Published on Animal Rescue Website About My Dog Ripley, 2010 by Terri Rimmer

In August 1997 my Jack Russell Terrier/Yelow Lab/Pug mix showed up in my driveway as if to say, "I'm home." I already had a dog and cat and really couldn't afford another pet but my friend talked me into keeping him and I'm so glad I did.
Because he was already acting like a guard dog defending the neighborhood I named him Ripley after the Sigourney Weaver character in "Alien" and he has lived up to every bit of it.
He's seen me through divorce, adoption, chronic illnesses, financial losses, pregnancy, deaths, severe depression, and numerous other obstacles in my life and is always there to get me off the couch and get me moving even when every bone in my body and my entire spirit screams "No!"
He's almost died twice and is on a special diet and medication for a liver condition but in August he will be 14 and I will have had him 13 years. Those years I wouldn't trade for the world and I always joke that if he was a guy I'd date him. He has all the right qualities except for being human. His loyalty, patience, curiosity, affection, tenderness, understanding, intelligence is unmatched by any other pet I've ever had and I hate to think of the day when he will no longer be with me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clark Gets Death Penalty in Murder by Terri Rimmer - originally published by Nassau County Record, 1991 under my maiden name

Tern Persico Record Staff Reporter Yulee resident Ronald Wayne Clark, 22, convicted for first-degree premeditated murder Nov. 2, was sentenced to death Dec. 13 at the Nassau County Courthouse. Judge Henry Adams granted the death penalty for the first time in his 11 years as a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court. Clark was convicted on the murder charge for the October 1989 murder of transient Charles McElroy Carter, 37. A jury found Clark shot Carter twice, once in the chest and once in the face with a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun. Prosecuters said Clark shot Carter S after driving with two friends to an   abandoned area on County Road 108   by the McQueen Swamp Hunting Club following a night of drinking. Teti­mony showed that Clark shot Carter in the chest, reloaded the gun, leaned over him and shot him again in the head. The two friends, Brian Corbitt and David Hatch, who were present at the   shooting were not charged with par­ticipating in the murder. Prosecuto
Read more

The Role of Courtroom Sketch Artists by Terri Rimmer - originally published by Associated Content, 2007

Image
Courtroom sketch artists unfold the history of some of the most famous trials with the stroke of lead across a page. Heavy black satchels full of over 200 markers make up their professional lives. In the wake of more cameras in the courtroom some people believe that these unusual artists will disappear in the name of progress. Outlines become faces as testimonies emerge. Witnesses or defendants are often cartoons in themselves, so how do you draw a cartoon of a caricature? In between drawing, artists listen to details coming from the lips of those on the witness stand. Five years ago these artists made a couple of hundred bucks a day or more. Courtroom sketch artists fill the empty space where cameras are sometimes not allowed and they even have their own fraternity. Their work often promotes laughter among their own little group, more so than tears. Speed is also a factor if you want to be a courtroom sketch artist and their work can sell for as much as $10,000 a piece. Gary M
Read more

Joy Journal By Terri Rimmer

On March 19, 2008 I found out my oldest sister Joy has Stage One breast cancer. I was going to wait to write about this. It seems that I’m being insensitive (maybe I am) by going ahead and writing about Joy’s diagnosis. Those last two words in that sentence I just wrote look like a foreign language to me. Joy’s Diagnosis. It doesn’t seem real. I’ve always been one to have delayed reactions to things. When my parents told me they were getting divorced as a child I didn’t cry right away, but retreated to my room. I’ve been that way ever since. On the surface I guess it would appear that I am cold but that is hardly the truth at all. I just have always used writing to deal with tragedies and problems in my life. Joy, 52, didn’t get her mammogram done last year because she was busy although she had gotten it the year before. Five years ago her husband of 25 years died in a car accident. She still has her grown daughters (my nieces) and her four grand
Read more