The Dog That Inspired: Part I

I was hiking in the vast Los Angeles park with my two other dogs at the time, who were also rescues: Phoebe, from the ASPCA, and Buttercup, one of a litter of 5 I fostered from 4 weeks old.

After receiving a text from a hiking buddy saying that the park maintenance guys were trying to catch two small dogs someone had dumped out of a van, my friends and I headed over to help. Hiking buddy Laura got out the “good” treats (hot dogs) and we were able to entice and contain Noodle, who was a friendly sort by nature.

But Minnie proved to be a challenge. Three hours later, I was finally able to catch her! My method was patience - and some quick hand/eye coordination: I first shuttled my big dogs home, then returned to the scene, where Laura was keeping an eye on Minnie. I kept Noodle with me, and we sat together in the open grass. Minnie had just miraculously missed being hit by 2 cars, so further chasing was not an option.

As I sat calmly with Noodle on my lap, Minnie began circling in closer and closer. When she got within arms’ length, I lassoed her with the leash. She thrashed and screamed, but then sat calmly after what seemed like an eternity. It had only been about 10 seconds. And then she was mine! Although I didn’t realize it at the time.

Such a chaotic capture was probably a harbinger of things to come. And that’s Minnie in a nutshell.

So, skip forward to a lifetime of hikes and health challenges, so numerous I can’t possibly name them all, and we have today’s relationship.

Noodle died a year ago, and that was tragic for us both, even though he made it to 15.5 years old. It took months of grieving to even be able to really function normally, and that level of grief was a surprise. I will blog on that experience separately, because I think it’s really important for some people who are high-functioning one day, then can be suddenly so completely floored by grief the next, and have trouble understanding it.

But for now, let’s focus on Minnie: Diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) 2+ years ago, she is still hopping and running during daily excursions at the Simplot field down the street, or Discovery Park under Lucky Peak Dam, or Sandy Point, or Barber Park. She walks daily, and can still do up to about 2 miles as of this writing. Lest you think I push her too hard - I don’t. I even employed a stroller (she jumps out) or tried to carry her when I thought she might be tired (she screams and “air bites” at the insult). So…. no “Baby Bjorn” for the Mins.

This is vintage Minnie, whose pushiness and stubbornness, perhaps borne of her Jack Russell heritage (ahem), has only increased in intensity since she went deaf, and lost her brother.

Signature Minnie behavior included jumping up (vertically, almost) upon any raised structure I would walk near, in order to receive treats. Her back legs have always been like springs - a true Jack Russell trait. Minnie and her brother both were high prey-driven, which sort of surprised me, but when one considers that Jack Russells are bred for vermin extraction it makes sense. They sure liked chasing anything that moved, especially squirrels. Even birds were fair game.

The scary thing about that, however, was both Jack Chi’s imagined they could take down Canada Geese - even an aggressive nesting one! I had to intervene a couple of times to get them to back down. They witnessed a lot of my nature photography, or attempts at nature photography which, sometimes, they’d interrupt with their barking.

Minnie (background) and Noodle (foreground) looking like bookends on the couch, age 14