Another Stolen French Bulldog Comes Home!

There have been a rash of stories lately about stolen French Bulldogs. With increased popularity for our breed has come increased awareness of just how much they are worth. Now, thieves don’t just take your television – they take your Frenchie, too.

In Austin, sisters Leah and Cayah Haney had been searching for their French Bulldog, Banner, since he was stolen on November 22cnd. According to Austin police, the thieves took “laptop computers, flat screen televisions and Banner.”

On December 2cnd, an east Austin woman called to say that she’d found Banner roaming around Austin’s East Riverside area.

More about Banner’s theft and return here.

In Edmonton, Princess the Bulldog puppy was stolen in much the same way as Banner.

Thieves broke into the apartment of Damien Boisvert and his girlfriend on November 12th, and along with electronics and other valuables, they also stole Princess. For twelve days there was no word of her whereabouts, until the owner of a local Lacrosse team volunteered to put up a $10,000 reward for her return.

On November 24th, someone called the tip hotline that team owner Bruce Urban had set up, and announced that they’d found Princess wandering loose in a park. They were instructed to bring Princess to the local shelter, where she was identified as the missing puppy.

More about Princess’ return here, along with video.

Having a dog stolen is every pet owner’s ultimate nightmare, as I know firsthand.

Thames Valley Police has a good list of tips to help prevent dog theft, and to help in getting your lost or stolen dog back home as quickly as possible.

How to prevent dog theft

* Make sure that your dog wears a collar and identification (ID) tag when in a public place. Include your surname, telephone number, address and full postcode – if there’s room put ‘microchipped’ on the tag if your dog has a chip.
* Microchip your dog so that it is permanently identifiable should the collar and ID tag be removed.
* Do not leave your dog tied up outside a shop or unattended in a car.
* Keep all documentation relating to your dog in a safe place, and include clear photos of front and side profiles of your dog. Also make a note of any unusual markings.
* Make sure that your dog does not go out of your sight on walks. Vary your walk times and routes.
* Be cautious when you invite people into your home to view dogs or puppies for sale. Restrict the number of visitors and their access, and always have someone with you.
* Make sure that your dog is neutered as this will reduce the chances of theft for breeding.
* Make sure that your fencing is adequate and check it regularly for wear and tear. Keep your dog in view when it goes out into the garden.

Friday Moment of Zen – Baby Bunny Bathtime

Can we ever get tired of seeing videos of Sharky the Pit Bull and his beloved baby bunny?

I know I can’t.

Enjoy the rest of Sharky’s videos here.

Godspeed, Sammy

I hope there are biscuits and fluffy beds in heaven

I hope there are biscuits and fluffy beds in heaven

He kept at true good humour’s mark
The social flow of pleasure’s tide:
He never made a brow look dark,
Nor caused a tear, but when he died.
~Thomas Love Peacock

I’m very sad to report that Sammy, the senior Pug I have been relentlessly trying to get adopted, has been put to sleep.

Charlotte Creeley, Sammy’s foster mom and a Pug Rescue volunteer (as well as the founder of FBRN and the French Bulldog Village), passed along this message about Sammy’s last day —

had my 13 year old blind Pug foster boy, Sammy, euthanized this evening. I held him while the vet injected him, I would like to think he was not afraid, was maybe even a little pleased by the attention. He had started struggling to urinate last night, only drops coming out, and then this morning, the same. I got home early this afternoon, and found him restless and still unable to pee more than a few drops, so I took him to my vet.

My vet was unable to insert even the smallest catheter, and figured it must be a bladder stone blocking his urethra. He took x-rays and found what he took to be the bladder stones. The only way to remove them would have been to cut his bladder open, and Sammy was just too old and too weak to put through that. On top of that, Pug rescue could not afford to put up the $1200-$1500 the surgery would have cost, especially for a little old blind Pug with no prospects.

He was here only since Saturday, 11/21/09. He really did not even have the chance to settle in as part of the family, and I am so sorry for that. It breaks my heart when a little old rescue dies. I just wish they could live forever…

I know that many of you on Twitter have been endlessly supportive of Sammy, re tweeting his story in hopes of finding him a home. Thanks for all of your help.

Senior dogs are the most heartbreaking of all the rescues, aren’t they? Little old dogs do best with lives of regimented scheduling. They like to know that they eat, sleep and pee at the same time every day, that their beds will always be in the same place, and that their favorite blanket will be placed just so on the couch.

Tearing them out of that world, into a strange place with strange people, has to be unbelievably hard and confusing. Add to that how few people seem to want them, leaving them languishing in foster homes, or, more usually, simply put down for lack of time and space.

But adopting or fostering a senior dog gives back so very, very much. You can be the kind, safe place that makes their final months or years easier. You can give them the security that they lost, or perhaps had never even known. You can do the ultimate kindness, and be there at the end, to offer a soft word of reassurance as they leave us for the other country we’ll all travel to some day.

Godspeed, Sammy – and God bless Charlotte, and everyone like her who makes space in their hearts for the little old dogs and cats that no one else wants.

And yet more puppies…

I’m living vicariously through my friend Paula’s Bullmastiff puppies, since I can NOT wrap my head around having a litter of puppies that will be as large at eight weeks as my crew are fully grown.

Here’s video of Paula’s pups at 2 weeks and change. You can learn more about her dogs over on her website.