Kerry Anecdotes I (1995-2004)

A collection of snapshots of life with a Kerry Blue Terrier.
Please send your anecdote to John (johnv@kerryblues.info).

Wood Frog!

by Katherine Long

Early Sunday morning my Kerry cornered a Wood Frog. Wood Frogs are small, measuring about two to three inches from snout to bottom, and distinguish themselves with the most incredible call, a very loud and determined quack or "cluck." A group of them calling away on a pond in spring has had more than one hapless wanderer searching in vain for a phantom flock of ducks.

But back to the Kerry. One would think the 30 pound dog would have the advantage, and a cold, slimy breakfast seemed a sure thing. But this particular frog had other plans. Every time the Kerry approached, the frog would leap up to Kerry face level and QUACK! rudely in her face, throwing the Kerry off guard. After a few rounds, the frog proceeded to press his advantage, and - I'm not making this up - chased the Kerry across the length of the patio. Then, with a quick hop sideways, the frog disappeared into the shrubbery. By this time the Kerry was sitting safely by my side with a wide-eyed look that said, "I think I'll have the kibble instead."

Cancel the Locksmith!

by Carolyn Angelo

It was 5:30 AM and I was so pleased with myself that I had the car all packed and was ready to hit the road after a visit with my 98 year old mother in her apartment.

I put Blue in the car, threw the keys on the seat and went to return the luggage wagon. Upon my return the car was locked and Blue was frustrated that we weren't on the road and he was inside. ! I had no idea what had
happened, but, with my tail between my legs I returned the apartment to call AAA.

As I contemplated the situation I figured it out.....Blue had jumped on the key pad and thrown the lock! Well, if he could lock the car, he could unlock it.

I ran to the garage and with my most enthusiastic voice encouraged him to jump! It took about 10 seconds, and Voila, the car was open!

The dispatcher at AAA said, Sure, Lady, your dog unlocked the car!

You have to think like a Kerry to survive a Kerry!

Kerries and Cats

by Joanna Leighton-Nevesny

The male I was keeping out of my first litter (this goes back to the late '70s) spent, for reasons that are beyond the scope of the story, most of his time across the street with the two teen-age girls who lived there.

The household, aside from the parents and the aforementioned girls, consisted of more cats than I ever could determine with certainty and a mixed breed dog named Josephine. There were upstairs cats and downstairs cats (the upstairs being the living level and the downstairs being the master bedroom suite - anyone who lives in hillside view areas will understand this divergence from the usual configuration).

The upstairs cats and Rhett bonded and snuggled together. The cats never had to groom themselves as they merely had to stick out a limb and Rhett would obligingly lick it wet for them.

The downstairs cats were downstairs for a reason. Should Rhett ever entertain any notion of exploring that area, they would secrete themselves in areas no one knew existed and were not heard from for days.

The point of this tale is that when the animal contingent of the household found themselves outdoors
a complete behavioral change occurred. The cats who had been groomed by an obliging Kerry would RUN and the obliging Kerry would CHASE them with full Kerry intensity. From cat succor to CAT FRENZY simply depending on the location. Go figure!

The other story involves Rhett's sister, Scarlett. I'm not even from the South - the naming had more to do with a torn curtain she wound herself into and her feisty personality. She, the little one, bossing her 4 much bigger brothers who all let her rule the roost. She only deferred to her mother. And as for naming Rhett - well, he had big ears.

We had moved to a temporary living situation. The "we" is Scarlett and myself as my 'time to move on' imperative coincided with her advanced pregnancy and I had to have a place where she could comfortable whelp. The obliging household contained not only 4 Salukis (which I can attest are hauntingly beautiful but weirdly neurotic) but an elderly cat (creatively named Kitty).

Kitty had maintained rule of the canine component of the household by simply thwacking each dog on the nose - complete submission followed. I expressed my concern for the cat with the introduction of a Kerry, but was assured that there would be no problem as Kitty knew how to 'level the playing field' as it were. So they met.

Kitty took one preemptory strike at Scarlett's nose, BUT -- as you all know the profile is different. Her swipe got nothing but air and a few hairs. The sight of Kitty swiping and then looking in perplexment at her paw remains unforgettable. Anyway, after a few seconds when Scarlett bristled, arched her neck did that angled head Kerry look, Kitty fled to the top of a bookcase and the poor cat was never the same.

I felt badly as she was elderly and didn't need a terrier in her life. Scarlett proceeded to stare at her for hours which rendering the cat a shadow of her former self. Fortunately for her, after several weeks Scarlett had other things on her mind (and about her body).

Other than these two stories, my subsequent Kerries have only beheld cats from the window. They progress from Cat Alert to Cat Frenzy at an accelerated pace that never seems to pall. I think it's all a game and if the cat would ever deign to play with them they'd be perfectly happy.

Not me!

Submitted by Rita Lockwood

Shortly after we got Jake, I was about to have a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch when the telephone rang.  I set my sandwich on the table and answered the telephone.  Very brief call, when I hung up I turned toward the table.  My sandwich was still on the table, but half the sandwich was missing.   Not even thinking, I pointed to the sandwich & asked  'Jake, did you do that?"  

Jake, not full grown, but full blooded Kerry, stood on his hind legs, looked at the sandwich, then looked at me.  He got that quizzical Kerry look on his face, looked again at the table, got down on all four, then looked at the chair, under the chair, under the table, then stood upright & looked at the sandwich plate again.  He looked all over the table, got back down on all four, & looked under the table & chair again.  Obviously he couldn't find it, but he did help me look.  Yes he had bread crumbs in his beard, no, I didn't think he was innocent. 

"Get the Door, It's Domino's"

Submitted by Kevin Burke

Comet doesn't really watch Television, he stands in front of it, while we are watching, and looks back at us for our attention. If a doorbell rings on the TV, like on a Domino's Pizza commercial, he goes nuts just like he does when our real doorbell rings.

He cannot distinguish between the TV and the real thing and I have to go answer the door even though I know nobody is there. I always let him know what a good watchdog he is and I tell him he scared off whoever was there, but it can get a little annoying at times! But I wouldn't have it any other way!

A Hard Kerry Scull

Submitted by Rita Lockwood

Stories about hard-headed Kerries remind me of an incident that happened about 20 years ago with our first Kerry, Cosby. My youngest son, Cos and I were staying the night with a friend. Her son came home late that night, saw the unfamiliar dog in the (fenced) back yard on a potty break, and promptly opened the gate and let him out of the yard.

As might be expected, he was hit by a car. When we found him he was laid out flat in the rainy street with tire marks across his abdomen, and a gash about 2 1/2 inches long going clear down to the bone in the top of his head . We rushed to a 24 hr animal clinic, by the time we got there blood was running from his nostrils and his mouth, his breathing made a rattling noise, and he seemed unaware of his surroundings. I thought we were losing him. We arrived, they took us in ASAP for X-rays and whatever else they could do.

While we were waiting for the results of the x-rays, he suddenly coughed, raised his head, then stood up, shook himself good, and looked around like he'd just waked up from a nap. The reports all came back good, and the vet said "Only a Kerry has a head that hard."

They stitched him up & we took him back home. He suffered no ill effects, lived happily several more years.

Also This Shall Come to Pass

Submitted by Diane Ridd, UK

While I was about to groom Topper late last night he pinched a surgical glove from the box containing my grooming equipment.

I tried to distract him with a squeaker, but down his throat it went!

It appeared this morning after he was let out with the girls, but two inches remained in place hanging from his butt.

My husband took him for his walk like this, though it didn`t phase either of them and the rest appeared in due course along the journey!

Saved a visit to the Vet!

Kerry Blue Pointers

Submitted by Charlene Dwyer

My female Kerry, Terra, once "worked" a garage with a German Shorthaired Pointer. My carpool partner had been complaining about mice in her garage, and the fact that her German Shorthaired Pointer would do nothing but point at them. It was obvious that Buddy needed a Kerry partner, and I volunteered Terra, who was more than happy to oblige.

On the appointed day, I took Terra over to their garage and, after the initial dog introductions, turned her loose inside with Buddy. It wasn't long before Buddy sensed a mouse and "froze" into a point. Terra sniffed him from head to toe, then barked at him to play. He never moved. Hmmm. This wasn't working as planned.

To redirect Terra's attention, I tossed an aluminum can in the direction of the point. This predictably caused the mouse to scurry away, which caught Terra's attention, and the merry chase was on! It wasn't long before she caught the little devil, true to her ratter heritage.

After that, Terra figured out that when Buddy froze like a statue with his paw up, she could expect a mouse. She and Buddy cleaned out the garage that afternoon, much to the delight of their owners. With a little team spirit and the right combination of instincts, these two dogs were just as effective as a pest control company, and a lot more entertaining!

Gross Encounters

Submitted by Jann Lane

We enjoy our neighborhood dog park. To avoid encounters of the gross kind we have hired a retired gentleman who picks up the 'gold' for a $100 a month (cheap at twice the price). What is funny is that he weighed it and found that in one month he collected 32 pounds from one park alone.

His company motto?
"We are #1 in the #2 Business!"

A true "entre-manure!"

Toilet Drinker

Submitted by Regina and Brian Corry, Billerica MA

When we first adopted Finn, we quickly broke him of this rather disgusting habit (even the vigilant forget the lid from time to time) pretty easily. All went well, until one morning when I woke up with the flu. I shot past Brian and Finn, slamming the bathroom door behind me. This didn't sit well with Finn, as one knows better than to shut the door on a Kerry! When Brian opened the door a minute later to check on me, Finn barged in, and saw me with
my head hanging over the toilet. Well, if you could have just seen the look on his face change from puzzlement over the closed door to "HEY! I THOUGHT THAT WASN'T ALLOWED!!!!! NO FAIR!!!!"

Since then, he is a toilet-drinking skulker who will not be deterred, and loves to come trotting out after he's
found the lid up!

Diet Supplements

Submitted by Chris Brill-Packard, Concord OH

I have one acre fenced yard. My female Kerry (age 6) hunts on a daily basis for mice, moles, rabbits and any other vermin that she might find. I know when Keely has hunted because she will skip one -two meals. That means she has eaten a mole, mouse, or rabbit. When she eats rabbit, she swallow bones and all so I have to put Metamucil on her food for two weeks to help the bones pass through. I can not stop her from doing this.

Keely hunts all winter. I have seen her pull a mouse out of a snow bank with one quick push through the snow. She thought it was great fun to toss the mouse around and let it squeak.

One day I turned my back for 30 seconds, turned around and she had just pulled out a big mole from the lawn. This one she did not get to eat! She pouted for a few minutes after I took it away.

Keely has killed 19 rabbits, I know she has eaten two. The others we were able to take from her. Keely does not have flatulence but she will have "mole breath" as we call it for two-three days. I am usually in the yard with the dogs so I can keep track of what they are doing but Keely is very fast with catching and eating the moles.

A Clairvoyant Kerry

Submitted by J. Huebert, MD

KBT'S are "clairvoyant" or just plain TOO aware of what is going an around them.

My mother, found this out when she retired to her bedroom for a few minutes of "quiet time" after Christmas dinner. When she came back, Baxter (her favorite KBT grand child) barked the alarm. He then led me to Mom's bath off her bedroom where the door was closed. Baxter kept barking until I opened the door and cigarette smoke billowed out. It seems that Mom, who was trying to quit, was having an after dinner smoke in there. But Baxter told on her! His Grandma was not pleased with her little tattle tail.

Dog Story

Submitted by Kathie Adams

I was flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles. By the time we took off, there had been a 45-minute delay and everybody on board was ticked. Unexpectedly, we stopped in Sacramento on the way. The flight attendant
explained that there would be another 45-minute delay, and if we wanted to get off the aircraft, we would reboard in 30 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. I noticed him as I walked by and could tell he had flown before because his seeing eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of him throughout the entire
flight. I could also tell he had flown this very flight before because the pilot approached him and, calling him by name, said, "Keith, we're in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?"

Keith replied, "No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs."

Picture this ... all the people in the gate area came to a completely quiet standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with the

Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses.

People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, they also were trying to change airlines!

Kerries, the perfect dogs!

by Denise MacD. Flynn

My daughter, Aislinn has a really good buddy named Kevin, who is also 8 years old. Kevin really, really wants a dog, but his mother always tells him that she doesn't want anything else around her house that eats or poops.

Anyway, he came back from our house the other day and said, "Mom, I know the kind of dog we can get! It doesn't poop!" Eleanor said, "Kevin, every dog poops." Kevin replied, "No, the Flynns' dog doesn't poop. It's a no-shit breed!"

Binky, the Ratter

by Pasquale Goglia

Ever since the neighbors cut out their ivy, the rats have made my property their home. However, I always know when they are on the move, Binky is right there.

A few years ago, I asked Binky to sit up on her hind legs when she wanted a treat. But, this morning was too much.

I have been setting traps for the rats with continuing success. This morning, Binky is scratching at the gate, frantically! I open the gate and saw what she wanted. I picked up the trap AND Binky sits back on her hind legs, asking for the TREAT!

Guard Dog Reputation Ruined

by Sharon Arkoff

When we are home, Bits is a ferocious-sounding protector. The doorbell rings or there is a knock on the door, and she goes from nap to nuclear in a fraction of a second (often barking ferociously in the wrong direction for few seconds until she wakes up enough to re-orient herself toward the door. Watching a half-asleep dog try to take hardwood floor corners at high speeds is pretty funny too).

However, we had left Bits home holding down the couch while we went off to run an errand. A friend came by and, as we never lock the doors in our vacation place, came in to leave us a note. Bits has met this friend maybe two or three times -- not enough to know her well, and Bits had never met the other people that our friend was with.

When Joyce came into the house, apparently Bits

a) did not bark;

b) could not be bothered to get up off the couch, and

c) wagged her tail when approached with food and ate out of people's hands.

Our friend stayed for half an hour, during which time Bits probably showed where we keep the antique silver and explained how to open the safe.

I have never known a dog who can be as flashy-looking and "up" in arched-neck, etc. stance as Bits can be on those occasions when she remembers that she is a kerry blue, but also such a complete marshmallow on the inside.

Kerry Kisses

by Virginia Barishek

A couple years ago, I had to take my Andy to see a specialist at the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (VHUP). The usual drill is that a couple of 4th year vet students do the initial history and workup. Two very nice young women students sat down with Andy and me to take his history; they asked lots of questions, made many notes, and admired him enormously. They had never encountered a Kerry before! They asked questions about the breed, and Andy looked at them adoringly.

Then they took him to be weighed, on a large, in-floor, step-on scale--the dog is supposed to walk onto the scale and the weight registers on a digital readout. Easy, right? As I followed them down the hall, this is what I saw. Andy walked onto the scale just fine, but the students couldn't get him to stand still, because he kept jumping up to kiss them! And of course, they couldn't get a reading on the weight, because every time he bounced, the digital
readout bounced around too! It was pretty hilarious: they kept leaning over him to try to settle him, and he kept bouncing up to kiss them--he was so happy to meet these two nice girls and thought it a great game. Finally, I walked up to them, said, "Please, allow me," and put him on a sit-stay. He was so disappointed that I'd spoiled his fun, but at least they could now get an accurate weight. I explained to the students that this goofiness is part of the Kerry personality. He proceeded to charm everyone else he met at

Fun Ride

by June E. Hulit

Our Kerries love to GO to the vet. They get all excited especially when we pull up in the vet's parking lot. You would think you gave them a million chewies <grin>.

I remember years ago when Danny, our first boy, had to go to Columbus, OH --- Ohio State Vet. College (that was when they discovered the cancer) --- they kept him overnight for tests.

The vet students told us the next day when we picked him up ---- how much fun they had with him and how he enjoyed being "driven" around on the gurney (cart) --- he would bark and wag his tail while going down the hallways on the cart. Can't you just picture a Kerry being wheeled around on a cart with that BIG Kerry grin???? The students also shared their lunches with him (we had told them he liked cottage cheese).

No wonder we love these guys so very much --- they are truly special to all of us.

Mistaken Identity

by Kathy Ericksen

The other day we took our soon to be fifteen years old Kerry bitch to the vet for a routine check-up. Pepper is always "up" when out in public, tail wagging and woofing greetings to all and sundry. (She thinks her full name is Pepper Shutup.) One of the clinics employees, a sweet young thing who obviously adores animals, walked by and said "Oooooh!! What is it? A Giant Schnauzer puppy?"

My personal fave alternate name for the Kerry Blue: The Caribou Terrier.

Must be my enunciation and/or their hearing.

I have on occasion (with tongue in cheek) referred to my dogs as Curly-Coated Pit Bulls, but don't do this any more as Pit bull breeds are about to be banned in my municipality.

Squatter Rights

by Kathy Ericksen

Pepper also "marks" the floor when at the vet. I could see she was about to do this yesterday and so I discreetly put my toe under her rear so she couldn't squat. Dumb idea. She marked in my shoe.

Converted Landlord

by Beverly Bracken

A man was living in an apartment and got a Kerry Blue. This apartment didn't allow dogs, and he was approached by an upset landlord who ordered him to get rid of his 'dog'. When he replied "But it's not a dog, it's a Kerry Blue.", he was allowed to keep his Kerry.

Insult to Kerries and Revenge

Copyrighted by Susan Meredith Dunivant


Years ago Jack and I were vacationing with my then "one" dog, our Kerry, Casey. I remember being at the pool with Casey very obediently leashed at my side when a rather obnoxious (and obviously tipsy) man started in...

"What kinda dog izzat?"

"A Kerry Blue Terrier."

"A Whut?"

"A Kerry Blue Terrier, they originated in Ireland.

"Looks like a target to me."

"Excuse, me sir, what was that you said."

"You know, a target, something you ought to shoot at."

His wife was actively trying to get him away from me, and altho I felt sorry for her distress I wheeled around at him and said,

"This dog can trace his pedigree back over 20 generations with many champions, can you say the same for yourself?" He sort of gave me this dumb, stunned look...upon which I said,

"I didn't think so...my sincere sympathies to you ma'am." And I walked away...

It is funny though that most of our dogs are more "well-bred" than many people!

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