Jack's back

My five-year old Jack Russell terrier spent an overnighter at the vet's. He needed tartar removed from his teeth, and they wanted to try some medication to get a grass allergy back under control.

Jack had been making a habit, of late, of rubbing his nose and sneezing after eating, plus his gums and tummy would flush red/pink. He loses quite a bit of fur from his nether regions at such times, and his body temperature often seems to be too high at these moments of greatest itchiness. Or is it all simply because he's so low to the ground, there's just no avoiding grass at this time of year?

Boy, was he glad to see me tonight when I arrived to collect him! He's still quite groggy - they usually put dogs right under to scale their teeth - and has a great excuse to recharge his batteries after last week's vacation. It's very rare to see a Jack Russell do anything in slow motion.

Making me feel even more like a traitor: the local pet shop has a wire-haired, juvenile, male Jack Russell - on sale. He's a dead-ringer for Eddie, from TV's "Cheers", and he was wearing the same "buy me" look on his face as Jack had five years ago, in the very same display window/cage!

"How much is the doggie in the window?" Only $245; about half price. Sooooo tempting, and soooo cute - but, most of the time, one Jack Russell is more than enough.