Journey Home

As the second blogiversary of FBRNetwork News approaches, we bring you an update on one of the PA8, adopted a year ago this month!

Dear Frog Princess,

Last May we were lucky enough to bring home Journey, one of the PA-8. When I saw your plea for updates on the blog, I knew it was time to sort through our photos and send in some good news about our beautiful girl. She did have a few seizures shortly after we got her, but a low dose of phenobarbitol has them under control.

We renamed her Dobby (from Harry Potter) because she really is like a house-elf -- showing up in unexpected places and getting into trouble when she doesn't really mean to. She is loving, gentle, low-key, and just a little bit silly (especially if she thinks she should have more attention than she is getting).

She couldn't be more perfect for our family.

Dobby's days are filled with walking to and from our kindergartner's bus stop,
where she gets to say hello to all the kids and the other neighborhood dogs. In
the afternoons, she loves to ride along in our older daughter's jump rope carpool. In fact, Dobby can hardly contain herself when she sees the jump rope bag being carried to the door.

After dinner, she waits patiently for someone to sit on the couch so she can get a snuggle. We never imagined she would be a lap dog, but once the weather turned cool, she started draping herself across whoever would sit on the couch. She loves to have some part of her body touching a person, especially in our bed at night.

There are 2 photos attached. I laughed so hard at the one of her sitting at the table. I was busy clearing away the dinner dishes and when I turned around, there she sat in the chair. She had hopped up there so quietly and sat right down like this was her chair of honor. She seemed a little sheepish, but proud of herself at the same time.

The other photo is of her on the back of our "good" sofa. It is the perfect place for her to look out the window and see out the front of the house. She has put quite a dent in the top of the cushion, but we are glad that she is making use of the furniture that no one else sits on. Every now and then when we come home from being out, we find the sofa pillows thrown on the floor -- she seems to like to have some good old-fashioned fun, especially when no one is looking.

Dobby has been a great addition to our family and has brought us endless hours of laughs, snuggles, and love.

Thank you for all you do to rescue and place Frenchies. We continue to be in awe of FBRN and are thankful that Dobby is a part of our lives.

Sincerely,
Dobby's Family

We wish Dobby and her family many years of happiness, cushy cushions, and walks to the bus together!

The Frog Princess

A Single Lovely Action

"All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action."
--James Russell Lowell

Some people might disagree that sentencing a remorseless puppy miller to nearly the fullest extent of the law is a lovely action. However, we believe that Judge Sirois of Quebec has indeed made a portentous move. His sentence of the puppy miller Marc-Andre LaPorte to the fullest fine and nearly the fullest number of community service hours he can, as well as barring LaPorte from animal ownership for three years--with monitoring to follow so that he can not begin to breed dogs again--is music to our ears. Most importantly, Judge Sirois refused to return any of the 97 dogs who were taken from the home where they had lived in squalid conditions, many of them with horrifying injuries, missing ears, broken jaws, and horrid wounds. The home in which the dogs were kept was condemned and bulldozed, so unhealthy was it. (For a full description of the conditions and photos from the SPCA that cared for the dogs, click here. This is graphic, and difficult to view. We cannot bring ourselves to post the photos here.)

Too often, it seems that truly "the law is a ass," but today we offer our grateful praise to Judge Sirois of Quebec for his willingness to fully punish a man who really needs punishment. This sentence sets the precedent for other judges to hand down sentences that likewise recognize and condemn animal abusers for their cruelty and inhumanity.

Coming on the heels of the sad news from Pennsylvania last month that Judge Louis Farina had blithely ignored the prosecutor's (and many hundred letter writers') recommendation and breezily ordered French bulldog Sally Jane to be returned to her owner*, the oft-convicted animal abuser and puppy miller Elvin High, this exemplary sentence gives hope to North American animal welfare and shelter workers, to pet owners and prosecutors. Judge Sirois' sentence gives hope that our foot-dragging legislators and the judges who wink and smile at animal abuse, who dismiss the concerns of decent citizens with sneering jibes at those "crazy dog people", can be brought to see that a person who will cause any animal such suffering should be punished for these malicious, inhuman, criminal acts.

This sentence gives us hope that even those legislators and judges whose campaign coffers ring with the deposits of bloody money from agricultural and corporate interests which benefit from the continued, deliberate underfunding of those agencies charged with upholding the measly standards required by the state, yes, even politicians,are capable of doing the right thing. That they are capable of writing improved standards of care, and rewriting the laws so those people found guilty of failing to provide a truly decent standard of care can receive a punishment that fits the crime.

We hope that it will not be very long before the laws against animal cruelty will permit judges to consign these criminals to a considerable period of their lives in prison, where they will receive just a taste of the loss of freedom, the danger inherent in living in tight quarters with desperate fellows, and the loss of dignity they visited on their own charges, who, unlike themselves, were imprisoned without guilt or wrongdoing.

We find Judge Sirois' sentencing to be a lovely act and a weighty and commendable one. You can write to him and thank him, and we hope you will.

Judge Sirois
c/o Elizabeth Pierce
119 16th Street
Roxboro, Québec
Canada
H8Y 1P1

Thank you, Judge Sirois! And many thanks to FBRN grad Uno's adoptive mom for sharing the story with us!



The raffish Bruno (formerly Uno) in a quiet moment.

The Frog Princess, who believes it's as important to praise good deeds as it is to condemn evil ones.

*Happily, the foster family who cared for Sally Jane was able to raise funds to buy her, at an exorbitant, prohibitive cost, from puppy miller and convicted criminal, Elvin High. She remains a beloved pet, and is in no danger of returning to his so-called care.

Famous in New York State!

We wish to thank Nancy Fasoldt, author of this piece, which appeared today in The Pet Dish on Syracuse.com!

The dogs in question: Meredith, Kirby and Brook










Kirby, navigator extraordinaire!






Brook, enjoying the passing scenes of bucolic NY state!

Thanks to all the dedicated FBRN volunteers who gave up hours of their Saturday to chauffeur these happy hounds over the border and through the woods to their foster homes in O! Canada!

And many thanks to Nancy, tireless laborer for the 4th Estate, in consideration of her help in getting the word out about our homeless Frenchies--many of whom are definitely members of the 5th Estate--from

The Frog Princess

The Bark Heard Round the World!

Bertha, Oklahoma 10


Interested in joining the growing numbers of Americans appalled by and working to change the conditions of commercial breeding kennels, aka puppymills?
If you are in the neighborhood, or even if you have to make a special trip, here's something worth doing on a lovely May evening:




Smeagol, NC10, and Bumble, PA8


The Bark Heard Around the World
What: Puppymill Rescue & Beverly Animal Shelter - Awareness Day
When: May 17, 2008 10am - 4 pm
Where: Yates County Fairgrounds, Penn Yan, NY
Info: Candlelight Vigil Friday, May 16 @ 8pm next to Yates Chamber of Commerce in Geneva NY on Rts 5 & 20. Remembering all the ones who never knew freedom and the ones still held captive.

Yaya, Georgia puppymill survivor




Print out some photos to carry of the Oklahoma 10, the PA 8, the NC10, or any of the other puppymill refugees FBRN has brought out of the darkness.

Twiggy,NC10, and friend, Ted E 1 Toof, a survivor of the Woodley case

Go if you can, meet like-minded folk and learn more about how to stamp out the pernicious evil that leaves dogs blind, lame, emotionally and physically scarred for the sake of a buck.

Wishing the realm of the Frog Princess weren't so far away from the magical sounding Penn Yan,
The Frog Princess
PS Read more about the infamous Woodley case.

Oooo! A challenge has been posted!

We see that Abilene's foster page is the site of a thrown gauntlet! A challenge, no less.

Texans! Will you stand idly by and allow some upstart Tennessee gal to call you out? Are you chicken or can you say with brash Texas confidence that the infamous yellow rose of Texas is the only yellow anyone will find in the state?

Here's what it says: "Tennessee Volunteer Frogs are challenging the Texas Longhorn Frogs on this one - GO VOLS - The REAL UT!!!"

Now, don't shoot the messenger, wheedles
The Frog Princess

Roma Meets the Family

Young Roma is old enough to get out and about, and she is being introduced to some more family members. Here she is meeting Brutus, Brutty to his friends. He seems a bit confused, doesn't he?




"What the hey is that thing?"





"Good heavens, woman! Don't wave that thing around! Who knows where it's been!"















"Looks dangerous to me."


"Does it bite?"


We think Brutty is right to be suspicious. Anyone who has seen a puppy in action, yanking his elders' ears, pulling them around by their legs, bouncing on them while they are trying to get some rest...oh, it is exhausting! And those puppy teeth are sharp!

Would you like to see this cute little cleft palate puppy being tube-fed? Check out this video.

Wonderful little sounds she makes, aren't they? moons
The Frog Princess

Happy Tears

Hey! Watch this.

Made with love, and offered with gratitude to our adopting families, by an FBRN volunteer.

The Frog Princess

New England Frenchie Social: BIG success!

The New England Frenchie Social was an enormous success this year, nearly doubling the attendees of last year, both human and Frenchie!

We were pleased to welcome about 110 two-legged attendees and over 70 four-legged ones!

Attendees enjoyed games, socializing, refreshments, a portrait artist, a costume competition, a chance to do agility with their dogs and opportunities to win and purchase FBRN themed swag!

If you are in the neighborhood next Spring, make plans to join the FBRN volunteers and friendly Frenchie fanatics for an afternoon of frivolity! Attendees donated, bought or otherwise ponied up over 3,000 dollars for the French bulldogs in FBRN's care. Mighty generous!

Mighty generous, indeed! marvels
The Frog Princess

PS We hear folks were so jealous of all the fun to be had in Connecticut that there are plans in the works for an Atlanta-area social coming up sometime, soon! Probably in October or March. Y'all watch this space for further info, hear?
FP

Happy Mother's Day!

Tobias sends his heartfelt Happy Mother's Day wishes to all the foster moms and forever moms who've ever loved a Frenchie!



In fact, he'll go even further -- his foster mom says: "Tobias wishes everyone a special day filled with flowers and Frenchies."

Flowers and Frenchies for everyone! seconds
The Frog Princess

Nigel 1, Newfie Nuffin!

It's a fairly well known and accepted fact among Frenchie fanciers that French bulldogs are not terribly bright, as a rule. And the ones who are smart, it is also widely acknowledged, use their talents for evil and not for good.


Case in point: Young Nigel.

As you see in these photos, our naughty boy Nigel is in the habit of engaging a Newfoundland dog in Frenchie wrasslin. Now, let us do the math on the likelihood that a frog will overcome a Newfie in any contest of strength: Average Frenchie weight: 22 pounds. Average Newfie weight: 120 pounds.

See what we mean? Not the sharpest tack in the box, our beloved frogs. More hair than sense, we'd say.



But what these French bulldogs may lack in brainpower, they make up in luck. Nigel is a lucky dog today. His foster sister has clearly decided to throw the match.

Nigel: 1; Newfie: nuffin!

The Frog Princess

A Queen of Common Clay

FBRN's reigning Queenie has come through a surgery to remove a nasty (but benign) tumor with no ill effects.



She is enjoying her recovery period, lounging among the comfiest pillows on the lovely sofa, occasionally calling for peeled grapes and crackers with cream cheese and lox--no onion.

She has slimmed down in recent months, thanks to a regimen of walkies with younger, more spry whippersnappers she must keep in line.



Queenie is a handful, no doubt about it. She requires a no-nonsense family with backbone and a love for elderly beauties with entitlement issues. Queenie has been with us a long time, now. If you think you might be willing to give this regal regina a home of her own, check out her bio.

"Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy, and makes right royal kings and queens of common clay. It is the perfume of that wondrous flower, the heart, and without that sacred passion, that divine swoon, we are less than beasts; but with it, earth is heaven, and we are gods."--RG Ingersoll

If you adopt Queenie, we think you'd better install a fainting couch like this one for all those divine swoons you'll be subject to.
The Frog Princess

Archie Goes Home!

The smiles on these faces are simply contagious!

Happy, happy boy! This is the moment we work for. If you'd like to volunteer with us, you can help make these happy moments happen, too!

The Frog Princess

Raffle in Progress!

Say, did you know there's a raffle going on on the main FBRN page?







It's a gorgeous handmade quilt featuring some of our fosters from the past year.










The mom of one of our volunteers made it. It's really something--look how the stitching follows the curves of the flower petals!


50x50 inches. Plenty of room to snuggle under with a friendly Frenchie friend!


Scroll down to the bottom of the website page and take a look! Tickets are only $5 each and 5 for $20! The raffle ends Thursday, so get a wiggle on!

Oo! Speaking of wiggles...


TAKE THAT! There's cute in your eye!



From a land where the roses have yet to bloom this year,
The Frog Princess

Duke News

Duke and Puddy were surrendered together last month and the owners were hoping they could be placed together. After a shocking attack on Duke by a group of ordinarily goofy lug-dogs, Duke was moved to another foster home to recuperate in a calmer environment, away from Puddy and the others in the foster family.



Duke is an odd dog among the usually buoyant and happy frogs of our acquaintance. He seems to expect to always be the low dog on the roster, and he generally gets that spot. In a recent seminar on dog behavior, we learned that the omega dog, the lowest dog in the pack, serves an interesting function--a necessary function for the health of the pack. He can be a scapegoat, absorbing the pack's tension and serving as a kind of whipping boy; he can be a clown, for example, distracting two dogs who are preparing to engage in a serious fight; and he is expendable in times of famine or attack. Duke appears to have internalized this low position, to the point that he has no self-confidence and will not defend himself. In his new foster home, his mom is working to raise his confidence to a more normal level. Here is her most recent report on Duke:

"I finally have a few minutes to tell you all about Duke and what he is working on. Duke is afraid of most everything. He is afraid of new people. He is afraid of new dogs, he is afraid of loud noises and of raised hands. He hangs in the background of everything that happens, good or bad.


"Some of this could be post-traumatic stress issues from the dog attack, but I think much of it is deeper seated than that. When he was fostered in his previous foster home, he never solicited attention and was a bit uncomfortable receiving it. He was the same when he first came to the Ranch. I am slowly (and not so slowly) de-sensitizing him. Murpheee and Lillie and even Rosebud are an incredible help, too.

"Today, Duke and I spent several hours gardening. He went from sitting out in the middle of the lawn with his head held in the most weary manner that I have ever seen. He is just sure that something scary is about to happen. In an hour's time, Duke was by my side sniffing as I gardened. My goal is to make Duke healthily curious, as dogs should be. So I began to trim the lavender. "
As I did, I handed a sprig to Duke to smell. I repeated this several times. He loved this, so we moved on to other plants. Each time I trimmed a plant, I handed him a sprig to smell. New things are good! He still has frequent moments of insecurity, but tonight he is thinking of moving into my lap as I type this. He moved into the kitchen to take a drink by himself. (Usually, he waits for Murpheee to go have a drink and then goes with him.)

"This morning, I fed him by hand with Lillie being fed by hand sitting next to him. That began as uncomfortable for him, but ended well. He played gently with Rosebud today, but then she began to play more forcefully and scared him to death, so back to lying on the lawn with head hung in anticipation of something bad. Trust me. You have to be a pretty frightened boy to be scared of wee Rosey."

We are so lucky to have wonderful foster homes who can give our physically and emotionally needy Frenchies the time and attention they need to find their forever homes!

The Frog Princess

Olaf Takes the Plunge!

All across the land of the Frog Princess, we hear a splashy, splishy, splashy sound:

It is the sound of baby pools being dragged down from the garage rafters where they spent the winter in patient plastic drydock. And now, now they are once again seeing the light of day and their colorful, cooling depths are once again offering moist happiness to too-hot frogs.



Here is Olaf, currently fostering in the desert regions of the southwestern United States. He is learning about the pleasures of the piccolo pond as he plays with oranges afloat on the surface.



Remember that Frenchies overheat very easily, even on coolish days, when the sun is out. If your Frenchie's tongue curls up and he is panting heavily, get out of the sun, get into a cool bath and get that body temperature down. And it should go without saying that if a Frenchie is around a body of water deeper than his shoulders, he should have a life-vest on!


90 per cent of Frenchies swim like bricks. Don't ever take a chance that your Frenchie won't fall in a pool or won't jump in, just because he never has before. If you have a pool and a Frenchie, you have a prescription for tragedy. Keep that pool as secure as if you had a perpetual toddler staggering around, watch your Frenchie like a hawk, and you'll reduce the risk of losing your froggy friend to a watery end.

Does Olaf eat the oranges? wonders
The Frog Princess

Attack of the CUTENESS!

Clearly, Roma's foster mom is trying to kill the Frog Princess with cuteness:

"Well, Roma continues to grow in leaps and bounds. We continue to spoil her and make her so rotten that nobody will apply for her when the time comes.

She is just so darn cute and sweet. Here are her pictures from today, not all of them, because we don't want anyone having a cuteness overdose."



Too dang late for that! Where's our inhaler? wheezes

The Frog Princess

PS Now you can see AND HEAR the CUTENESS!

Snow Day for Jersey Jack

A couple of weeks ago, FBRN grad Jersey Jack and his sister woke up to a SNOW DAY!


They were so excited to put on their coats and get ready to go outside and then, of course, they had to wait for photos to be taken. Jersey Jack is making some pointed comments to his mom, as you can see if you look closely, about how TIME'S aWASTIN', LADY! There are snow balls to be flung and snowfrogs to be made and snowmen to be peed on.

Let us out, let us out, let us OUT!








At last, the doors ope' wide and release the hounds from durance vile!






What a chasing and a flinging of snow there was! What a plunging of Frenchie faces into frosty banks of fallen flakes! What thrilling shifts in a frozen backyard to explore!










Sacre bleu! What chilly feet we have! Let us in, let us in, let us IN! Frigid Frenchies must come IN!






So they came inside and had some buttery cinnamon toast and warm, milky tea and then they had a cozy nap.



Mmmm. Toast and tea, murmurs
The Frog Princess

Roma Gets a Check Up

Roma had an appointment yesterday with the neurologist and surgeon to see if she could have surgery. They were very impressed with her healthy condition and were able to spend quite some time discussing her with her foster mom.


They believe that Roma is a good candidate for surgery, and they would like to hold off as long as they can to limit the number of surgeries she may need. They said if she begins to have repeated bouts of pneumonia, always a risk with tube fed puppies, you will remember, they might have to do the surgery earlier.

Roma's foster mom said the vets and techs were sneaking in to peek at Roma the whole time they were there. She's got a fan club beyond FBRN! We also want to thank the docs for seeing us for almost an hour and charging us way less than $100. We love rescue friendly vets! exclaims

The Frog Princess

Ella

We got a note from Ella's foster mom recently. Ella moved to a foster home without kitties and her new place is looking just fine to her!
Here's the note we received:


We haven't had her even 24 hours yet, but she is such a sweetie! Ella and my husband Ammar have already bonded and she follows him everywhere. Last night we watched a movie together, and Ella slept soundly on Ammar's lap the whole time. I was able to get a really cute picture of the two of them which I have attached.






She was pretty laid back last night, but this morning I was seeing a little more of the energy level we'd heard about! :) She does walk really well with my Frenchies Louis and Zoe though which is nice. I received lots of comments from people as I took this cute trio around the neighborhood!



Ella has already figured out that our boy Louis is more talk than anything (we call him the cowardly lion!), but she is still trying to figure out her place with my tough little girl Zoe. I think it will be quite the battle of wills!



Ella will make some family very, very happy, and we are enjoying having her around! I'll send out more updates as we get a little more settled with her, but I thought everyone would enjoy a brief update and some pictures."

We always love to hear about our fosters! Keep those photos and reports rolling in, entreats
The Frog Princess