Gunner's going to Nebraska!

Little Gunner, the deaf Jack Russell Terrorist mix whom we have been fostering, has left for his transport to the frigid central plains of Nebraska.  Being a mostly white dog, he should blend into the snow rather well!

Gunner's batteries finally ran out.

He was a great learning experience for us, here at Casa de Ridgeback.  We learned that even the most patient of hounds, Indy, has his limits.  We learned that when Indy is mad, he makes some impressive growls, snarls and snapping of his rather large teeth!  We learned that snarling makes Shiloh sneeze every time she does it.  We learned that JRTs love to be into everything, on top of everything, and have boundless reserves of energy.  They are very loving little beasties, but they don't take NO for an answer.

Gunner looking for trouble!

This last point was further enhanced by Gunner's deafness.  He simply could not hear when the other dogs growled at him to warn him off.  He would persist in pestering them.  It would escalate from there, with Gunner getting bitten or nipped, dogs would get yelled at to SETTLE.  Even human tempers were tested by this little guy.

Trying to boss Indy around.

But every morning, he would greet you like you were his bestest friend evah!  He'd wrap his paws around you, and wag his whole body, licking whatever bit of you he could reach.  He was known to jump up on your bed, (permitted or not!), straddle your neck and give your face a tongue bath until you managed to launch him off the bed.

Mom, Please stick to the Hound Group!

We all agreed we were glad to have pulled him for fostering.  Around here, a deaf dog was probably unadoptable.  And we all admit we are overjoyed his transport was today.  We wish him well in his new adventure and hope whoever adopts him will love him forever.  Perhaps though, our biggest lesson was that we should stick to fostering hounds.  It's just an easier thing to fit one extra hound into a house of three other hounds.   When our three saw Gunner being loaded into my truck yesterday, they all began to sprint around the house and pool deck, joyfully (I'm not joking here), just making sure he was really gone!

Good luck in your new home, Gunner!