Rancho Rivera Russell Terriers

Well, puppy season is beginning to wind down for us, as we only have ONE puppy left, Duchess.  "Why wasn’t Duchess chosen before," someone might ask.  That’s an interesting question, and one that I think needs to be addressed, because often people think that there must be something wrong with the puppy that hasn’t been chosen yet.   And really, that isn’t it.   In fact, I’ve been often surprised at which puppy IS the last to sell.  The conclusion I have come to is that really people have different tastes.  Some people prefer a rough-coat, some prefer a smooth-coat, some prefer a white dog with tan or brown spots.  Some people prefer the black spots.  Some people choose a dog because of a movie they saw, and they want a dog that looks just like that dog that was in the movie!

Duchess is a very calm dog, that when you carry her, she just rests her head on your shoulder — very sweet and a darling.  Any female from Cinnamon and Ranger is going to be a calm dog, which is why we particularly love these two dogs combined, Cinnamon and Texas Ranger.  Yet when Duchess goes outside, she loves to run and play! 

Please contact us for more information on how you can begin your life with "A Friend for a Lifetime."   www.russellterriers4life.com

  Duchess does have that extra outer coat that will make her a broken coat, but at this point with her short hair, it doesn’t show — unless you know how to look for it — like on her cheeks and on the top of her nose.

I love to see heroism in young men in this day and age — this one comes from Australia.

 Well, it was finally Taffy’s time to go to her new forever home in Arkansas, so up we were at 3:30 in the morning to make sure she could get on an especially early flight to travel when the heat of the day had not yet set in.  We kept her bowl of water frozen the night before and then in a cooler until our arrival at the airport at 4:30 a.m., so that it would not spill in her crate, and she could drink little bits at a time as the water defrosted.  We checked her in and gave her her last hugs and kisses from our family, and prayed she’d have a safe trip.

 We were glad to get the phone call hours later that she had safely arrived at her new home, where her new name would be "Yadi," short for "Yadier," after a St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher, "Yadier Molina."   We here at Rancho Rivera love pictures of our pups in their new homes.  I think it is therapeutic for us to see Yadi happy in her new environment, and it gives us joy to see her bring joy to others.

 Wow, Ginger, Yadi’s momma, isn’t exactly fond of cats.  She’d rather have one for dinner.  I think that’s because she was never raised with them, and she’s a hunter here on Rancho Rivera.

Yet this isn’t the first time one of her babies is raised and bonded with cats.  It can happen.  It’s just how you raise and train them.  (Just don’t tell Ginger.  She would be horrified!!!!!!!!)

We called Taffy back at home "Baby Boo."  You may ask how did you get that?  Well, all our dogs have nicknames, and Ginger’s is "Boo."  Well, we always thought Taffy was the spitting image of her mamma, Boo, so we nicknamed Taffy "Baby Boo."  Well, "Good-bye, Baby Boo.  May you bring much joy and laughter in your new home, and enjoy all the hunting on the many acres of land you can run around in!  You will be missed."

Ginger and Ranger’s litter is also now 8 weeks old and ready to go to a forever, caring home. You can click on the gallery for more photos of each puppy. Enjoy the video!

Cinnamon and Ranger have a beautiful litter that is now 8 weeks old and ready to go to a forever, loving home.   You can click on the gallery for more photos of each puppy.  Enjoy the video!

I love what Jacks are capable of.  In COLMAN, S.D. – A 150-pound mountain lion was no match for a squirrel-chasing terrier on a farm in eastern South Dakota. Jack the Jack Russell weighs only 17 pounds, and yet he managed to trap the cougar up a tree on Tuesday.   For the full story, click here:

It dawned on me the other day, that I have not really formally introduced Rudy — our "not" Jack Russell.

One day, while my daughter and I were waiting at our vet’s office over 4 years ago, we saw a posting on the bulletin board in the waiting room that a lady was trying to find a home for one of her dogs, Rudy.  Rudy, who was 2 years old at that time, is half Yellow Lab and half Red Heeler.   My daughter, who is TOTALLY a dog lover, pleaded with me to let us take him.  I told her we’d talk to Papi (dad) when we got home, and we’d ask him.  Well, Papi’s response at first was "No.  We were a Jack Russell family, and that was it.

Well, a couple of months went by, seeing that Rudy had not yet been adopted, my husband had a change of heart.  So, we went back to the vet’s office and asked about the listing that "used to be" on their bulletin board.  The response I got was that just that morning, since no home had been found, the owner had taken Rudy to the local Humane Society.  I was surprised at the timing!  If we didn’t act quickly, we weren’t sure what was going to happen to Rudy.

We drove to the Humane Society, and Rudy indeed was there.  In fact, they hadn’t even processed all his paperwork yet!  I asked if there was an adoption fee for him.  There was.  So we told the worker we’d pay the adoption fee and got Rudy out of there.  She said that was the fastest turnaround time they’d ever had for a dog adoption!! 

That day, we brought Rudy to our home.  Poor fellow, he actually gets car sick . . . as we learned on our way home from the Humane Society, if you know what I mean!  So, other than to the vet, he always stays on our ranch.  He also has bad hips, and after only 6 months, we could see his hip problems in the way he walks, and in the difficulty he has to get up.  But he’s a happy dog.  He’s sort of the big "Papa" dog of all the dogs.  Sometimes I think he thinks he’s a Jack Russell, because he’ll stand by a tree, keeping his eye on a squirrel, and bark, just like a Jack Russell.  He acts tough — unless, of course, there’s lightning.  Then, he’ll paw at the door for us to let him in.  And when we do, he’ll crawl under something — anything — to try to keep him safe from the lightning.  Although the Jacks aren’t thrilled about the lightning, they’ll sort of look at Rudy like, "What’s your problem?"  I personally think our Jack Russell Terriers are good for Rudy, because they have taught him how to be brave.

He has now become the family guard dog, with his loud, strong barks when someone walks by.  And he does a great job of taking care of us, and our dogs!  And how the puppies love him!

This is a great video I wanted to share with all other dog lovers — and God lovers! It is a simple song, but it is so cute! Enjoy!

One of the joys we have in our dog-breeding business is to see personally the joy our puppies bring to their new owners when they personally come to our home to pick up a puppy.  Melissa and Tim came to pick up Blaze — now Blaise.   They decided to keep the name, and just changed the spelling.  I love it!  These are photos of Blaise in his new home.  I especially love the one with his new blue heeler brother, May-May. 

Here Blaise is on his new bed.  He’s in "fashion and comfort!"

Of course, there’s the picture of Blaise on Mellisa’s bed! 

                            "Awe, this is the life!"

Congratulations, Melissa and Tim.  We wish you the best, with your new adopted friend!

Well, a year has gone by since Ginger had her first litter, and we REALLY ENJOY seeing our puppies all grown up.  This photo is of Riley, who now lives in California.  He’s a beautiful dog!  And built like a champion!