The death is announced of Saffron ‘Ronnie’ Gee, Jack Russell Terrier on Friday 16 January, after a long illness, aged eighteen.
Ronnie came to us in 2011 aged about three, from a family that was moving into accommodation where pets weren’t allowed. It must have been a huge wrench for them, as Ronnie was a fantastic dog, a real live wire.
At first I was told that we were adopting a crossbreed between a Jack Russell and some other dog such as a dachshund. But when I met her my impression was that she was the most Jack-Russelly Jack Russell that you could possibly imagine. Sparky, cheeky, occasionally very fierce, great fun to be with and indestructible. As one of our guests observed, she was a ‘little rascal’.
With her great friend and playmate Heidi the Dog
Her recreations included chasing motorcycles and mobility scooters; running at very high speed in circles on the beach around her great friend Heidi the Golden Retriever (also no longer with us), teasing her with a ball, and vanishing down holes. Heidi was an internet sensation, having starred in a movie (scroll forward to 2’19”). Ronnie was never one to be outdone, though, and joined Heidi in a blog post about writers and their dogs. She was also part of a book project. Field research for Heidi and Saffron’s Guide to the Dog Friendly Beaches of North Norfolk saw us exploring beaches and their facilities from Sheringham to Happisburgh, but it was one of those things that never materialised. In later years she became a regular at the North Sea Coffee Company where she enjoyed her eighteenth birthday party with her many friends, canine and human.
At Her 18th Birthday Party
It was there that she finally achieved stardom, a few weeks before her death, in the North Sea Coffee Dog Nativity Tableau, as Baby Jesus.
Finally, a Starring Role
When Ronnie came to us she’d just weaned a litter of puppies. We wonder what came of them. They would be extremely old by now, but we like to think that they in turn had many descendants. Perhaps, even now, Norfolk is alive with Ronnies — running, tumbling, jumping, getting up to mischief and enjoying life as much as their ancestress once did. Ronnie is survived by three other dogs, three cats, two hens, a royal python, two fish and her grieving human family. May her memory be a blessing.
