Pumpkin for Everyone!

One thing we know about our volunteers: we can count on them. Truly count on them.

We got a call on the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week that a woman wanted to surrender her Frenchie girl right away, as soon as possible, tomorrow, even. On Thanksgiving? we asked. Yes. On Thanksgiving.
You'd think it might be hard to find a person willing to forego the holiday celebration and fetch home a young foster Frenchie. Especially one with medical issues and a history of seizures. We would have to spend hours calling around to find someone who would abandon the Thanksgiving tofurkey and mashed pots and yams and green bean casserole and the warmth and company of family and friends to pick up a foster pup. Might take some doing.
You might think so, O Ye of Little Faith, but you would be mistaken! The first home who heard about this foster girl volunteered to go and fetch her, have her vetted and would even foster her, though she had a foster, Roxanne, in the house already! So sweet Pumpkin joined in with a family at the Thanksgiving groaning board and lay around and watched football with the gang afterward! Yes, she did, and she even got a little taste of sweet potato and tofurkey.

Isn't she the prettiest thing? She's doing well with us and her seizures are growing less frequent and less intense as we slowly adjust the dosage to the proper levels. She is having fewer accidents in the house and she is having lots of fun with her foster sibs. She's become quite a vocal girl, and she goes wild for car rides. People who see her stop dead and swoon from the impact of her gorgeous face and perfect coat. Keep an eye out for Pumpkin if you think you have what it takes to keep her on a strict medication schedule and you have the time to give a young Frenchie who needs structure and consistency. She's going to make a family very happy.

The Frog Princess

Have Yourself a Merry Little Smeagol

Someone wanted to wish the people at FBRN a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

















Right back atcha, young Smeags!
The Frog Princess

Anna Belle

Let's check in on one of our long term fosters who is now available and looking for a family to love. She is a big fan of riding in the car, and in this photo, she's hanging out on her shotgun seat. She'll have a seatbelt on before the trip begins, not to worry!






Her name is Anna Belle, and she came to us in an appalling state of neglect. As you see, she's come a long way from the day we first took her in.





And she's still loving her lovely pink bed, a gift from her favorite auntie.



She's having a wonderful recovery and is enjoying her time in foster care. She loves her therapeutic baths and can sometimes be found in the tub waiting for someone to come along with an urgent desire to wash a dog.

If you have a place for a girl with some special needs, you don't mind serving as a shampoo girl, and you think Anna Belle might be happy with you, check out her description and see if you and she might be a good fit.

She really deserves to spend her remaining days in a loving, doting home as the center of attention. That is not too much to ask, insists
The Frog Princess

Louis Waits

Louis is back on the available page! A lucky family is living out in the world somewhere, just waiting for this happy young dog to join them.



Sweet Louis is inspecting each application as it comes in. If you think you are up to the challenge of providing this funny boy a good home, take a look at his requirements and send in your application today.

Hoping Louis' New Year dreams come true,
The Frog Princess

Merry Christmas from FBRN

Good Morning and a Merry Christmas to you from all of us at FBRN! Here is our darling Lucy Lou wearing the footie pajamas one of our volunteers made just especially to fit her special figure.

There's a video of Lucy Lou tearing up the backyard of her foster home on the FBRN website. Disability? What disability?


She's had a hard time sleeping, because she's been waiting and listening for Santa and his clattering pals to show up. Her foster brothers and sisters have told her all about the Christmas tradition, and she's pretty sure she's going to be getting a stocking full of treats and toys with the rest of the dogs.






Lucy Lou and all our fosters wish you and your friends and family a wonderful holiday and send you wishes for a sweet New Year filled with hope and comfort and joy.



And to all the volunteers, foster dogs, adoptive families and FBRN supporters of 2006, we send our grateful and affectionate greetings. We look forward to many more happy stories by the time we celebrate the holidays next year.


The Frog Princess

Merry Christmas from Marty Crackers!

Here is FBRN grad Marty Crackers, last seen on the blog keeping his youthful figure in a track suit on his personal treadmill. His new family took him to the Quakertown Santa Paws, where Marty was a big hit with the ladies. He also tried to eat Santa's beard, but the less said about that, the better. (Note to Marty: Santa is the guy who brings the presents! Don't make him mad!)

We wish you all a warm and healthy holiday!
The Frog Princess

Dewey in the land of dreamy dreams

Dewey, now Bubba, has found a comfortable place to rest his weary head and dream of sugarplums. His new Dad sent us this photo when he was considering how to find a place to sleep. In between the Frenchies? Curled around the Frenchies? On the couch? We believe the Frenchies, like Frenchies everywhere at this time of year, are being extra good and they are merely warming the bed for the founder of the Christmas feast! Frenchies know from whence their Christmas toys come!

A wonderful holiday season to all our Frenchies, past, present and future, from
The Frog Princess

Happy Birthday, Clyde!

We received this note detailing the festivities for Clyde's birthday at his foster family's home. Rebel is an FBRN grad and Mickey is a Boston terrier rescue. They all have hats on, and they all got some pie!

"It just wouldn't be a birthday without the traditional pumpkin pie (without the crust) served for the guest of honor (and all the party attendees as well!)
Today we celebrated our little foster dog, Clyde's 4th birthday (it was actually yesterday, but I thought it was today). Mickey and Rebel helped out with the treats.
Clyde just received news that his new "forever home" was approved today, so he'll be joining his new mom, a graduating veterinary student, this Friday and will celebrate the holidays with her and his new "grandparents" this year. We're going to miss Clyde who has spent about three months with us while he patiently awaited his new home, but we're happy for him to have found his own personal veterinarian to take care of his every need. Happy 4th birthday Clyde!"

Happy birthday, indeed! And what a swell gift, too: a personal physician and built-in grandparents to spoil him rotten.

Bonne anniversaire, cheri!
The Frog Princess

Gumpie

Would you please take a look at this handsome beast?We are all agog at this boy's beautiful piedness, his clear-eyed gaze, and his svelte figure.
His name is Gumpie, for Bubba Gump, and he has come to FBRN after having been stolen and recovered. Sadly, during his time away from home an earlier injury appears to have been aggravated, and he has been having problems now with bowel and bladder control.














Gumpie has seen a vet and is in the process of being evaluated for treatment. He will be going to the Oklahoma State University veterinary school, so we know that he'll have the most up-to-date veterinary medicine available. If you'd like to support the cost of treating young Gumpie's condition, you can find his sponsor page here!

Wouldn't it be nice to have a treatment program in place for the New Year? We're keeping our fingers crossed for the best possible news, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything, promises
The Frog Princess

A Loss

It has been a sad few months for us at FBRN. We have lost a number of graduates, and, though the sadness of each loss is shared, we know that for our adoptive families the grieving is very keen.
Last month, we got a note from an adopter, now a foster mom herself, letting us know that her FBRN grad, Amy Lou, had passed away from serious kidney disease. Here's part of her note:
"Hi everyone. Very bad news. We were giving Amy Lou her home hydration. It
didn't really seem to help, and I was so concerned, as her kidney values
didn't come up after two days of hospitalization. She actually lost her vision yesterday - was walking into things,
etc. She also couldn't even stand up long enough to go potty. I called
and made the dreaded appt and at least was fortunate enough to have the day
off from my job. My husband and I took her in late morning and she
went to the Rainbow Bridge. I know that we have to accept it, but she is
only six years old. I think we both lost a piece of our heart and we will
never get it back.

I just want to tell you about my darling little Amy Lou. We adopted her
through FBRN in August of '05. We had 15 wonderful months with our little
love and I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world. She was such a
quiet unassuming little girl. She wanted to be included, but also liked to
stay in her kennel alone. She had some staring contests with my six yr old
Boston, but within a short time they became absolute buddies. My Trixie was
very upset and protective of Amy, knowing that something was terribly wrong.

Amy didn't beg for attention, but when I finally got a chance to sit down on
the couch, she was right there, begging to get up. She was too small to get
up on the couch and chairs and had to be helped. She loved to stand in the
kitchen right under our feet, hoping that something would fall. She loved
treats and I had to be careful, as she would refuse to eat sometimes in
favor of getting a treat. She loved our backyard and loved to dig. I
always went out with her and she would look back at me to see where I was,
and then run like the wind trying to get away so she could dig and do her
thing.

[Her foster mom] told us that Amy loved
to run over to an Armadillo hole to see if the Armadillo was there. The
first sight I had of her, she was running and had to be caught and brought
back to us. When we first got her, we were traveling across the country to
see relatives. We joked that Amy thought her new home was our 5th wheel.
She had quite a time thoroughly exploring our 5th wheel.
We loved all of
her frenchie snorts and everything about her personality. I was concerned
that she drank so much and checked it out with our vet, but no one seemed
too concerned. The vet that did her care seems to feel that Amy may have
gotten a uterine infection during whelping, and if not treated, they can
affect the kidneys in a very bad way. I know that we have to accept losing her. It is so hard when she is only
six yrs old. Our oldest Boston had to be put down at 14. However, we had
nursed her through Cushing's disease, and we could at least feel that she
got a full life. We also had to put down my darling little poodle in the
past, but she was 17 almost 18 and again, had a chance to live her life. I
wanted to have Amy for years and for her to enjoy every day. I've already
given the advice that you risk great hurt and pain when you love and that is
true. I guess I just wanted her to have a full, full life and six years old
is just too soon to go to the Rainbow Bridge."

The FBRN family joins you in your grief and sorrow over Amy's loss. She was so fortunate to have known your family's love.
The Frog Princess

Cornbread Hates Fish

When Cornbread had a chance to visit with his cousin recently, we discovered two things.


1. Cornbread really likes little girls!



And 2. Cornbread could do without the fish.




We get it. Some of us Frenchies are crazy about the mackerel and tuna. We will gladly do a degrading little happy dance for trout and salmon. But we are deeply and rightfully suspicious of the mermaid.



Really. What the heck is that? It's very disconcerting. Very, in Freud's terms, unheimliche--uncanny--with all that hair and all those scales and things. That's just not right.







We will draw the curtain here, and tell you only that the uncanny, hairy, scaly thing will nevermore frighten an unwary Frenchie. Cornbread has saved us all.

Three cheers for Cornbread! shouts
The Frog Princess

Hazel's Home!

Hazel was picked up strolling the streets of Southern Florida. She was deaf and sick and she came very close to dying of canine influenza. Hazel spent two weeks in isolation at the veterinary hospital and then in foster care recovering from the stress of homelessness and flu and then looking for a family willing to provide the time and commitment to learn to train and live with a hearing impaired Frenchie.Hazel is living in Maine with a married couple and their Boxer girl, Roxy. Hazel and Roxy have jobs supervising the employees (Mom and Dad) at the family-owned business.

Judging by the size of that grin, we'd guess she's doing just fine in her new home!

Happy holidays, Hazel!
The Frog Princess

Brutty

Brutty's foster brother LaRue has moseyed on down the happy trail to Texas, but that doesn't mean a clever dog should relax his vigilance when it comes to his toys!

No, no! Just because it seems a little more quiet, and it seems a little less dangerous, doesn't mean a wise Frenchie should let down his guard! No sir.

Why, new Frenchie fosters could come seeping under the front door or falling over the transom or come digging up under the floorboards and we all know what's on their minds! Stealing Brutty's toys is what's on their minds.


Little frogs come creeping...they come from...little thieving rotten fosters want my toys...not gonna...zzzz...not gonna get my stuffies...zzzz...no stuffies...

Ahhh, sweet dreams my poor deluded Brutty! Have fun playing with your toys in the land of Nod.

Poor little thing. All those years in the puppy mill, he never had a toy, and now they are so precious to him, he protects them even in his sleep.

We visit the Goodwill store from time to time and pick up stuffies for the poor, homeless Frenchies. It's an inexpensive way to support rescue, says
The Frog Princess

An Important Message About Overheating and Frenchies

This message came to the FBRN volunteer listserv. It was written by an M.D., one of our own volunteers, about an experience she had, not with a foster, but with her own Frenchie, Cosette. Though it's far more likely that most of our readers are contending with Frenchies who won't go outside in the snow than Frenchies who might get too hot, we felt this story should be shared. We know we won't forget it over the long months before summer rolls around again. We'll never forget it.

"Maybe I should have known it could happen to me, but I never thought about it.....Yesterday I almost lost my first baby, our heart dog, Cosette.
It's a story that could happen to any of us and that is why I am going to share it. It's a little long......

Yesterday here in Florida, it was a beautiful day (like today) - not that hot, say 75-80 degrees (yeah, that's "not so hot" here) and sunny. I was doing yard work at a rental property we own about an hour from here. I had taken Cosette with me for some private time with Mommy. She is such a good dog. You can leave her off the leash in the yard and she won't run off.


In the brushy field next door she found a big rubbery green ball - big like a beach ball - way too big for her to get into her mouth. Cosette is ball crazy, she chased this ball all over the yard for maybe 15-20 minutes. I finally had to take it away from her because she was panting so hard. I gave her some water, she flopped down in the shade on the driveway.

She kept panting pretty hard, so I put her in the car with the A/C on high. I went back to putzing around the yard. 15 minutes or so later, I went to check on her....she is GASPING for air in the passenger seat, there is vomit and mucous all over the car. Her tongue is bluish purple. Now I'm freaking. I am an hour from home in a strange town, it's Friday afternoon about 2:30 WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!!???!!!!

I grab her up, she is limp like a rag doll. I run around the side of the house to the hose. I lie her in the grass and turn on the water. She looks terrible, gasping, blue, ribs barely moving, glassy stare...I have to wait forever for cold water to come through the hose...damn Florida sun. I hose her down and rub her.

My mind is racing - I just barely know how to get to the main roads from here, much less know where a vet is who might happen to be open on Friday afternoon.

I throw her back into the passenger seat and take off cell phone in hand, A/C on full blast. I'm on the phone & driving fast, closest ER vet doesn't answer the phone, 2nd vet closed, 3rd vet closed...Cosette is getting quieter, but her chest is barely moving and with every breath her flews ruffle. All of a sudden I see a sign for a vet...I tear across 3 lanes of traffic and then run the red light to turn in.

THEY'RE OPEN!!!! I don't know if the vet is in...I grab Cosette and run in. I must have looked very distressed because everyone stopped what they were doing. I
said "My dog is having trouble breathing". The one girl took her from me right away and rushed her into the back. THE VET IS IN!!!!!!!


I finally sit down, shaking and near tears. The vet was wonderful, the office was clean and his staff was so friendly. At first he wasn't sure what was going on...poisoning? ?? she could have eaten something over in the field, I don't know, did she vomit and aspirate???....Oh, God, none of this is good. they draw blood, start an IV, give her meds, do x-rays and put her in the oxygen crate. Her temp was 103.5 - not too bad, but maybe it was higher before I hosed her down and ran the A/C with all the vents pointed at her.


After all the results come in, we discover that Cosette is in pulmonary edema - she has water in her lungs and was going into shock. The vet has given her a diuretic to start pulling the fluid off...her oxygen levels which were very low are coming up in the oxygen crate.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?? We think she panted so hard that she obstructed her own airway. I had never heard of this. If you tug too hard trying to breathe against a closed airway, it can cause "Negative pressure pulmonary edema". I know this can happen to humans after anesthesia, but in a healthy dog??? this was news to me.

Look it up, it's called Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome or Brachycephalic Airway Obstructive Syndrome. BAS is just another cross our poor Frenchies (and Pugs, Bostons, King Charles Cavaliers, English bulls, etc.) have to bear AND one I didn't know about.

We were lucky -- so INCREDIBLY lucky in many ways. Cosette was dying -- I could see it. As I was driving I was wondering how I could do CPR on her, drive at the same time and call for help, too. We found a vet just in time and he was a good vet.

We are blessed. Cosette responded very well to the drugs. As they were getting ready to close, he left her IV in, gave me syringes drawn up with another dose of a broncho-dilator and a diuretic in case she needed it before I could get her to another vet and off I went with my baby.

She is fine today. She has been at our sides every minute since. We even let her sleep between us in bed last night (that was a first!!!).

I'm sorry this has gone on so long, but if it could happen to us...

Hold your Frenchies tight and give them kisses for us..."

Please, don't allow your Frenchies to overheat! Don't even allow them to play too hard for too long a time. This is exactly the sort of thing that can happen to anyone, and we know we had never heard of this condition. Thank you to our volunteer for sharing this story and the information. We are so happy that this story ended well. Please tell your friends who have brachycephalic breeds to be aware of Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome, and to be watchful.

Take care of yourselves, and take care of your dear Frenchies!
The Frog Princess

Photo 1: Cosette, la Reine! (the queen!)
Photo 2: Cosette, sitting pretty
Photo 3: Cosette, coming home with IV
Photo 4: Cosette, high 5 with IV
Photo 5: Cosette, Maxine and Roman Bullansky

A Sad Day

Our beautiful Piper, our first Alaskan Frenchie, passed away recently. She had been surrendered to rescue with a seizure disorder, in hopes that we could find her a quiet home, without the hubbub of children and other animals. One day last month while she was in the yard, she went into seizures and as her foster family were taking her to the vet, she passed away, apparently of a heart attack.
We are all very deeply distressed at this loss, and we are all very fervently hoping for a better understanding and more effective treatment of seizure disorders in Frenchies.

Such a pretty, vibrant girl! She will be missed by the foster family who loved her and by all of us who enjoyed the stories and photos her mom shared with us.

Rest in peace, our sweet girl.
The Frog Princess

LaRue is Lone Star Bound

Our shy guy LaRue has found a wonderful home in Texas.He will be living as an only dog with two tough Texas kitties, Buffy and Jeremy. We hear they plan to give him pointers on roping and riding and all kinds of Texas pasttimes.

Larue had a nice chance to transition into his new people's lives. They drove all the way from Texas to Florida to fetch him home with them. We know his foster mom and family will miss LaRue, but we also know how much fun it is to receive those photos and notes telling how the fosters are doing in their new lives, too. And every foster dog who goes to his forever home opens a place for another needy little Frenchie.
When his new family came to get him, LaRue met them and looked them over. LaRue has always been a deliberate sort of dog, not one of your glad-handing types. He considered them, and he pondered for a little while, and then in the way of happy Frenchies everywhere, he commenced to grab his toys, prance around and show off his treasures to his new friends.
His family reports that LaRue slept nearly all the way home, except for potty breaks. He showed no interest in the changing landscape or his surroundings; he just wanted to get back in the car and go! He'd heard all about the great state of Texas and what was in store for him in his new home, and after his months of rehabilitation and socialization in foster care, he was in an all-fired hurry to get there. And according to his family's first note, he is settling in just fine.

We wish the boy and his family every happiness in their new life together.
The Frog Princess