White and brown Jack Russell Terrier puppy innocent looks in the garden
The Jack Russell Terrier is a small, principally white-bodied, smooth-, broken-, or rough-coated terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. The name "Jack Russell" has been used over the years to describe a wide array of small white terriers, but now after a drawn out legal battle the JRTCA (Jack Russell Terrier Club of America) and its affiliates have won the exclusive rights to use the name Jack Russell Terrier in the USA to describe their particular variant of the dog.
Jack Russell Terrier jumping for long jump in fields
History
The small white fox-working terriers we know today were first bred by the Reverend John Russell, a parson and hunting enthusiast born in 1795. In his last year of university at Oxford, he bought a small white and tan terrier female called Trump from the milk man. Trump was purchased based upon appearance alone. (Burns, 2005) She was the basis for a breeding program to develop a terrier with high stamina for the hunt as well as the courage and formation to chase out foxes that had gone to ground. An important attribute in this dog was a tempered aggressiveness that would provide them with the necessary drive to pursue and bolt the fox without resulting in physical harm to the quarry, effectively ending the chase, which was considered unsporting. This line of terriers developed by John Russell was well respected for these qualities and his dogs were often taken on by hunt enthusiasts. It is unlikely, however, that any dogs alive today are descended from Trump, as Russell was forced to sell all of his dogs on more than one occasion because of financial difficulty, and had only four aged (and non-breeding) terriers left when he died in 1883.
Jack Russell Terrier on the ground with hanging its tongue
The only painting that exists of Trump was painted more than 40 years after the dog died, and it was painted by someone who had never seen the original animal. Russell said the painting was "a good likeness", but he may have been more polite than honest in this.[citation needed] The painting was commissioned by Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) who befriended Russell in his old age, and had the painting done as an homage to the old man.
While it is often stated that Trump was "14 inches tall and weighed 14 pounds," there is no source for this statement, and it appears to have been penned by someone who had never met Russell and had only seen the painting of Trump (to which there is nothing to suggest scale).
Five Jack Russell Terrier puppies in the lap and hands of their owner
While Trump's appearance is vague, and her size a complete mystery, the fox dens of Devon, England, where John Russell once hunted, are well known. Terrierman Eddie Chapman, who has hunted those same Devon earths for more than 30 years, notes that "I can state categorically that if given the choice, ninety-nine percent of hunt terrier men would buy an under 12" worker, if it was available, over a 14" one."
Brown shaded white color Jack Russell Terrier puppy looking the anatomy
On April 29, 2007, a Jack Russell named George saved five children in a carnival at New Zealand from an attack by two pit bulls. He was reported to have charged at them and held them at bay long enough for the children to get away. He was killed by the pit bulls, and in 2009 was posthumously awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the George Cross.[4] A former US Marine also donated a Purple Heart award he received for service in Vietnam to George's owner.
Labels: Jack Russell Terrier , Terrier Dogs