The very first dog I met as a small child was my Great Grandfather 'Pop's' Jack Russell. I still bear the scars on my little finger from that first meeting.he bit me through loyalty for 'Pop', as I was trying to monopolise his knee! I have been hooked ever since.

Surprisingly, fate brought me lots of dogs before I finally found my Jack.a lurcher, a border terrier, a welsh springer spaniel and a collie!

Alas, the collie is the only one still with us, aged 14 years, still chasing sticks round the yard like a puppy!

I found my Jack Russell by chance, in a local free ads paper. I went to see her with my daughter and son one Sunday morning and realized on sight that it was meant to be.

From a litter of 5 pups, she ambled over to us and danced...hence the name 'Lola'!

Meet Lola

My son, Toby was 3 at the time and Lola was his best friend immediately. We have a farm, and when ever Toby was missing, I would whistle Lola and she would show me where Toby was! Lola has also enjoyed being dressed in spiderman outfits, having her nails painted, and being fed cheerio's from a spoon at the table.

On the other hand, Lola is a top class working dog. To date she has brought home many rabbits, rats and even moles! She works without fuss or noise but systematically and effectively..the collie and cat are in awe and await her 'gifts'!

Our cat 'Elvis' is very aloof..and tolerates Lola's affection. She smothers him with kisses whenever she sees him and he 'decks' her when he's had enough! She has never shown any animosity or aggression to him.

Lola meets Fudge

So, I seemed to have found the perfect Jack...after 4 seasons and at 2 years old, time to find a husband for a Lola. With such an exceptional temperament, we must at least try and breed.

After much searching I found Fudge. He is a lovely boy, very affectionate like Lola, yet great hunter, agile and active but not aggressive. Additionally, he is exceptionally handsome!

So on June 21 2006 we took Lola 75 miles to meet Fudge. She was not impressed! Played and ran round but was having none of the amourous advances Fudge was making! As Lola's season was late we were unsure if she was 'ready', so took her home.

We returned one week later and Lola was still not sure. Through mutual agreement, Fudge's mum offered to keep Lola with Fudge for a few days at her house to see if nature would take it's course. Poor Toby was so sad at leaving Lola, he cried all the way home.

2 days later, Fudge's mum (Sam) rang to say they were no further on and she felt Fudge was losing interest. At that point she mentioned an animal whisperer she used for her horses and asked if I would object to the lady 'speaking' to Lola. In for a penny...I agreed.

Fingers Crossed!

Sam said Lola had expressed that Fudge was rough and she didn't understand what was expected of her. When the whisperer explained to both dogs why they were together, Sam was startled to turn around and find them 'at it' in the hay! Lola and Fudge were never seen having 'Tied' therefore we weren't convinced she was in pup.

Hallejuiah!

About a week later Lola changed. She was very cuddly and not so buoyant! After two weeks she was vomiting daily. After three, we had her scanned and saw 6 pups in utero!

Now, we are at 8 weeks. Lola is a very different shape! Her nipples are swollen and breasts filling. She is reluctant to eat and has slowed down with exercise. We are very excited as we are not really sure which mating was successful. So it could be due date of 21 August or 28 August.

Lola has her whelping box next to the Aga which she seems happy with but something tells me she will end up on my bed having the first pup! We'll see...

Planning...

We are very excited about the litter, I am cooking chickens and lambs liver to tempt Lola to eat! And as she is less energetic I take across the fields to check our cows on the quad, whereas she always ran along side before.

We hope she has healthy pups, and is not too distressed herself. We would like to keep 1 boy at least, to have as a stud dog for another bitch I have my eye on!

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