We met Jess on a chilly day about 1996, I cant remember exactly.
We had just lost our GSD and went to Bleakholt animal sanctuary on the moors above Ramsbottom, a grim bleak place at the best of times, but that day it was freezing cold blowing a gale.
I knew they had a litter of border collie puppies, but when we got there the office was closed so we had a look round, 'fatal'..
Sitting in one of the kennels was a miserable, thin hairless lurcher, she had urin scald all over her body so no real hair just tufts here and there. I said hello and with her back to the bars she just looked over her shoulder, the look in her eyes was awful, nothing, blankness, she was miserable. Of course I was hooked.
I went to get my OH but he was less than thrilled when I pointed out the dog I wanted.
Her history was that she had been reported to the RSPCA but no one had gone to see her where she had been living which was in a shed outside in a back yard.
She'd had an injury to a fore leg joint so perhaps they didn't want her who knows?
Anyhow she was sleeping on a piddle sodden mattress, the man who found her worked at bleakholt as a helper working mostly with the lurchers and greyhounds, he just climbed over the wall and stole her!.
She had spent the night at his house before she was taken to the sanctuary, so had only been there half a day when we arrived.
It took two hours, we didn't have to go through home checks because the chap need for her to go 'quickly'
she cost me £47
She was totally covered in fleas, and I mean covered, they were everywhere from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail, and clearly visable because of her hairless state. They were a jumpin and a runnin, what weren't on the dog were on the carpet or me!..Ive never ever seen so much flea activity.
Three tins of carpet spray, and £40 worth of stuff off the vet and she was clear.
Then it just needed for her hair to grow.
6 months later she was a different dog, grey, sleek and totally un housetrainable. She was a nightmare, I dont know where she kept all the piddle, she was unconcerned about where she did it, kitchen living room, all the same to her, a toilet!. I could walk her at midnight or 2am, didn't make a jot of a difference in the morning the house was awash.
She was also an accomplished thief. Nothing was safe, if she couldn't reach it by reaching out a leg, no problem she just jumped onto the worktop then walked along eating anything she found, bread, butter, eggs, cheese.
She ate a whole chicken left out to cool, 3doz new laid eggs and a loaf in one sitting.
A pan of liver and onions, the bacon off the grill tray, cooked chicken in bag, and anything she saw that was left lying around unattended like our meals.
We had never had a thief before, all our dogs were toally trustworthy, this one was a nightmare.
She was also a killer...
She was like greased lightening, and without prior knowledge of what she was capable of I was perhaps foolish to allow her to run free in the woods where feral cats had been seen..
After that she was kept on a lead until I knew I could stop her in her tracks, not easy with a dog as quick as she was.
8 months after she came we took her to watch the Langdale fell race and were asked to enter 'that nice lurcher' in the lurcher show, she won beating a 3 times champion, and then won the overall hampionship, her picture appearing in the Lakeland news.[ picture to follow]
I was still running on the fells when she came so it was natural that she would follow in the footsteps of all our other dogs and be a fell runner too.
That first year she came round Helvellyn, did the Kentmere horseshoe twice, and tackled Langdale in the snow, we couldn't tire her out. On Helvellyn she shared our lunch, cheese and peanut butter sanwiches went down as easily as chicken. Then when we had run out of food she went to other people sitting eating and put her starving face on.
She loved to run and 'coursed' alone for the fun of it, no one who has not had a lurcher would understand that, they are just running machines.
5 bar gates, sheep fencing, even deer fencing was to her a hop and a skip.
On the Kentmere horseshoe we all walked past the deep bog on top of the wall, one behind the other jessy making up the rear. She was up for a run anytime unless it was raining!.. she would not venture out in the rain right up until a few weeks ago, but she loved snow.
She was a delight, kind, gentle and loving. We loved her deeply.
Paddy is about 15 16 now and wondering where she's gone. O.H is looking on lurcher rescue so watch this space.
