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Today’s suggested topic for the UBC is the number 4. Well that’s an easy one for me….I will be writing about my Four Legged Friend...Twinkles the Jack Russell Terrier. Twinkles came to us from the Humane Society ten years ago on December 19th as a four month old. We met her a couple days before when we decided it was time to find a dog to join our family. We had a six year old son who was full of energy and we needed a suitable match!

When we first met this adorable puppy, she was already visiting with another family. They put a request in to adopt her, however they were going to check with their landlord about housing a dog in their apartment. We put a second bid on Twinkles and the Humane Society told us, if the first family couldn’t keep her, they would call us and we would have to decide immediately. We visited on a Sunday, the Humane Society was   closed on Monday and we were called on Tuesday.

When Luke went to school on Tuesday morning, I did not remind him of our adoption possibility, in case it didn’t work out. I did not want to disappoint him. And as if we had an angel watching over us, the call came in around 10am asking us if we wanted Twinkles. Yes, was the answer and we would pick up our NEW doggie later that day. There was a stipulation however. We had to agree to an hour of counseling before “Twinkles” was ours.

I picked up Luke from school and we headed up to Novato, CA, a town a few miles north of where we lived. The head dog behaviorist gave us the scoop on Jack Russell’s. They were very intelligent, very family friendly and FULL of energy. We agreed to a couple of dog training classes as part of our adoption. 

Twinkles was as cute as she could be. She was mostly white with a smooth, soft coat with a couple of brown markings that made her very attractive. This was one cute dog! The behaviorist said we had a couple things on our side: our dog was female, and a mixed breed so she would be able to settle down once she got past puppyhood and adolescence. We decided to crate train her. (A great decision!)

We bought a crate, indoor gates for our kitchen for when we weren’t at home, a couple of dog bowls, food, a leash and collar and a dog toy. That totaled about $75 plus her adoption fee of $125 and we had ourselves a new four legged friend for $200. Such a deal.

Luke was so happy. Twinkles was so happy. Our family was so happy. We were proud dog owners. And I almost forgot, we were heading to our cabin in the snow in a week’s time so we bought a red “Mrs. Santa” coat for Twinkles so we wouldn’t loose here in the snow.

Our crate training went well and so did the classes we joined. Twinkles however had a big personality and ran the show with the other puppies. The class took place at a local pet store and the other dogs did not want to walk down the aisles where Twinkles was. She was such a boss that to this day. We still see a classmate of hers and the dog tries to go to the other side of the street when she sees Twinkles! Who says dogs don’t have long memories?

We have had so much fun with Twinkles. She has been a loyal companion and loving family member. Tens years have passed and hopefully we will have many more years with her, ahead of us. Just look at her face! She gets compliments whenever we walk her. My UPS driver from my eBay deliveries just has to stop on the street and give Twinkles a treat whenever he sees us walking, along his route! Our four legged friend is a superstar in the neighborhood!