After 16 years of having Cassie at Screenflex every day, we took some time to adjust to her death in March. Her failing heart was the main problem but she also had other issues related to injuries incurred in her trial days. If Jack Russells are allowed to do what they do best and go at life really hard with no holding back, it inevitably catches up with them as they get older. Cassie went at it hard and had a full Jack Russell life.
Ryley took her absence harder than anyone else, which I suppose was to be expected because she was his constant companion for all of his twelve years. The vet predicted that he would “mourn” for about a month and would then slowly adjust to being on his own. That is exactly what happened and although he has come out of the funk that he was in, there are still days when he seems to be much more subdued than he generally was when Cassie was still around.
The photograph was taken while we were preparing for a trial day on a farm near Carstairs, Alberta. Cassie is on the left in the picture in a typically alert Jack Russell pose. She was always looking for action.
It was sixteen years of constant motion, companionship, fun and rodent control.