Why I Love Rat Terriers

When we moved into our current home we had a horrible mouse problem. Since Kirk is very allergic to cats and is an asthmatic, acquiring a feline to take care of the issue was out of the question. As I usually do when a question or problem arises, I got on the computer and did an internet search...trying to find a dog that would be a good mouser. The first breed I came upon was the Jack Russell Terrier. They are nice dogs and very cute, but my research showed that they would not be a good fit for our family. I then came across the Rat Terrier, which I had not heard of before I began my search. The description of this breed sounded perfect: good at hunting vermin (very important), not "yappy" (a definite bonus), moderate level energy, high trainability, and a good lap dog. These are just a few of their many positive attributes. When I came across http://www.pocketpuppy.com/ I just knew a Rat Terrier was destined to be a member of our family because there was a breeder within 2 hours of our home. Not too long after that first web search our first Rat Terrier, Scout, came home with us. NOTE: For those of you who don't know...Scout is the best dog in the world! He is so incredibly smart, loyal, funny, and an excellent "verminator." I cannot just say mouser because he kills all sorts of vermin that would otherwise destroy our property - moles, shrews, squirrels (yes, they can be very destructive!), etc.
We were so impressed with Scout that three years after bringing him home we decided to get one of his baby brothers (a full brother from the same sire and dam). Well, genetics aren't everything...and you'd think that Kirk and I would've remembered that all babies are different...because Ranger has turned out to be quite the opposite of his brother. Well, not totally opposite - he is good natured like Scout and he tries to catch mice, but bless his heart...he just hasn't succeeded in the verminating capacity. Ranger just isn't very smart and he strolls through life with a tongue-lolling "don't worry, be happy" attitude (that drove us crazy at first because we thought he was being disobedient), but we finally understand him and find him totally endearing. When you see his cute little face and chunky body wiggling up to you it is impossible not to scoop him up and give him a big smooch!

RAT TERRIERS are:

CUTE!!

CUDDLY!!
COMFORTING!! CHARACTERS!!