Hello, all!
Continuing on my Brooklyn bender, I had the opportunity to drop in on the enclosed dog park at McCarren Park, and everyone was incredibly nice to me. (Duh, it's Brooklyn!) It's always a little scary going to the park in another place (especially when I didn't even have MY dog with me—felt like a real weirdo! haha) but it was thankfully a successful weekend.
The first pup I encountered was incredibly spunky two year old Jack Russel Terrier named Milo!
There are two Jack Russel Terriers I can think of that shaped my views of them growing up. One is from the movie, My Dog Skip, which I saw with my family a million years ago and seriously cried like a baby. The second, is from the popular 90's kids TV show, Wishbone, about a Jack Russel that loved solving mysteries. I have always loved Jack Russels after that.
Milo's owner, Tara, adopted him at 9 months old. She had been fostering him for only two weeks, but hadn't realized how attached to him she was until she had to bring him to the shelter's adoption event:
"I had him for two weeks, and then there was a Valentine's day event and they wanted me to bring him there. I just couldn't do it, 'cause I was like, 'I'm not going to have these couples who are getting a dog on a whim just like pick him up!!' And I just realized I fell in love with him, so I decided to keep him. So Milo was my, 'Foster Fail'".
Tara even had some information on Milo's early past before her:
"He came from a family that got Milo for their son, but I can understand why a small infant couldn't handle him. He's high energy, and he pulls so much—if he sees a squirrel or a motorcycle he can yank my arm off. He's strong, and strong willed!"
Tara told me they have to come to the park every single day, to help Milo burn off all of his extra energy.
I can definitely see this when you look at the description of a Jack Russel Terrier. Jack Russels have origins in fox hunting, and are often described as, "energetic, stubborn, vocal, athletic, and fearless".
This was evident as I watching him spring and bound in circles around the park, trying to make new friends with each and every dog. He even tried chasing some squirrels up the trees, leaping almost five to six feet in the air with each jump.
Milo also did something pretty darn cute—every time a dog had to leave the dog park enclosure, he would circle the park a few times, trying to follow the dog on the outside, and get pretty upset that his friend had to leave. Tara explained that she thinks Milo has separation anxiety. She said one day a stranger approached her in the park and said Milo was actually internet famous—theres a video of him running around in circles. It used to be a thing he did, he would circle a dog that was maybe hiding under a bench because he wanted to play!
Tara said that while she never thought she'd own a small dog, Milo has a, "big personality!"
Sometimes it's even tough for them to leave the park—which is why he needs the electric collar—to help with training if he's ever having trouble behaving.
Even though he's high energy, at the end of the day Milo is apparently an expert cuddler:
"Every day I wake up, and he's right in the crook of my chest like, 'Good Morning, mom!'"
Tara also shared that while she is away during the day, Milo attempts to keep himself busy at home—to the demise of all of her clothing:
"Recently, it's been the extra things that I need on my clothes…so he has plenty of toys, and I feed him, but as soon as I leave—like yesterday, I came home and the grommets were bitten off my favorite shirt. And on my sweater JUST the zipper—nothing else. It's not like he tears things up, or tears holes in stuff—it's only things I would actually need, but not notice until I go to put it on. Little, sneaky things."
Name: Milo
Tricks: sit, lay down, rollover, and, "find squirrels!"
Favorite Toys: His favorite toys are a hotdog and a hamburger that both squeak. "Unless the toy squeaks, he's not interested!"
