The Rat Review

Dolly
 Dolly is five months and 18 lbs. anyway our scale says 18 lbs. She is big and feels more like 20# to me. I know she takes up most of the bed! She is just starting to fill out nicely. Wonder what she will eventually weigh? She has the sweetest disposition. She just loves everyone, especially the
grandchildren.
We never let her out without one of us being with her at all times. We live a way off the road but it still frightens me and when we have her out to play it is only in our back yard or behind the garage. When she is in the yard with us and company pulls in we have her trained to be afraid of cars. I use to have to tell her "run Dolly" and she would run to the 
front porch and jump up on the patio table until they stopped and turned off the engine and got out.
Now she just does it automatically and she waits until I say OK before she will go to them. She is our pride and Joy. She is a natural hunter. We swear she points. She will stop and freeze and move in one step at a time almost stalking the squirrels, and she loves to climb. Rick can't wait to take her squirrel hunting this fall. This smart at five months, I can't even imagine what a wonderful companion she will be when she matures. 
Rick is so impressed with her. He says she is a natural. Every time he takes her out in the timber she always stays within 30 feet of him and does her hunting thing. Every once in a while he does a little whistle and she comes right over to him. We can't wait to take her canoeing with us. If the rivers ever go down. Right now she is curled up asleep in her laundry basket. If we are up that's where she likes to nap. She just loves other dogs. She was outside with us the other night jumping up in the air under the yard light catching june bugs
She loves to play with them. She chases butterflies and is just like a small child. They are so sweet when they are discovering things for the first time. She doesn't miss a thing and she's such a clown. We laugh at her all the time. Last night I took her for a walk in the timber down the path and a deer jumped out in front of us, she took off after it and I thought "Oh no" I'll never catch her, but she got to the end of the trail and barked at it and then turned around and came running full speed right back to me. She stood by me barking. I think she was kind of scared since she had never seen a deer before and I was glad. She is just so beautiful and she prances like a champion.

Dolly caught a mouse. She kept throwing it into the air and pouncing on it like it was still alive.  Rick took it away after she had mauled it for a while and threw it into the  timber. Next day it was back so he walked further out in the timber and threw it again. He said now I 
 
threw that thing far enough I know she won't find it. A few  days later I....
smelled something bad in our bedroom and sure enough she had drug 
it in the house. It was about petrified by that time! We were amazed 
how she could find it! This time I flushed it down the toilet!

Rick and Diane Crawford
 

 
 
I thought you might enjoy this photo.  I have heard of Rats 
climbing trees but never seen it until Julie Lussier sent this
photo of Dodger (Sophie x Deisel)

Sent in by Cindy Schriber – Pecatonica Rat Terriers WI
Thought you'd like to see Jake at 3 years old. He loves to 
play in our backyard and chase the squirrels, but his favorite 
time is when we go for a walk in the neighborhood. He has
many dog friends and we all walk together twice a day. 
Take Care, Stacy Hanks in Milford, CT
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