Tessa - Bullmarket Terror of Toronto

Born 11/22/94, Bred by Carol Gravestock-Taylor and Arlie Alford
Sire: CH Pelshire Sonlit Mario
Dam: Le Bull's Achey Breaky Heart

Tessa is the dog who caused me to to dub French Bulldogs "Benevolent Dictators in Fur Suits". Put it this way - there's a reason I call her She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. She's smart, sensitive to the point of spookiness, and pretty darned cute on top of it all.

Tessa missed completing her Canadian Championship by a single point, a fact we learned after we'd spent a few years certain she'd finished. C'est la vie.. by then she was too much of a couch potato to bother going back in the ring, and we'd moved her on to better and brighter things - namely therapy work.

Tessa has her Canine Good Citizen and St John's Ambulance Therapy Dog Certification, and spent almost seven years visiting area nursing homes, hospices and children's hospitals. Now retired from therapy, she's leading the life of a pampered and lazy couch queen...

Tessa is rather famous for her acheivements as an uber mommy.

Her first litter, out of Ch Belboulecan Histoire De Ma Vie, consisted of seven stunning little Black masked fawns, one of whom went on to complete her International Championship in Europe. Not content to rest on her laurels, her next litter, out of the great (and gone far too soon) Ch El Torro Roch Voisine, consisted of nine (!!!) brindle bundles of joy.

We're sure this is the event that spawned the rumor that Tess weighs 40 pounds - give or take a dozen - and is longer than a daschund. For the record, she weighs 23 lbs in her fat and happy old age (and was about 20 lbs in her prime), and is if anything a little bit short backed.

Ending her career as a mom, Tessa gave birth to four brindle pups in May of 2000. For the record, that's 20 live pups from three litters - and we do think it might be some kind of North American Frenchie record.

Bidding a rather relieved farewell to both the show ring and the whelping box, Tessa is now retired to life as the semi-official ruler of our household, Princess of the dog park, and reigning doyenne of Durham ice cream stands.

Tessa is the best dog I can ever imagine owning -- or being owned by. There can never be a dog to replace her..