TRIXIE: THE BEGINNING

I did not set out with the intention of being an animal rescuer, I just kind of stumbled into it. On April Fool’s day, 1998, a friend’s Rat Terrier had puppies and since I had been planning to get a dog to replace my Scottie, she offered one of the puppies to me. It wasn’t long after bringing this little whirlwind into my home that I realized what a wonderful breed the Rat Terrier is. By the time Scooter was a year old, I was looking to add a second Ratty to my family. My friend offered me a puppy from her upcoming litter, one that would be related to Scooter. I was excited about this pending addition to the family, dreaming of the puppy breath, tiny paws, little licks, big puddles, chewed shoes and wakeful nights. The ten weeks of waiting before my puppy would be available seemed like an eternity.

I’ve always been a dog lover and with my introduction to the Internet in the mid 90's, I found myself often cruising shelter and rescue web sites, looking at dogs that were rescued and dogs in need of rescue. As I wandered through these sites one night, I found the cutest pair of Rat Terriers in a shelter right in my own state. They had been in the shelter for several weeks, having come in together but remained unadopted due to the preference to place them together. Many people wanted one cute, active little dog but it seems no one was interested in taking on two at a time. For a week I returned to the site, looking at the two little Rat girls, hoping someone would have adopted them but they were always there, the smaller with her tongue lolled out, ears back, bouncing toward the photographer. They were in a low-kill shelter and not at immediate risk, but I began to worry about them and felt a need to help.

I searched for Rat Terrier rescue groups on the Internet and sent out pleas for one of them to help get the girls out of the shelter. I told them I would adopt one dog but since these were not being placed separately and I didn’t think I could handle two, they needed help. An answer came quickly from Caroline with Ratbone Rescues. Unfortunately, she said she was unable to assist with them because there were no foster homes available in Kansas and no one to pull them from the shelter. She suggested I try taking both and if I found it overwhelming, I could contact her again and she would work on arranging transportation for them to a foster home.

It had become obvious to me in this process that the adoption of a dog from a shelter was what I needed to do. My friend’s puppies were sure to be cute and lovable but she would not struggle to find them homes, on the other hand, a shelter dog could die without me. With that small bit of urging from Caroline, I decided to contact the shelter and tell them I would take both the Ratties. With the decision made I got so excited about taking the girls that I sent floor plans, property diagrams, showing all my fenced area and history on my other pets, fearing all the time they might decide not to let me have them. After submitting everything, it seemed an eternity with no word on my application.

Finally, when I could no longer stand the wait, I called to see if anyone could tell me where things stood. I reached Margaret, a very kind woman, who I had spoken with several times. She had planned to call me that very day and was happy to tell me I had been approved to adopt Jordy and Ivy. I was elated, anxious to bring the girls home. We agreed I would travel across the state on the upcoming weekend to pick them up. When work ended Friday, Scooter and I packed up and headed down I-70, on the way to collect our new family members. Scooter always loves a trip and after the initial excitement of being on the road, settled down to nap the miles away. I had planned to spend the weekend with a friend in eastern Kansas, during which time I would go to the shelter to meet the dogs then return the next day to pick them up. We arrived late, settled down after some social time and when I finally rose the next morning there was shopping time, to pick up new leashes and collars, before time for the shelter to open.

On that pleasant, bright day in late September, Scooter and I arrived at the shelter to get acquainted. There was a lot of activity at the shelter, many volunteers were in and out with dogs they had come to exercise and socialize. Two children and their father petted a tail-wagging shepherd mix while their mother signed the final adoption papers. When they finished and left with their new pet, it was my turn. Margaret was there to help me and the first thing she did was to tell me that after reassessing the two dogs this week, the shelter behaviorist had decided it might actually prove beneficial to separate them. They described both dogs as being quite submissive but despite this, Ivy was very domineering over Jordy. Although the two were clearly bonded they thought Jordy might come into her own is she was away from Ivy. Although they would still allow me to take both, Margaret assured me they would have no problem placing the remaining terrier as there had been several people interested in taking one.

When I made my choice to take only one, all that was left to decide was which one would go home with Scooter and I. The two little girls were brought out to an exercise pen, about 12 feet square, where they were let down to run. They both set off running the perimeter of the pen, barking furiously at the other dogs out in the play yard. When I knelt and chirped to them, the smaller of the two would come up to me but only for a minute then she would run off again. Occasionally Ivy, the larger of the two would display her alpha status, snarling at Jordy and standing very tall to show she was the boss. Jordy slowed only slightly under these attacks but had clearly learned not to resist. The moment the assault ended, Jordy would be off running again.

I decided to introduce Scooter to the pair to see how they hit it off. Poor Scooter considered this a very bad idea. As soon as she hit the ground in the exercise pen, she was mobbed by the two little Ratties. Although she equaled them in size, Scooter clearly felt over matched. She was frantic in her effort to climb up my leg so these "big, fearsome beasts" could not get her. I picked her up but this was not enough, she proceeded to work at climbing onto my shoulder to get further away from the pack. I concluded that Scooter was not going to be of any help with the decision so I returned her to the car.

I returned to the pen and again, Jordy was the one who would respond, albeit briefly, to my efforts to make a connection with them so I decided this was the one I would adopt. I completed the paperwork, paid the fee and deposit then left the shelter with my new Rat girl. She rode home in a crate so she and Scooter were able to sniff through the door without overwhelming each other. When we arrived at home, Jordy was too busy running from room to room, sniffing every nook and cranny, to pay attention to Scooter. This was Scootie’s opportunity to get close without being noticed so she followed as right behind this newcomer, room after room, sneaking close enough for a sniff whenever Jordy seemed preoccupied. When finally all the sniffing was done, the two little dogs, worn out from the day’s excitement, collapsed on opposite ends of the couch, eying each other before falling asleep.

In the following days and weeks, Jordy, who was renamed Trixie by my father, settled in, got acquainted with Scooter and the two of them became great play pals. This was no doubt a great relief to Oscar, the ten year old Doxie who had grown tired of Scooter’s attempts to coax him into romps. Trixie proved to be far from submissive. She quickly assumed the role of sassy, bossy alpha dog, sometimes just a plain bully. She didn’t take readily to crate training, obviously unhappy about containment. When locked in, she showed what remarkable lungs she had, bursting forth with prolonged shrieks which sounded much like air pushing through the stretched neck of a balloon but in time she gave up this howling, learned good doggy behavior and became a true part of the family.

She is now my little "foo foo princess" with the ballerina legs and the floozie sashay. As Trixie settled into the household, I kept thinking about the Rat Terriers out there with no home to call their own, no owner to appreciate their very special qualities. Shortly after bringing Trixie home, I contacted Caroline at Ratbone Rescues again and asked what was involved in being a rescue volunteer. She quickly sent me a response, explaining the process of applying to be a foster home for Ratbone and invited me to submit an application. I’m pleased to say that my application was approved and I was welcomed into the world of pet rescue, an outcome which has been very rewarding for me and has given a number of Rat Terriers another chance at life.