find the book online or at any good bookstore. You also might be able to find it at a shop that has secondhand books for sale.
source: Wikipedia
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Poetry & Literature
Moose
Moose was a Jack Russel Terrier who played Eddie, Martin Crane’s (John Mahoney) dog on the hit TV sit-com Frasier. Moose was born on 24 December 1990 in Florida. He was the youngest puppy in the litter, but also the largest.
Moose was too much of a handful for his original family who gave him to a manager of Birds and Animals Unlimited in Florida. At the age of 2.5 years he was sent to Mathilde DeCagny, a trainer in Los Angeles.
After 6 months of training, this very intelligent Jack Russel won a role as Eddie on Frasier.
A running joke on the show was that Eddie use to stare at Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and thus freaked Frasier out. It is said that Moose received more fan-mail than any of the cast mates.
Apart from his role on Frasier, Moose also acted in commercials and in the movie My Dog Skip.
An autobiography was written of his life by Brian Hargrove, the life partner of David Hyde Pierce (Niles on Frasier).
After retiring, he spend the remaining 6.5 years of his life living with his trainer, her family, Enzo and Jill (another canine actor). He died of natural causes on June 22, 2006.
Enzo is Moose’s son and was born in 1995. After Moose retired, Enzo replaced him as Eddie on Frasier. While Moose was still on the show, Enzo acted as his stunt-double.
Jack Russel Terriers are highly intelligent and highly trainable little dogs. They require a lot of attention and exercise. Do not only get a Jackie because they look cute on TV. Before you buy a dog, make sure it’s the right dogs for you. Before you buy, consider adopting a dog.
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