Frenchie Family Photo Update

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One of the great joys of breeding dogs is getting update photos from owners. I’ve got a great big photo update to share today, and hopefully more to come in the next few weeks!

As I mentioned, Luke rode the Frenchie Underground Railroad from Mount Forest to Illinois. Here he is on one of his stopovers, monopolizing Fran’s lap space while he crashed at Auntie Hope’s house.

Luke is a Lap Dog

Hugo and mom Renee checked in from Brooklyn.

Looks like Hugo has decided two things:

1/ Parks rule
2/ Ears aren’t needed for him to be über cute

Jacques, on the other hand, has decided that not only are ears a good thing, but that he plans to follow the path to enlightenment (in hopes that it is sprinkled liberally with cookies).

Vela checks in to show us that she’s still a snuggle monkey…

And Maggie checks in with some updated photos of Sushi and Lola. In the convoluted family tree that is Frenchies, Lola would be Great Great Great Grandmother to all of the puppies, while Sushi would be great Aunt (possibly great aunt once removed – Frenchie family trees rival hillbillies and royal families when it comes to confusing cross over relationships).

Sushi Smiling

Sushi Smiling

Lola is still fetching (quite literally)

Lola is still fetching (quite literally)

Last, but far from least, Daisy (formerly known as Pixie), takes her very first trip to the beach with dad Ashley. Need we add she was not amused?

If you’re wondering where Po’s photos are, they’re over on his blog! Make sure to check it out.

If you have a Bullmarket Kid, make sure to email me your photo updates, so we can share your Frenchie’s splendiferousness (it’s a word, trust me) with the world. frenchbulldogz AT gmail DOT com

All of the photos in one big slide show, after the cut.

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Indian Summer French Bulldog Puppies

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Indian Summer French Bulldog Video after the Cut

Indian Summer French Bulldog Video after the Cut

On the weekend, Phyllis, Lukey and Peanut Butter all left for their new homes. Phyllis flew home with Amanda, and seemed quite content to be tucked into her travel bag. Lukey and Peanut Butter were picked up by David and Theresa, mom and dad to the suave Mr. Maurice (formerly know as the Cow Puppy) and to the late and much missed Mr. Bumby. Sailor, Bumby’s sister, had Theresa picked out as a soft touch from the moment she arrived, and did her best to monopolize all of Theresa’s time (and petting energy).

Lukey is catching a ride with David and Theresa to Chicago, where he’ll be spending some time with his Auntie Hope (and an undoubtedly unimpressed Dax). After that, Hope will take Luke on the final leg of what I’ve been calling “The Frenchie Puppy Underground Railroad”, on to Andrea, who managed to bung up her rotator cuff and arm while doing something athletic. This would have made it near impossible for Andrea to make the long drive from Illinois all on her own, so alternate – and creative! – methods of transportation were required. Way to pull together, everybody. It always amazes me the outpouring of love and support I’ve found within the French Bulldog community when it’s called upon. Even within show circles, while we might all bitch about each other from time to time (shut up, you know it’s true), when push comes to shove, we’ve got each others backs.

Go Team Frenchie!

It sure looks empty outside with just Pammy, Dwight, Pickle and Leah left. I plan to spend this week taking as many photos as possible.

In the meantime, here’s a video I shot on Friday, showcasing all of the kooks in their nutjob glory. Well, other than Peanut Butter, who sat there, looking stoic and handsome and very sedate. Sigh… did I mention that neither he nor Luke even spared me a backwards glance as I helped load them into the car?

Frenchies sure are ungrateful little monkeys sometimes!

Video after the cut.

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Animal Rights Urban Legends

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A recent email to several mailing lists I’m on left me baffled. It detailed a woman who had apparently called to book an airline flight for a dog. According to the email,

The guy (named Al in Denver’s cargo office) told me there was a 4 hour layover and was I sure I wanted to ship them. I said I did and he told me he would book them into a kennel facility if they exceeded the 4 hours there. I said if that is policy then that would be fine. He put me on hold to reserve the kennel I guess and then came back and said he’d book my flight but was calling PETA on me. No humane society or explanations about why he was concerned for a 4 hr layover. Just sicking PETA on me.

The email then goes on to detail how the woman is now afraid that PETA is going to ‘show up at her door’, and explains that Peta now has undercover operatives placed within airlines, in order to track the way that people ship their dogs.

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The Rescue Dogs of 911

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A video montage of the SAR dogs of 911.

When is a Frenchie not a Frenchie?

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Pit Fighting Frenchies

According to the author of this newspaper article about an Arkansas “Pit Bull” attack, a Frenchie is not a Frenchie when it’s actually a Pit Bull. Ditto Bostons and (English) Bulldogs, by the way.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was bred first to bait bulls and bears. When baiting bulls was deemed inhumane, dog fighting became more popular, and the pit bull was used in the sport. The term pit bull today is used to refer to the specific breed as well as the Boxer, English Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge, American Bulldog, French Bulldog, Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog, Valley Bulldog, Boston Terrier and Bull Mastiff.

Note this sentence: “The term pit bull today is used to refer”.

Funny enough, that’s actually sort of accurate – after all, moronic politicians across the world have been referring to Boxers, Bulldogs, Frenchies, Pugs, Dogues De Bordeux, Bullmastiffs and just about any other dog breed you care to imagine as “Pit Bulls”.

In fact, the ‘term’ Pit Bull is pretty much just that – a ‘term’, used as a catch all to encompass just about any short haired, slightly blocky headed dog breed or mixed breed dog, anywhere in size from 15 pounds to 200 pounds. It no longer means anything – and it certainly no longer means the singular dog that the term was originally meant to designate, the breed now known as the American Pit Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier.

Consider Animal Control in Sarnia, Ontario. They, like so many other ACs in so many other cities, put the onus on the owners of dogs deemed to be ‘substantially like’ a Pit Bull to prove that their dog is NOT one. For Sarnia AC, paperwork proving parentage is not proof of the breed of the dog itself (don’t try to think about this too hard, as it will only cause your head to hurt).

So, if I was to walk Pickle, for example, through Sarnia – on a leash, law abiding and minding our own business – Sarnia AC could still pick Pickle up, impound her, and sentence her to euthanasia. And, since I have not yet registered her litter, the fact that I can prove that her mother is a French Bulldog and her father is a French Bulldog would not be enough for me to prove that she is a French Bulldog.

Of course, in some cities it would not matter if I could prove that she is a French Bulldog, since French Bulldog = Pit Bull = Banned = Dead.

Also, let me point out that a few cities out there have banned Pugs.

This is like banning marshmallows for having too many hard corners. It’s like banning kittens for being not fluffy enough. It’s like listening to idiot politicians who have zero clue about dog breeds, and ignoring the actual experts with concrete knowledge of dog bite issues.

It’s like living in Ontario, where Michael Bryant can drag a cyclist to his death, and come out of it as the injured party who was in fear for his life.