Cola

I still remember the day we picked her up...The ride over to Salem was filled with chatter, laughter and excitement. Wonder which one we would get? We have SECOND pick of the litter, I kept reminding the kids, thinking what a priviledge that was. We wanted a pet, not a show dog, but we wanted her to be smart, funny and most of all, loving. When we met the family who had her, we knew we were in the right place. There in the yard, surrounded by a small pen and a little girl picking the puppies up and putting them in her little basket, were 6 little tiny Jack Russell Terrier pups. A mass of black, white and tan squirmed to be held. We watched them, held them, heard about their personalities and in the end, picked out the tiniest one in the pen, the one we thought was also the prettiest. We paid the family, loaded up into the van and had one of the most interesting rides home. Yep, she threw up the ENTIRE way home! On the way though, we stopped in Albany to eat lunch, it was while at Subway that John dubbed her Cola, from off the top of his soda cup. Honestly, no one else wanted to name her that, but it stuck and she became Cola. From Matty housetraining her (he was the only one home all the time) to Aaron having her sleep with him (he was afraid of the dark but she still sleeps with him) to her following John around, sticking her head into the same holes he has his head in, getting in the way with her utter curiosity, or mauling her kitty we got her after her first litter of puppies went to their new owners and she was so lonely for them to play with. She has been a faithful companion, always wanting a lap, a hug or snuggle, always willing to play, getting in the way of the horseshoes, golf clubs, football, baseball, or anything else being done. Poor thing, always has to go into exile when the games come out. She knows how to play soccer, becoming a great defender under Matthews tutelage and she gets thrown out of the kitchen every single time there is cooking going on and she is under foot. I always swear we wont get another JRT if something happens to her, but not because I don't like them, but because no other one could ever match her personality or fill the void she would make. Yes, we sure love our dogs don't we?