Saturday, January 6

Doc and Jacques


Meet these two little littermate refugees from misfortune, Doc (brindle) and Jacques (cream). Their owner is having personal problems and can't care for them, and no one in his family was able to give these two the consistent care and attention they needed, so we are happy to step in and help. Jacques is a funny boy, but he's had a few problems since coming into our care. He and Doc started having fights in their new home, so they were placed in separate foster homes. Jacques is a shy guy, and we are keeping an eye on him to see if his disposition changes, now that he is not competing with the more boisterous Doc. Both dogs came to us with staph infections, and each dog had an infected ear. Both seem to be suffering from food allergies, and are doing well on a special, high-quality diet. The dogs weren't reliably house-trained when they came to us, but are doing better now.
Doc has epilepsy, but hasn't had a seizure since last March, thanks to medications.
He and Jacques both came to us with elongated palates, but Doc's seems especially bad. We won't do surgery to correct the condition until we are sure that the anti-seizure meds are up to full potency in his bloodstream.
Our vet noted that his seizure in March followed a surgery and that the medication levels in his blood at the time were not up where they should be, so we must be careful not to rush the surgery, if it's determined to be necessary.
These two boys are good dogs, but they are poster kids for what can go wrong with Frenchies. Allergies, epilepsy, resistance to house-training and elongated palates are just the beginning! From there, some Frenchies go on to include in their resumes a lousy temperament, damaged spine, tender tummy, eye ulcers, ear infections, UTI's and a host of other medical and emotional points of interest. If you think you are interested in a French Bulldog, think hard about whether you are ready to take on the potential problems that come with these adorable critters. And the potential vet bills.

We don't mean to frighten anyone, or to misrepresent the Frenchie as being unhealthy generally. We only want to ensure that anyone who feels a Frenchie tugging at their heartstrings has a clear-eyed view of the rewards and risks of loving these silly nutbars.

In tolerable good health ourself, we remain your devoted
Frog Princess

1 comment:

anita said...

well, i have to say that a picture is worth a 1000 words.. i just love this boy doc!he makes everyone around him happy :)