Anne Kennedy and Dennis Grace love their dog Haylee, who is a Jack Russell Terrier and this breed has a high energy reputation. So while she lives up to that, Grace said, "I've had people say that she doesn't seem as excitable or rambunctious as other 'jacks' but I think that's just because we exercise her and keep her well entertained. They have active minds and they need to be physically active or else they will do creative things with your couch."

They acquired her from a breeder in Spokane nearly three years ago.

Haylee is their second one of this breed. The first one was named Comet who lived to be more than 19 years old.

The couple often go on extended walks with Haylee around Alki and back up through Schmitz Park or to West Crest Dog Park near White Center where he can let her off the leash.
That's good for her because in most settings," She can't be off the leash. I don't think you can train the chase instinct out of them."

She has had obedience training and can sit, rollover and even shake hands if a bit weakly."It's like she's extending her flipper," Kennedy said laughing.

The name Haylee while fitting with her "Comet" predecessor (for rock n' roll fans of a certain age) is spelled that way because, "When she was a pup we had mail ordered some vitamins for her that the breeder recommend so that we did not void her 5-year warranty (no kidding)," said Grace, "and when the package arrived the salesperson who had taken the order had spelled her name HAYLEE so we just went with it."

She's an active swimmer, catches frisbee, and something more. She loves her blue ball but Haylee will actually throw it back to you. "Rather than put it at your feet, she actually throws the ball to you," said Kennedy. "She's figured out how to lift it up and throw it at you." Grace added this interesting note. "She uses her ball as her anger management tool. Whenever the post man, or another dog on the street comes by the house, she gets angry she will go grab her blue ball and she will shake her head and she sounds like the Tasmanian Devil. I've never seen another dog do that."

Haylee lives a very full life (with a lot of round toys) the couple said even going cross country skiing with them.

Grace added this about her love of birds. "Haylee's favorite bird is a barn swallow. She looks for them and can recognize them because of the way they fly through the air. She especially likes when they fly close to the ground so she can chase herself into a puddle after them at Hamilton Overlook Park a few blocks from our house."

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