New Zealand Life

Prissy

December 12, 2009 a little Yorkshire Terrier was born. February 15, 2010 we chose her to bring home and keep her until we moved to New Zealand. When it was time to move, we would give her away to my sister or another family member. On February 16, 2010 we agreed to call her Jess Valentine Stephens.

When we got Jess, she was a little black and tan ball of fur. She was always very picky with her food and we tried hundreds of different treats mixed in with her food to get her to eat. Unfortunately, she rarely liked to have the same treat twice, so we often found ourselves feeding her one piece at a time by hand. It was a big accomplishment if we could get three pieces of food in her mouth at once.

Though the first week, she was a tad bit shy, Jess turned out to be an extremely energetic, enthusiastic, and affectionate puppy. She loved to play toys and among her favorite where a monkey and a purple weasel (better known as "the rat") that I donated from my humongous stuffed animal collection (see video link page). She also indulged herself in playing with our Abyssinian cats Mocha and Latte. Mocha was very sweet and Jess played with her often. Latte, my rather mean and obese cat was harder to convince, but in 2011 Jess began to play with her as well.

Even though Yorkshire Terriers are technically not the smartest breed, Jess has proven to be very intelligent. She learned the commands come, sit, and down during her first week with us at her new home. She then learned the commands stay, dance and shake. At this time, Mom had run out of tricks for Jess to learn. My brother, John, suggest "army crawl," where she would crawl along the ground on her stomach. Jess learned the trick within three days. And last, but not least, Jess was taught "hide," in which she lays down and puts her paw over her nose.

Jess turned one on December 12th, 2010. She had a fantastic celebration on Christmas when she got toys and treats for Christmas. She enjoyed running around like an insane puppy and meeting all the new people. We also brought her over to my Dad’s parents’ house, where she was admired and complimented.

Over the (2 ½) years that we’ve had Jess, we have never taken her to a groomer. We clip her toe nails, and shave her hair off as needed. We also give her a bath about every two or three weeks. After these baths, Jess then goes insane and rubs herself into a bean bag or couch to dry herself off. Unfortunately, she has fallen off the couch a couple times while doing this.

In 2011, we made the big decision to take Jess with us to New Zealand, because she was such an special family member. Mom and Dad brought her to the International Airport a week before we left for our big move.

We picked Jess up from the New Zealand quarantine kennel on September 4, 2011. She was extremely excited to see Mom and Dad and was crying shrilly so much, Mom was afraid she was hurt or something. It turns out Jess was fine, just thrilled beyond explanation, and she has become overly protective of Mom ever since. No one is allowed to hug Mom without getting jumped on or bitten by Jess, and almost all visitor's are barked at and assailed by the little Yorkshire Terrier.

Jess willingly accepted the ducks, Jaynee, Callie, and the chicks. She plays with Jaynee and Callie (we gave the Abyssinians away) and occasionally snaps when she gets extremely annoyed and attacks viciously. She was my ducks’ mother until they were launched on to the pond at EVER, and was minimally interested in my chicks.

I call her the "prissy puppy" because of her delicate and girlie ways. She is no longer quite as picky with her food, and her favorite treats consist of duck jerky and deer ears. She has very few vices and is loved by all.

~ Julia ~