ROSSI
Sandy Dann
Walled Garden, Blenheim Palace
87 x 130 cm
Rossi has helped me understand my pandemic anxiety a little better. He was once picked up by a bird of prey when he was about four months old. The bird flew up with him in its talons, quickly realised that he wasn’t a leveret or similar such lunch and promptly dropped him. I later found him unconscious on our lawn. He recovered physically but it left him very scared of a lot of ‘normal’ things. He spends a lot of his life anxious but he’s still a very sociable and loving little chap, just someone who needs a bit of extra reassurance.
Lockdown tails…
At the start of the first lockdown, I became a first-time grandma to a very long-awaited for baby boy. It was excruciatingly difficult to not be able to hold and kiss him or my own amazing first born who had brought him into our family. My grandson was 10 weeks and six very long days old before I could hold him, and I was heartbroken over the time that was lost and which can never be recovered.
However, during this time, I also realised that Rossi’s little world was plenty for him and my new smaller world was more than enough for me too. Small (like him and his world) can be very comforting, safe and warm. Lockdown allowed more time for sofa cuddles with our furry mate and although both Rossi and I did get sick of not being allowed to kiss and cuddle those we missed, I don’t think he noticed the lack of loo roll as much as us!
Funny might not be on his agenda but Jack Russell dogs have the reputation of being feisty and a bit barky/snappy. You know the type, the ones that love to go down a rabbit hole or snap at your heels. Well, not mine! Rossi once refused to get off the garden recliner chair and chase away a rat that was only approximately a metre away from him. He just sat there and watched it. I’m sure he was laughing and saying ‘you must be joking?’! We have Mallard ducks that visit and nest in our driveway and when Rossi has to walk past them, he literally runs around them to ensure a very wide berth. It’s like someone forgot to tell him he’s a Jack Russell!
Sandy Dann