One of the great things about living in the intermountain area is autumn. Where we live in eastern Idaho, winters are long and arduous. Sometimes it seems as though the memories of yellow leaves, abundant sunshine, and crisp mountain air are the only things that sustain us through the long, cold winters. To "terrier-folk" autumn brings additional meaning...fox hunting.

In the intermountain area, vixen whelp in the late spring, making fox pups approximately six months old at the first signs of fall. Late September is generally when young fox pups venture off to establish their own territories, usually not far from that of the vixen. This phenomenon together with the temperate climate make autumn the perfect time to enter young terriers to fox.

This year we had the opportunity to join Dick and Nancy Fenton and Rick and Karen Brennon in the field for two fantastic days of hunting. Dick and Rick are both JRTCA "A" working judges, fine terriermen, and just all-around nice guys. They were up to the challenge and the Conner family (terriers included) were excited for the opportunity to hone our hunting skills.

We had done a considerable amount of leg-work to make our two days in the field safe and successful. Scouting runs, permission of property owners, equipment checks, and lots of organization is required for a successful hunt. With the preparation done, we were ready to hit the field. As it turned out, our scouting paid off and we sighted quarry right away. Ellen and Chris Lesch, our favorite hunting partners had come from Boise, Idaho to join us for the weekend. Ellen used to be a Whip with a foxhunt in Illinois, and we all knew what she meant when she yelled, "hallow." She had sighted a red fox in a nearby hollow. Although, the terriers hadn't spotted it, they soon picked up the scent and we watched them work the line. We had three dogs out while we watched the vixon double back to an old set we had already checked. This set was very familiar to us, and were sure we were headed for an easy dig.

Two things you can count on with Jack Russell's, first - things are never as they seem, and second - you never have an "easy" dig. This was no exception. As we followed the quarry, we realized we only had two dogs now instead of the three. Teq had disappeared. He had located and gone to ground when we were preoccupied watching the fox head back to the "easy" dig. Fortunately, all the dogs were fitted with locating collars.

We located him near a canal bank approximately seven feet deep barking his heart out. The dig was complicated by the presence of a large, rebar reinforced concrete head-gate that interfered with the signal between the locating box and Teq's collar. Even more importantly, we were dealing with a single-hole set. That meant there would be no bolting this quarry. Teq blocked the only exit and he had no intention of stepping aside so the quarry could leave the earth.

In order to get better coordinates on Teq, we sent in Bacall. Bacall is Dick's little bitch. She is very experienced and we had hoped she would help us scope the situation better. She did and we excavated a 6X6X3 foot hole before we could see the dogs. At this point, Teq and Bacall had been below ground nearly four hours. Fortunately they are both soft workers and we still had two intact terriers. While both dogs had been engaged by a young red vixen, they had suffered only minor wounds. Teq and Bacall were dehydrated but neither had plans to desert their post. We pulled them from the hole and allowed our bitch, Cookie to enter. Cookie had been waiting in the wings and she was ready for work. She went right to her business and began to draw the quarry on command. Teq entered again to help finish the job he had started.

With assistance from Rick, who laid prone in the bottom of the 6 foot hole we snared the fox. Rick had the fox by the tail, Craig (my husband) had Rick by the ankles. Craig, Rick, the fox, and two feisty terriers (death grips all) were all drawn from a hole that was nearly seven feet deep. Five hours from when we started, we finished successfully. Teq obtained a Natural Hunting Certificate Below Ground for red fox. All the hunters, humane and canine alike retired for the day. Hot, dirty, sore, and very happy we elected to let the remaining "easy" dig alone. Who knows, it may have taken another five 5 hours. One can never be sure when your dealing with Jack Russell Terriers.