We said goodbye to one of our dogs this week — a Jack Russell Terrier named Rascal. He had been a part of our family for 14 years, and up until this year, he seemed like he would just live forever. He loved nothing more than his every day life on our homestead — running to the creek, snooping around the build sites, and of course, chasing rodents. He was the oldest dog we’ve ever had, and he was so active, our brother Jeremiah always joked that he would outlive us all.
Technically, his name was Rascal Flats. He joined our family when Jeremiah was just 14 years old. Jeremiah had been begging our folks for a dog. He wanted something bigger, but since we lived in the middle of Branson at the time, he took our advice to get a Jack Russell. They are small, but these little terriers are not “girly” dogs. The one stipulation our folks gave Jeremiah was that, if he wanted a dog, he would help build a fence around the back yard first. Fencing materials being what they were at the time, our folks funded a partial privacy fence, then used wire across the back. Once the fence was up, I helped look for a dog.
I remember struggling to find a Jack Russell we liked in our price range. We looked for months. Finally, I remember clicking on an online ad in the Kansas City Star. There was a cute picture of a tan and white puppy, and I wrote down the contact info. The puppy was from the Clinton area, part of a little girl’s 4H project. It was further than we had hoped to drive, but since I was traveling though the area to listen to a friend preach, I thought maybe we could pick up a puppy on the way. My friend was a good sport, and that weekend, my brother finally had his dog.
There is so much I could say about Rascal. He was energetic and entertaining from the very beginning. My brother had so much fun with him, and so did the rest of us.
Rascal made good use of the little fenced back yard, as well as the rest of the house. He was mostly good but could get into mischief. One of my favorite memories is turning around to see him standing at our kitchen table where I had a bunch of shaped balls of cookie dough sitting. Rascal was looking at me while reaching his tongue out and licking the cookie dough sideways. As soon as we made eye contact, he was gone. Of course I had to toss that cookie — but it was so funny it was hard to be mad.
When our brother Levi started having kids, we wondered how Rascal would handle it, but he loved them from the very beginning — an unusual trait for Jack Russels. Even when the kids were babies, he was fond of them. I still remember the time we caught him napping next to Chloe on the sofa. He wasn’t usually allowed on the furniture, but the new baby was irresistible. His affection for the kids continued for the rest of his life.
When Jeremiah started college, we sisters purchased a female pup to keep Rascal company. We also thought a couple litters of puppies would be fun. Rascal didn’t like Dolly too much at first, as she enjoyed zooming around the house and puppy-torpedoing him. She grew on him though, and they became good friends. They also made adorable puppies.
Rascal loved car rides and camping trips. We took him to Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas multiple times, as well as to Table Rock Lake. When we decided to relocate, we took several long road trips visiting states around the midwest. Rascal went with us on a couple of these trips, camping with us in Wisconsin and the Appalachian Mountains.
Once we moved to our homestead, it was like Rascal was already in doggy heaven. He loved chasing critters and running around in the fields and woods. He loved walking to the creek, and would go with anyone walking there up until this last week. Rascal became more independent on our land, and he always seemed to be going somewhere or doing something.
During the last year, he seemed to start slowing down — but he made the most of the energy he had until he got tired. Then, he would nap in the most random places. It’s like he would get tired and just lay down to sleep wherever he was.
Over the last months, those naps have seemed more regular, and Rascal’s waking hours a bit more confused. After a sharp decline last weekend, where Rascal stopped wanting to walk, I called the Ash Grove Veterinary Clinic. They got us in on Tuesday to see our vet. For a dog Rascal’s age, there isn’t a lot anyone can do. We had seen the signs this year, and when we loaded up Rascal to go to his appointment, we had a feeling he wouldn’t be coming home with us. We were so thankful for Dr. Mozier’s kind and down-to-earth advice when we got there. He looked Rascal over and confirmed our suspicions. He discussed Canine Cognitive Disfunction (CCD), which is basically dog dementia. We chose the kindest course of action, even though it broke our hearts.
The whole experience took up a lot of emotional space this week. We’ve been as busy as we always are, gardening in the mornings and processing food in the afternoons. One day, Grace and I deep cleaned our little office building, which has gotten quite neglected in the last months. But we’ve all thought a lot about Rascal. We’ve missed him, even while we’ve realized just how much his extra care has been costing us in time for months. Death is a part of life, and letting go of our furry friends is part of animal stewardship. When we said goodbye to Rascal, our vet thanked God for his life. It is such a gift to live in an area where most people acknowledge their Creator and can talk about Him freely. This week was tough, but we went through it with gratitude for the blessing animals are in our lives. God created a truly fun little dog in Rascal, and I’m so thankful we were blessed to have him.
