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   We have had Jag for about ten years. I am not sure how old he is because he had a couple of homes before we got him. He is a Jag terrier which is a German hunting terrier. True to his nature, he likes to hunt more than anything. That was his downfall at his first homes. He liked to hunt indiscriminately. Anything from the neighbors’ chickens to the household cat would be fair game in his mind. This did not make any friends for the little black dog. When we heard of his plight, my wife and I decided to give him a home. We do not have any close neighbors or any with chickens. We also do not have a cat. We thought he could protect the farm from wildlife that tried to eat the garden or get into the garbage.

   He has proven to be a good hunter, with or without help. If someone does not take him hunting as frequently as he thinks is necessary, he will go hunting by himself. Even hunting alone, he is remarkably successful. He will frequently bring home something he has hunted down and killed. He will proudly show us a field mouse, snake, rabbit, or raccoon. After showing off his trophy, he will eat as much of it as possible. Nobody has the courage to try to take it away from him. He is able to consume large quantities of meat, fresh or dead, with no ill effects. If he has more than he can eat, he will share with Billie, the poodle. 100% of the time when this happens, Billie gets sick. Sometimes he gets sick enough to require medical treatment. This can be annoying and stressful to everyone concerned, except Jag, who thinks he is doing a good deed.

   As Jag has gotten older, we have noticed some of his functions are not as good as they used to be. His hearing is failing. When he was younger, he could hear when we called him but only came if it was convenient for him. Now if he does not come, it is probably because he did not hear us calling. His sense of smell is not as acute as it used to be. I have seen him lose the track on a rabbit because it made a right turn or even track a rabbit backwards. It is not very effective hunting to see where the rabbit has been rather than where he is going.

   With age creeping up on the little old dog, he has found at times he would rather ride in the Ranger than run along beside it. When he was younger, he would always run beside and continue to hunt when I stopped to fix fence or work on whatever project was at hand. Now, he is not opposed to sitting in the seat beside me and waits to hunt when we get to where we are going. When the Ranger starts for the trip home, he suddenly appears from wherever he is exploring and is ready to hop in for the ride home.

   He has recently developed a strange new activity. He will eat his breakfast, get a drink, wander around a little bit and disappear. An hour later or so, we get a call from our son, Damon letting us know Jag is at his place. If Jag cuts across country, it is about a mile and a half. Around the road is more than three miles. Either way, it is not an easy trip for an old dog. When he gets there, he just sits on the patio and waits for me to come get him. I have no idea why he has started doing this other than he is just a strange little dog.

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