Читать книгу Jack Russell Terrier: An Owner’s Guide - Robert Killick - Страница 16

John Russell was born in 1795 in Devonshire, and from boyhood showed an exceptional interest in the countryside and animals. His father, a well-known hunting parson, who, at one time, kept a pack of hounds, encouraged his son to follow in his footsteps. At that time it was not unusual for men of the cloth to be keen on hunting. Indeed, many had their own packs, and they were often admired by their parishioners and overlooked by the church hierarchy.

Young John Russell was a tough, strong country lad, who was not easily put down and was always ready to fight his corner, which was just as well for his second school, Blundell’s, a public school in Tiverto, Devon, had a harsh regime, and bullying was rife. He kept ferrets and in his spare time would go ratting for local farmers, who were amused by the boy’s keenness and agreed to keep four-and-a-half couple of hounds (nine hounds) on his behalf.

Today’s Jack Russells are all descended from the original Terriers owned by the Reverend John Russell in the nineteenth century. Feisty and fun-loving, these dogs make great family pets as well as being superb workers.

At Oxford University, Russell was not interested in cock fighting and heavy drinking like the other young gentlemen undergraduates. Instead, he used every opportunity to hunt with the best packs. Foxhunting became the story of his life, and he was obsessed with hunting until his eighties, riding phenomenal distances to join a famous hunt.