Paulien

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1328dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B>"Quality can not be quantified" </B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1338dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336600" FACE="Arial" ><B>Seagull Limited </B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Seagull Limited "><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jack Russell Stories"><U>Jack Russell Stories</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dog Treats"><U>Dog Treats</U></A>   |   <B>Paulien</B>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="History of the Jack Russell"><U>History of the Jack Russell</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Out of the Ring...into the Den"><U>Out of the Ring...into the Den</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Angulation "><U>Angulation </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grooming Pens"><U>Grooming & Pens</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Veterinarians"><U>Veterinarians</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dog Humor"><U>Dog Humor</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thoughts..."><U>Thoughts...</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links "><U>Links </U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1338dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Paulien</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Paulien</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="20fc8850.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien at 3.5 weeks, picking out her humans </div> <div> <I>Anneka Brons & Ron Bonnie of Spring, TX seem to be the winners....</I><I> </I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="210c8850.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien is on top...</div> <div> she still likes snuggling with her</div> <div>  brothers and sisters..... </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="211c8850.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien at 4.5 weeks </div> <div> she is getting toys in anticipation of going to her new home... </div> <div> (yes, the humans drive back and forth to see me grow!) </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="212c8850.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien 5.5 weeks </div> <div> Anneka is keeping Paulien warm, </div> <div> Paulien enjoys the weekly visits from her human mom.... </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="213c8920.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="146" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien with her two mom's </div> <div> Seagull's Java and Anneka </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>The following is the beginning of life in a new home for a puppy named Paulien.... </I></div> <bR> <div> Hi Debbie and Kailee,</div> <bR> <div> We just wanted you to let you know that Paulien is doing great. The trip home went very well, she slept through most of it and the times she was awake she curiously looked at everything around her.</div> <bR> <div> When we arrived home she was somewhat shy, but she quickly decided to check out our yard, use it and once inside she was a bit overcome by all the new things. </div> <div> Housebreaking goes extremely well: when she starts to make little yelping sounds (usually after her meal or drink of water) we know it is time for her to get out. So far we had only two little mishaps!</div> <bR> <div> Her first night was a little difficult for Paulien, and for us too: she did not like to be in her crate and was crying like a baby, so in the end we decided to take her with us in bed. And because we were afraid we would lay on her and hurt her, we did not get too much sleep. Our second night was much better, she did go to sleep in her crate.</div> <bR> <div> Paulien is still a little baby puppy; although I want her to walk by herself and try not to carry her around the house,sometimes she really needs to be held.</div> <bR> <div> We went to the vet yesterday, and Pauline was very brave, she did not cry, even when they took a stool sample. She swept away all the assistants and the vet too. He thought she was not only a very healthy, but also a very beautiful puppy.</div> <bR> <div> Because it is very hard to type with a awakening puppy on your hand I send you this already and promise that we will keep you posted on how Paulien is doing.</div> <bR> <div> Ron, Anneke and Paulien</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="21485c80.jpg" border=0 width="133" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien is finally old enough to go home.... </div> <div> She is 11.5 weeks old and is enjoying her new house</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>Three weeks later response:</I></div> <bR> <div> Hi Debbie, </div> <bR> <div> Just a quick e-mail to let you know that Paulien is doing great. Last Wednesday we took her to the vet again for her second set of shots. At that occasion she was also weighed and she is know 4 lb 4 0z (up from 2lb 1 oz, nearly 3 weeks ago). The vet has also implanted a microchip for registration purposes, and he was extremely pleased by how Paulien is doing and he once again said that she is a really good looking dog and thinks that we will enjoy her very much. Which we indeed do!!</div> <bR> <div> She is tons of fun, sleeps a lot and plays hard. Especially when she feels that it is playtime there is nothing else we can do: if you try to ignore her, she will come and get you, or will do something that will definitely will catch your attention. </div> <bR> <div> Some ten days ago we have put her on a leash for the first time and it was exactly the way you had predicted: like a fish out of the water. But she is learning quickly and we take her for 3 mile walks.</div> <bR> <div> Funny to see that she already knows where we are living: when we return from our walk and we pass the house on our way to the mailbox she kind of refuses to follow, indicating that  is not where we live.</div> <bR> <div> Hope you, your family and all the JRT's and horses are doing well. We will keep you posted.</div> <bR> <div> Regards,</div> <div> Ron, Anneke and Paulien</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="215c8860.jpg" border=0 width="200" height="134" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien makes a trip to the Hill Country in Texas </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Hello Debbie,</div> <bR> <div> As we, Anneke and Ron, moved from <A HREF="http://www.starreveld.com/Netherlands/Where.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.starreveld.com/Netherlands/Wh"><U><U>The Netherlands</U></U></A> to Texas in January 2000, we promised ourselves that we would get a dog once we were settled properly. And since Anneke's parents used to have Newfoundland dogs, she wanted another large breed dog, probably a Golden Retriever or a Labrador. But Ron really loved the JRT's friends of ours have: Max and Rakker, two grumpy old males. </div> <bR> <div> Because we could not decide, Ron gave Anneke two books on her birthday: one on Golden Retrievers (Barron's Complete Pet Owners Manual) and one on JRT's.(also Barron's Complete Pet Owners Manual) After finishing these books, Anneke liked the Golden Retrievers, but realized she had to laugh through all of the JRT book, and that, finally, made up our minds. Through this book we learned of the great website of the JRTCA (<A HREF="http://www.terrier.com)" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.terrier.com)"><U><U>www.terrier.com)</U></U></A>. The bad dog talk section scared us off at first, but after some more thinking we decided that we would be able to handle such situations without going mad. And suddenly we were at the point that we had to find a breeder. We checked some out via the JRTCA web site, and other sites on the internet as well. And we read a lot of ads in the paper for quite some time, but somehow they did not appeal to us.</div> <bR> <div> In the beginning of December (2001) we came across an ad of Seagull Kennels, also listing their web-address. After checking out this site, we decided to give them a call. After two calls and one e-mail (yes Debbie, we were impatient) we made an appointment for a visit the next Friday. As we drove up to Lexington, we decided not to get hasty and too exited and not just buy the first available puppy. We were welcomed by Debbie, who showed us around and encouraged us to play with all the puppies that were around. After an hour or two, we came to the realization that we really loved the place, the atmosphere, the puppies and their owner and that this was the kennel where we would get our puppy. Somehow Paulien, a white and tan 3 weeks old female, stuck out of the crowd for us, and on this very same day (12-7-01) -remember, only checking out- we became puppy parents at last.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3d90be20.png" border=0 width="267" height="226" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> We agreed that we would come and pick up Paulien on January 6th, after returning from an already scheduled trip to California. Debbie told us that we were always welcome to visit Paulien in the meantime and that's exactly what we did. It is so funny, arriving at the kennels, because you are always greeted enthusiastically: first by a herd of JRT's, minutes later by Debbie. It's silly if you think about it, but we made three more visits to Seagul kennels to see Paulien (230 miles roundtrip), but these visits made the wait so much more bearable.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="3da11f50.png" border=0 width="273" height="245" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> We spent a wonderful time with our friends Joan and Dolf in California, made traditional “oliebollen” for New Year's eve, but somehow, couldn't wait to return home. Finally, on January 6th we drove off at about 9:30 AM to get Paulien. About two and a half ours later, we found Debbie enjoying the sunshine, accompanied by a bunch of Jack Russels, one of them Paulien. It was quite a shock to see how much she had matured in only these two weeks we hadn't seen her. Small as she still was, she was no longer a helpless baby, but very capable to maintain herself amidst all those bigger four legged relatives. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3dc45970.png" border=0 width="325" height="407" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> After her bath, some grooming and some final motherly advice from Debbie, we took Paulien home. She missed the opportunity to enjoy the ride and see where she was going, as she slept all the time. We first put her down in our backyard so she could sniff around and relieve herself. After a while we opened the door to the house and Paulien, very courageously, simply and naturally walked inside and checked out the living room. We had bought two stainless steel bowls for her: eating her puppy chow out of it didn't bother her at all, but her water bowl apparently was very scary. Every time when she wanted to drink, there was that other dog staring at her…. We soon got her a non-reflective bowl and drinking was no longer scary. </div> <bR> <div> We had decided to try and teach Paulien to relieve herself outside from day one, and were prepared for many “accidents” in the process. But Paulien was very good from the very beginning at letting us know (she just barked or yelped) when she had to go. Even at night, when she is in her crate in our bedroom. The few mishaps that did occur could mostly be blamed on ourselves as we had misread her signals, or because we were not fast enough: if a puppy needs to go, she has to go immediately. Crate training was another thing we decided to do. Her first night in her crate, however, was no success. After a long and eventful day, filled with lots of new impressions, we put her in her crate as we were preparing to go to bed as well. Shortly after we'd switched off the lights, Paulien started yelping, which we tried to ignore. We noticed panic kicking in and the yelping turned to crying, so after an hour, we ended up taking her into our bed. That felt very safe, secure and comforting, apparently, as she almost immediately fell asleep. But we, her “parents”, didn't sleep at all, afraid to hurt her (or worse) while moving in our sleep. Paulien did not like to be put in her crate at bedtime. One night we even had to put her in our living room because she did not want to settle down at all (usually she falls asleep after 15 minutes).</div> <bR> <div> Already before we'd brought Paulien home, we'd found a vet. About a year and a half before, our neighbor's black Labrador Deux Coups was diagnosed with cancer of some sort and their vet decided to operate on her. They did a great job and Deux Coups quickly recovered. Hence, we contacted this same veterinary clinic and asked whether Paulien was welcome. But how to choose between three vets you don't know? Anneke said that whoever liked Jack Russell Terriers most, would be our preferred choice. Apparently that was an easy pick: doctor Jack W. Whitmore. We wonder: is the name just coincidence or is it predestination? On her second day with us, we took Paulien to Dr. Whitmore for a basic check-up. Needless to say that Paulien passed with flying colors and Dr. Whitmore even congratulated us with such a beautiful, healthy, puppy and he predicted that, based on experience, Paulien would turn out really well.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="3dde8e00.png" border=0 width="232" height="224" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> On January 23rd, we visited the vet again and Paulien got her next round of shots (Parvo, Corona, DHP). She also got a micro chip (ID-tag) injected under the skin of her neck. For more info on Companion Animal Recovery, visit <A HREF="http://www.akccar.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.akccar.org"><U><U>www.akccar.org</U></U></A>.</div> <div> Paulien had become more confident after two weeks: in the beginning she wanted to sit or sleep on our laps all the time, or at least be very, very close to us, but then she started to explore the house and the backyard by herself. She quickly made friends with Deux Coups: they sniffed at each other from under the fence. Also, she has a talent digging holes and we've discovered that there is a correlation between her size and the number -and size- of the holes in our yard. And what to do if these holes get too large and too deep? Just plant a tree! </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3de4add0.png" border=0 width="330" height="221" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Inside the house, she became a very (too) energetic dog, and we decided that it was time to try and put her on a leash and walk her, so she would be calmer in the house. Surprisingly, she did and does not mind her collar and being on a leash. Walking her is a time consuming activity though: she loves tree leaves and little sticks, she is a very nosy dog that stares at people until it becomes embarrassing. Furthermore, she is very good at making new friends: if people do not come up to her (and 9 times out of 10 they do) she will go to them and makes sure she gets patted.</div> <bR> <div> The second week we walked her, she just would lay down in the grass, the first time we did not really notice she did that, and she let herself being dragged for a couple of yards -much to the amusement of some nearby workers. But she seemed not to be tired so the next couple of walks we just put her on her feet whenever she would lay down (about every three steps). After a while she seemed to enjoy her walks again, especially since we found a nice “off road” route in our neighborhood. From the beginning we let her sit at every street corner (a puppy chow chunk as reward does wonders) and she almost does that automatically now. Soon we felt confident enough to let her walk off-leash and that went very well: she ran around with Ron, found out that not all green stuff is grass (she stepped on duckweed and got her feet wet, but she did not mind) and got sniffled at by a big horse.</div> <bR> <div> Walking Paulien really helped to get rid of most of her energy, and she is not doing all the stuff she is not allowed to do anymore (chewing the carpet, furniture, tearing our plants). Before that, we really had to use Grannick's BitterApple<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#336600" FACE="Symbol" >Ô</FONT> spray a lot (recommended!). With that Paulien is able to amuse herself more and more. We never realized that she had to grow into her toys as well: only after a couples of weeks she was able to get sounds out of her squeaky toys, get a grip on her tennis ball (she now even brings them back to you). But the “toys” she enjoyed most in this stage of her life, are rustling envelopes and cardboard boxes.</div> <div> We decided not to enroll Paulien for puppy training, which boils down to socializing your dog, but start an Obedience training class on March 27. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3e473060.png" border=0 width="371" height="262" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Paulien very much enjoys company of people (the first weeks she got lots of visitors and presents) and other dogs (now that she is older she likes to play with Deux Coups) and we try to take her with us as much as possible. We have taken her to the pet store, the airport, the car dealership, on a day trip to the Hill-country, etc. She was even invited to the birthday party of a friend, where she behaved extremely well.</div> <bR> <div> At our visit to the vet on February 13, Paulien weighed 5 lb 5 oz (25% increase) and was stilll in very good shape. She got her rabies shot, something for kennel cough, and Dr Withmore brought up again the subject of spaying her. We have been struggling a lot with this: on one hand, we know that we do not want to breed her (it is a big deal and you have to be very knowledgeable and dedicated to make it responsible and right). On the other hand, we feel it is a big deal to cut in to a very healthy puppy. We have to decide soon, as the vet advises to perform this surgery before her first heat (in The Netherlands it is recommended to wait until after).</div> <bR> <div> Early March, we decided to have Paulien spayed indeed and we scheduled a date for the procedure (March 13). As we arrived at the clinic they had everything prepared, gave us a little bit of time to say goodbye to Paulien and then she was taken away to the operation room. They told us we could give them a call to find out how Paulien was doing any time past 2:00 PM. We managed to delay till 2:05 PM before we made the call: it turned out that Paulien was already awake and sitting in the lap of one of the assistants. She was doing great and we could even take her home later that afternoon if we'd promise to keep her calm, not feed her and give her just little sips of water. Paulien was clearly very uncomfortable when she got home: she could not sit, stand up or lay down The pain-medication from the vet offered great relief (just a few drops every couple of hours). </div> <bR> <div> The next morning we woke up to a totally different Paulien: nothing reminded of the surgery and she was ready to enjoy life to the max again. She was not supposed to jump, climb or walk stairs for some three weeks (an impossible task, but we should just try our best, the vet said) so we'd put up several “barricades” throughout the house. Paulien loved this obstacle course and enjoyed climbing and jumping over the barriers, so we decided to remove them again in an attempt to protect her from herself. </div> <bR> <div> The next Wednesday (3-27) we attended the first hour of obedience training with a dog that, against all odds, was fully recovered. We didn't really know what to expect and, frankly, weren't really looking forward to it. But the classes at HappyTailTraining (using clicker training) turned out to be great fun for Paulien as well as for us. For Paulien it was an hour of getting lots of treats and praises and playtime with other dogs (at the end of every lesson), and for us it was a fun way to teach Paulien the basic commands and getting lots of information about dog training and dog behavior. In the last session, both dogs and owners -the whole family was encouraged to participate in the training- had to take an exam and Paulien did pretty well: she got her certificate and was third of her class (8 dogs). </div> <bR> <div> Since all of us liked it so much we decided to do intermediate obedience training as well. Here, we repeated some of the basic commands and Paulien learned a few new tricks. She earned another diploma and again did very well in that class. Laura Skrehot, our teacher, was very impressed with how well Paulien would focus and concentrate in class.</div> <bR> <div> Mid spring is a good time in Texas, both for humans and dogs, to take a break and go on vacation. As we didn't want to leave Paulien behind and put her in a kennel, we looked for a pet-friendly destination. Limiting our (internet) search to within a 100 miles radius, the key-words pet, cabins and water took us to the River Oaks resort (<A HREF="http://www.frioriver.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frioriver.com"><U><U>www.frioriver.com</U></U></A>) on the banks of the Frio river in the Hill Country, west of Austin. The ride was no fun for Paulien: she has, unfortunately, developed a fairly serious form of motion sickness and she had to vomit several times during this trip. In the past year, we have tried several remedies and medicines (Motion Eaze, homeopathic motion sickness drops, Avert and Bach Flower Remedie), but with little to no success. Being sick and all was quickly forgotten when we arrived and made ourselves comfortable in our temporary home, only steps away from the river. She hadn't yet seen much more water other than that in her bowl and she was curious when Ron stripped down to shorts only and went into the water. She followed courageously, but held back when the water touched her tummy. Since Ron kept going, she felt she couldn't stay behind and soon found herself losing solid ground under her feet. She turned out a natural swimmer and enjoyed it tremendously. That afternoon and the rest of the week to follow, she spent lots of time in the water, swimming and playing, chasing sticks, balls and Ron. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e04dd50.png" border=0 width="1101" height="469" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> During the summer and early fall, Paulien has had a few incidents that called for trips to the vet: she limped really bad after playing with one of our neighborhood dogs and it turned out that she had sprained her leg. Rest and muscle-relaxers cured that problem. More seriously was when she hurt one eye. One night, one of her eyes was red and tearing continuously. This had only gotten worse over night so we paid a visit to Dr. Jack. He was very worried and did not know if Paulien's eye could be saved. He washed the eye, put in some ointment, and wanted to see Paulien again after two days (we had to put in ointment ourselves three times a day). Fortunately, the condition of her eye had improved substantially and after one more visit, Dr. Jack was pleased to tell us that there was no permanent damage to her eye. Paulien likes to catch frogs (occasionally brings them into the house too) and we believe she has had a run-in with a toad, that did not like being chased and that had sprayed its toxic fluid into her eye.</div> <bR> <div> Five weeks later on November 14th, we've “celebrated” Paulien's first birthday: she is no longer a pup in the literal sense, she is full-grown now, but fortunately, she is still young at heart and still displays pup-like behavior. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="3e282980.png" border=0 width="130" height="408" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> December brought more fun: “grandpa and grandma” came visiting from The Netherlands and over New Year's, “uncle” Dolf and “aunt” Joan from California came with their -then 9 month old- son Max to visit as well. With all these people around, there is always someone in the mood to play and grandpa never gets tired of making long walks. Paulien perceived baby Max as a really interesting toy that also serves as food-dispenser. Paulien and Max had tons of fun together and it helped that Max is used to dogs -his parents have a Golden Retriever. The Christmas tree was very interesting too and she would admire it daily. Fortunately, she didn't touch it or remove balls, garlands or lights from it. This Holliday period has one down side: fire works. This scares the hell out of her (as do thunderstorms) and the minute the explosions start, she begins to shiver like a leaf and tries to climb on your lap or hide under the bed.</div> <bR> <div> It took Paulien a while to get used to the near empty house again after all guests had returned home again: back to the daily routine with just dad & mom. On an average day, we'll get up at 6:00 AM and Paulien will pretend that she is still sound asleep; we think she just likes to have the whole bed to herself. She will show her face when Ron leaves the house around 6:30 and in winter time, she and Anneke will sleep for one more hour or so till it gets light. During summer, they too will leave at about the same time. Her morning round usually takes 1 - 11/2 hour. She'll be off leash for most of the time and chase and retrieve the tennis-ball that Anneke will throw with a Chuckit<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#336600" FACE="Symbol" >Ô</FONT>, a must-have if your dog likes to retrieve (costs $10.00 at PetsMart; more info on <A HREF="http://www.chuckit.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.chuckit.com"><U><U>www.chuckit.com</U></U></A>). </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3e3ac7e0.png" border=0 width="428" height="382" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Now that summer has returned to Texas, she likes to cool off a bit and will swim “laps” in the ponds and lakes in our area, most of the time retrieving her ball, but occasionally chasing ducks. Unfortunately, she does not realize (yet) that snakes should be left alone, especially the poisonous ones like water moccasins, so we need to scan the area and water for these creatures and if we spot them, call Paulien back and put her on the leash. Back at the house, time for coffee for mom and a treat for Paulien, followed by several hours of sleeping on her pillow or blanket. In the afternoon, she will pester Anneke and entice her to play. After dinner, the three of us will go for an evening walk, again 1 - 11/2 hour and pretty much the same routine as in the morning. Only now, the chances are much better of meeting some of her four-legged friends and especially Clifford (black lab mix), Daphne (standard poodle) and Gaby and Zack (Vizla's) guarantee tons of fun and lots of exercise, running, chasing. Paulien is by far the smallest of these, but she compensates her lack of stature with an abundance of attitude. The quote on the JRTCA's website is very true: Paulien indeed is a big dog in a small package!</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3e5b3b20.png" border=0 width="435" height="178" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Late March, we had to make a trip back home to The Netherlands and the hassle of taking Paulien with us, combined with her motion sickness, prompted us to look for a place where she could stay during our absence. There are numerous kennels in our area and even our veterinary clinic offers this service. But we couldn't picture Paulien confined in a (small) kennel or crate for 2 weeks without much exercise. Fortunately, Seagull Kennels offers this service too and for both Paulien and ourselves it's definitely worth the drive. </div> <bR> <div> She has spent almost three weeks at Debbie's and has enjoyed every second of it. When we came to pick her up, Debbie released her from her crate and she just ran past us, teaming up with some of the regulars at Seagull Kennels. Suddenly, she realized that she'd heard familiar voices, so she came back only for a quick hello and then rejoined her four-legged friends again. During her vacation, she had literally lost her voice: she would inaudibly bark and you could feel the wind coming from her mouth, but no sound at all. It took her some two weeks to re-find her voice again. At a little over 11 lbs., Paulien is, by no stretch of the imagination a fat dog, but during her stay, she had lost nearly a pound and a half (is her voice that heavy?). Plus, she had picked up a little speed too, making her incredibly fast, much to the frustration of Gaby and Zack, the before mentioned Vizla's. Also, she was so tired when we picked her up again, that she slept all the way back home. The pleasant side effect of this was that she didn't get sick at all. </div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, we had to make yet another trip to The Netherlands towards the end of May to attend the funeral of Ron's mom and we were very happy that Paulien could again stay with Debbie and all her friends at Seagull Kennels, without giving any prior notice. For her, this was an unexpected treat and she enjoyed it again tremendously. Knowing that her mom and dad would (eventually) come and pick her up again, must have been great ease of mind for Paulien and this time she hadn't lost her voice or any weight. But she did get sick on the way home ;-(</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="3e17fa60.png" border=0 width="383" height="166" ALT="Microsoft Photo Editor 3.0 Photo" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The month of June has been pretty uneventful and Paulien is now looking forward to the July play-day at Debbie's and she hopes to meet a lot of her brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces and, of course, their human parents too.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>Paulien's Visit to Seagull Kennels</I></div> <div> <I> August 2004</I></div> <bR> <div> Greetings from Montana </div> <div> Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004  </div> <bR> <div> Hi Debbie, </div> <bR> <div> Just a little note to say hello and to let you know that we are doing well. Hope you are doing well too and of course, we hope that Paulien is also fine. It is hard to imagine, but we do miss her ;). </div> <div> Montana is again great, the weather is nice and the fish are really scared. Ron did not manage to catch one yet, but still he had fun. Linda is enjoying herself tremendously and she will have a lot of stories to tell back home.</div> <bR> <div> All for now, Groetjes and see you (and Paulien) on Tuesday, </div> <bR> <div> Anneke, Ron and Linda  </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Hi Guys:</div> <bR> <div> I am so glad that you wrote and that you are having fun in Montana. </div> <bR> <div> We have a problem here...I decided that the weather being what it is (heat index of 115 + for the last week or so...) that Pauliene could come inside.   WELL...she has made herself VERY comfortable here!! (Hard to imagine, right???)</div> <bR> <div> She sleeps on my head ( we did have a discussion about that and she can be moved....) she is under my feet on the white rug when I am doing computer stuff, she 'helps' me in EVERYTHING I do, (yes, that means if I am shredding, she is there, if I am mowing, she is there...) Are you seeing a pattern here??? </div> <bR> <div> Her voice should work when she comes back home, becasue she has had very little reason to bark (except to scare aware invading cats, etc...) She is eating well (sometimes notheing, sometimes a TOTAL P I G!!!) She has gotten to be quite a good hunter....(mouse breath is VERY common around here.)</div> <bR> <div> And I must say, she is getting lots of exercise (she has to help me ALL the time...) She has learned to take advantage of rest breaks (the dog can go to sleep in an instant...even than she has to 'help' me...if I lay down, she must 'guard' me...)</div> <bR> <div> She is learning that although she is a princess...she must share that status with other dogs in the house (yes, we have three princess and one prince...) She is doing well with that, only needs to be reminded occassionly. She has had two baths so far (if you live in the house you MUST get used to having lots of baths...because out here in the country you can get pretty stinkie!!!)</div> <bR> <div> All in all I would say that she is having a nice vacation (but she is still highly insulted that it is sooo blasted hot here!!!)</div> <bR> <div> Continue to enjoy your vacation and we will see you next week!</div> <bR> <div> Later,</div> <div> Debbie, </div> <div> her Royal Highness Pauliene, </div> <div> and the rest of the critters at Seagull,LTD.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Hi Debbie,</div> <bR> <div>  we can see the problem.....do you think you can do without Paulien in a few days, or will you continue to need her help, guidance and supervision? It all sounds so familiar and we're glad that you allowed our child in the house and we're proud to find out that she still remembers her upbringing. </div> <bR> <div> We are still having fun and the only reason to look forward to the end of our vacation is to be reunited with Paulien. </div> <bR> <div> Take care, groetjes for all and see you on Tuesday. </div> <bR> <div> Anneke, Linda & Ron  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="39501010.gif" border=0 width="1" height="1" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>We will continue to add to Paulien's story. Watch for new developments....</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jack Russell Terriers"><U><I>Jack Russell Terriers</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Seagull Limited "><U><I>Seagull Limited </I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SK Canine Academy"><U><I>SK Canine Academy</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More JRT Photos "><U><I>More JRT Photos </I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Puppies Available"><U><I>Puppies Available</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Puppy Rules"><U><I>Puppy Rules</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jack Russell Stories"><U><I>Jack Russell Stories</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Seagull Experiences"><U><I>Seagull Experiences</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Playday"><U><I>Playday</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="History of the Jack Russell"><U><I>History of the Jack Russell</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Out of the Ring...into the Den"><U><I>Out of the Ring...into the Den</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Angulation "><U><I>Angulation </I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grooming Pens"><U><I>Grooming & Pens</I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Veterinarians"><U><I>Veterinarians</I></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>