Russell terriers were first bred by the Reverend Mr. John Russell, a parson and hunting enthusiast born in 1795. In his last year of university at Oxford he bought a small white and tan terrier bitch called Trump from the milk man. Trump was purchased based upon appearance alone. (Burns, 2005) She was the basis for a breeding program to develop a terrier with high stamina for the hunt as well as the courage and formation to chase out foxes that had gone to ground, but without the aggressiveness that would result in their harming the fox, which was considered unsporting. The line of terriers developed by John Russell was well respected for these qualities and, his dogs were often taken on by hunt enthusiasts. It is unlikely, however, that any dogs alive today are descended from Trump, as Russell was forced to sell all of his dogs on more than one occasion because of financial difficulty, and had only four aged (and non-breeding) terriers left when he died in 1883. (Burns, 2005)

The only painting that exists of Trump was painted more than 40 years after the dog died, and it was painted by someone that had never seen the original animal at all. Russell said the painting was "a good likeness" but in fact he may have been trying to be polite, as the painting was commissioned by Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) who befriended Russell in his old age, and had the painting done as an homage to the old man. (Burns, 2005)