(9 year old Wire Fox terrier) When my first WFT , Stryker (who was the absolute love of my life), passed away last year, I began working with Fox Terrier Rescue to find a companion for my second WFT, Digsby. The situation was a complicated one because Digsby, whom we had rescued from our local Humane Society in February of 2002, had some serious behavior issues, including fear biting, and a major case of separation anxiety.

After inquiring about several dogs that were posted on the WFT website, Shirley Taylor (who is wonderful) referred me to Kathy Lauer, who had a little girl named Lola. After learning that Lola had a case of separation anxiety herself, Kathy and I determined that she would not be a good match for Digsby as we felt they would only promote each others fears. This commonality did, however, serve as a base for a great friendship between Kathy and I. We compared notes on our "troubled ones" and kept in touch via e-mail while I searched for another WFT. I communicated with several of the great rescue volunteers, and inquired about several available WFTs , but after several months of searching, I still hadn’t found a compatible friend for Digsby. Then … fate stepped in!

Kathy L. had an owner in her area that was looking to place an 8 ½ year old little boy named Jax. Although I will admit that I was like everyone else at first and wanted a younger dog, something about this little guy just spoke to me and I knew he was meant for my family. Kathy put me in touch with Jax’s first mom, also named Kathy, and she and I had several telephone conversations so that she could get to know me, and I could get to know Jax. Thankfully, she decided to place him in our home.

I live in Michigan and they lived in Minnesota, so I met his first mom and Kathy L. in Wisconsin so that I could pick up Jax. When I met him it was love at first sight! He is an absolute little bundle of joy and proved right off the bat that we should never underestimate an older Fox Terrier. He proceeded to play ball with my best friend (yes, in the car) for the entire 3.5 hour drive back home to Michigan and basically only stops playing ball to eat and sleep at night. He has more energy than Digsby, who is not even ½ his age! Jax gets along perfectly with Digsby – which was a HUGE relief to us. I’m certain that a puppy would have annoyed him – not knowing any better. But Jax, being older, immediately understood Digby’s personality and they’ve never had so much as a tiff.

If you are considering adopting a dog, and are stuck on the idea of a puppy, I strongly encourage you to reconsider and think about adopting an older dog. After having done so myself, I can honestly tell you that I doubt I will ever have a puppy again. No one likes the necessary evil of potty training and the disciplinary actions to avoid chewing, etc. With an older dog you get to avoid all of that and still have all the benefits of dog ownership, as well as giving a dog love, and getting all the joy and love in return! If you’re worried about the "bonding" time that normally accompanies puppy hood, I can assure you that Jax has bonded with us just fine. He sleeps snuggled to my feet every night and wants to be near us all of the time.

If energy level is a concern, trust me – with Wires, it shouldn’t be. A typical day with Jax consist of several hours of ball playing over the course of lunch hours and evenings when we get home from work. He also loves to play tug of war with his rope, running around our backyard, and playing in his swimming pool.

As for his 4 year-old brother, Digsby … he very much enjoys watching Jax (who just turned 9) run around the back yard like a fiend from the comfort of his lounge chair – with absolutely no intentions of joining him!

Adopting Jax has been one of the best experiences of our lives. We couldn’t love him more if we had gotten him as a puppy. Puppies are wonderful, but I’ve now learned that older dogs can be just as wonderful and have just as much love and joy to give their owners.