Take the brick pledge - no dogs in hot cars

Take the Brick Pledge – No More Dead Dogs in Hot Cars

When the Lab cross died in the Vaughn Mills Parking lot after Woofstock, what I found most disturbing (aside from the entire situation) were the reports that as many as sixteen people were standing around outside of the car, wondering what to do.

Seemed pretty simple to me – smash the damn window out with a brick.

Sometimes, inciting a little civil disobedience is the only way to get the message across. Since the courts don’t seem to do anything to the people who let their dogs die in hot cars, I assume they’ll extend the same leniency to those of us who pledge to liberate them.

Take the brick pledge - no dogs in hot cars

Take the brick pledge – no dogs in hot cars

Keeping Your French Bulldog Cool in the Heat

As always, we had a fabulous time at Woofstock this year. It was great catching up with some of the Bullmarket French Bulldog puppies (yes, they’re all ‘puppies’ still to me – even the three year old ones!) and their owners, and meeting new French Bulldog friends. I missed Ashleigh and Friday, but as you can see from the photo, he managed to keep himself entertained none the less.

Not all was well this year, however. Almost everyone who lives in the Toronto area has heard the horrific news of the couple who left Woofstock with their Lab mix and then left him locked in the car while they shopped at Vaughn Mills Shopping Mall. The dog, a Chocolate Lab named Charlie, died of heat stroke.

This was the first year that I saw French Bulldogs and Frenchie mixes who were suffering seriously from the heat. In one case, I intervened when I noticed a pied French Bulldog puppy who was obviously in the first stages of serious heat stroke. While I’m sure her parents were left with the impression that I was an interfering busybody, I’d rather they dislike me than hear later on that their dog had died.

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How Much is a Life Worth?

I sometimes get discouraged about French Bulldog rescue.

I sometimes feel like all we’re doing is sticking our fingers in the dike, while the water pours over the wall in spite of us. I can’t look at a classified ad or open my email with seeing a French Bulldog for sale at auction, or abandoned, or one who has been through unspeakable cruelty. Sometimes, I feel like all I ever write about are dead dogs, dying dogs, dogs for whom we couldn’t do enough, in time, to save their lives. Sometimes I worry that writing about dead dogs is going to make everyone who reads this blog so depressed and discouraged that they’re just going to look at that wall of water, and say ‘let it pour, I’ve done all that I can do’.

Sometimes, I worry that I’ll walk away with them.

Every once in a while, though, we all do make a difference, even if it’s just for one single dog. Take Holmes, for example.

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