Firstly many apologies for taking so long to return the enclosed; it’s been almost 10 months since we “adopted” Jordan (now known as “Jordy”) and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for Jordy. He's become a firm favourite with everyone.  He loves people and his sense of fun (I never knew a dog could have a sense of humour) coupled with his intelligence - he’s a very sensible little individual - and calm nature, wins over even non-dog lovers.

When he first came home with us he was quite timid and would spend a lot of time sitting in his box looking sad.  He was – and still is to a certain extent – a quiet dog as he will only bark for a specific reason, but never to communicate with us.  We had a couple of accidents in the spare room initially as he didn’t want to go outside for the toilet unless you went with him and gave no indication that he needed the loo.  He appeared to think if he was let out he wouldn’t be able to come back in.  However, this issue has been fixed with the installation of a doggy door and now he comes and goes as he pleases.

He’d obviously had some training in his previous home as he can sit, shake paws and – when he feels like it – come and stay.  However, when you opened the door for him to come inside he would cower, giving us the impression that he’d received hard treatment.  He was quite skinny when he first came to us but has now put on the required weight.  If he’s not hungry he will take the food and store it in his “mutt hutt” for consumption later; one of his favourites is over-ripe bananas.

He is a very gentle boy, never snatching food and understands that he must wait to pick up food that’s dropped on the floor.  He’s also not a bolter; you can open the front gate and he will wait for you to tell him to come, then he’ll quietly saunter out. 

The vet identified that he has skin allergies and is allergic to – amongst other things – wool and grass.  So out went the wool blanket (his favourite), the leather collar was replaced with a material one and I put a big cotton rug out on the balcony which he now likes to lie on to survey his territory.  However, he still likes to sun himself in the vegetable patch (somehow the garlic and rocket managed to get past the seedling stage and prosper).  I also give him a daily “paws and claws” fish oil with Omega-3; a combination of all these factors appears to have done the trick.

Although Jordy is friendly with other dogs, beyond the initial ‘hello’ he generally isn’t interested.  And in the case of puppies, where they just want to get into his face to play, he’s positively grumpy.  He’s not afraid to chase big dogs three times his size because they’re getting on his nerves.  The only dogs that he consistently shows an interest in are a pair of Jack Russells that walk in the same park.  Other than that, he can be friendly one day and then ignore the same dog the next time he meets them - I've learnt that this is typical Jack behaviour.

Although, humans are a completely different case –  I’m convinced he thinks he’s one.  He always has time for humans and is very patient with kids, standing absolutely still so that inquisitive little fingers can poke and prod him without a response.

He loves company and is a big softy – not something I expected from a Jack Russell, though other owners tell me that it’s the females that are more independent.  He loves nothing more than having his head and ears rubbed and will push your hand to either continue or to tell you to start.  In the morning’s – getting ready for work – he’ll shadow you and gently biff your leg just to let you know that he’s there and ready for a pat or head ruffle before you go.

He’s very good at spotting “soft touches” always hanging round my father-in-law knowing that he’ll be passed meat.  But equally, he understands that some people don’t like dogs and apart from welcoming them when they come to the house (he’s always the first to the door saying “hello”), leaves them alone the rest of the time.

He loves his daily walks, repeatedly chewing his squeaky toys, eating a bone and “chilling out”.  Whenever my husband “takes a break”, Jordy is never far away; he’s claimed the seat on the sofa next to my husband as his.  When our nephew’s and nieces come over and there’s no room, he gives them the:  “When are you going…” look.

He hates (and in no particular order): lawn mowers, whipper snippers, thunder and lightning, fireworks and my neighbour hosing the Colorbond fence.  We know this because it’s the only time that he barks until the offending noise stops.

Finally – I’d like to say a big thank you for all the work you do to rehome Jack Russells.  Jordy has brought so much joy to our life.  From his cheeky little face greeting me every morning as he jumps on the bed and tries to get under the covers to when he “steals” his walking bag with treats in to try and get them out and then leaves the bag in full view for when we return home.  I wouldn’t want it any other way.

We've discussed getting him a little girlfriend on a number of occasions but we're worried that we'll spoil "perfection' - he's just such a gem.