YaYa Stakes Her Claim

Here's a story we got recently from YaYa's mom. You remember YaYa, don't you? She was the Frenchie we saw on a television program featuring a spanky, fancy, wonderful new shelter in Washington, D.C., where she'd wound up after narrowly missing being sold at a flea market with a miller's collection of used-up, sick and dying breeder dogs. A volunteer with an all-breed rescue talked the miller out of the dogs, and found YaYa a place in the Washington shelter. The shelter allowed us to take her into our care. YaYa, Greek for grandmother, is an elderly girl, but it appears that she has no stereotypically grandmotherly instincts when it comes to sharing and spending time with any youngsters! Here's what happened:

"I have a very funny YaYa HaHa story for you.Last weekend I dog sat for some friends while they moved. They have a cockapoo named Jigsaw. He's about a year old. So he's playful, but not hyper. YaYa seemed fine with him, but it's not like she was thrilled he was there.

Well, here's the funny part - on Sunday I realized that there were all these bones (nylas) up in my bedroom in an area together, 4 of them, plus "Froggy."

Sidenote: Froggy is in the picture I've attached. I don't know how in the world it came into my life, but a couple weeks ago YaYa came in the room carrying it! It was hysterical.

Froggy was on my lowest level - and the nylas were on the lowest level and the middle level. UNTIL, I found them ALL in my bedroom and realized that YaYa was trying to keep her belongings away from Jigsaw. She carried that frog up 2 flights of stairs!!!! Oh my, I wish I had a hidden camera that could have caught that!!!"

We don't blame YaYa one bit! After 8 or 10 years in a kennel without any personal belongings, churning out Frenchie babies, YaYa deserves some toys that are hers alone. We love the determination it took for her to move her things to the safety of her own room!

Way to claim your space, YaYa! You've earned your premiere spot in that home, and as we royals know, Rank Hath Its Privileges!

The Frog Princess

Shoeless Joe Finds His Feet

After a couple of false starts, through no fault of his own, our dear Shoeless Joe has found a place of his own at last!He's living like a superstar with children, mom and dad. And as you can see by the grin on his face, he is just as satisfied as he can be. Though turned back by an unseasonable blizzard on their first try, his new family drove across two states to fetch our barefoot boy. He's a happy frog, and now he's making others happy.
We've followed his progress through our foster program with great interest and we'll be hoping for updates from his family.
Keep your feet on the ground, old boy!
The Frog Princess

Absolutely Uncalled-for Smeagol!

What's makes us think we should be using our power and authority to show a blatant preference for one FBRN grad?
What makes us think everyone who reads this blog is as completely besotted with NC10 puppy mill survivor Smeagol as we are?
What gives us the idea that Smeagol even deserves to get his picture on the blog so often?
In order, the answers are: We are power-mad. Because all sensible people are. That face.

Power mad and proud of it!
The Frog Princess

General Eisenhower Throws Out the First Ball!

"When I was a small boy growing up in Kansas, a friend of mine and I went fishing and as we sat there in the warmth of a summer afternoon on a riverbank we talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up. I told him that I wanted to be a real major-league baseball player, a genuine professional like Honus Wagner. My friend said that he'd like to be President of the United States. Neither of us got our wish. "--President Dwight Eisenhower




Here is young General Eisenhower, now called Ike, feeling a bit melancholy and out of sorts. He's a dog who is accustomed to wearing a uniform, and he feels all wrong without one. Even a 10 month-old boy, all puppy all the time, has his little quirks.





And here's young Ike in his uniform--you were thinking maybe it would be the khaki his namesake wore? No, no! Ike is no soldier. He hasn't ever met an enemy, and wouldn't know what to do with a bad guy if you plopped one down in front him and said, "Sic him!" This boy is a lover, not a fighter, and he loves baseball. The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd! But as you see, he's still bumming. What's wrong, Ike?

Ah. Ike needs a buddy! He is a team player, and he needs his pals to make the day complete! For Ike, there's no point in putting on the uniform if he hasn't got a game to play. Here he is, disputing a referee's call with the Boston terrier in his foster home.

When he's done with Frenchie wrasslin' he will go looking for a lady to schmooze. Ike is a boy who loooooves the girls, canine or human. He's crazy about his foster family's new baby girl, a Frenchie called Sasha. In a future update, you may get to see a photo of Ike's best girl, Sasha (in his mind, of course, she will always be Mamie!)

Ike will soon be available for adoption, now that he has been to the vet and had all his little issues resolved. He's made a lot of progress from the frightened little guy surrendered by a breeder. He's all love and kisses and play, play, play. He's even learning a few commands! We are proud to be able to point to General Eisenhower and say, "There goes a real puppy!"

If you'd like to sponsor this brave little soldier as he recovers from his neuter surgery and prepares to move on to his forever home, you can check out his foster page.


Ah, lilacs, daffodils and baseball! It's Spring! observes
The Frog Princess

Jacques is ready for a home!

Our handsome and unique frog, Jacques, is languishing, I say he is languishing in Southern California, waiting for an invitation to join some happy family somewhere. He is terrifically intelligent, able to solve problems in advanced applied ergonomics and motion studies--his most recent exercise in figuring physics involved jumping aboard a wheeled chair and riding it toward the counter. When the chair slowed to a stop, he was able to get it started and scoot it all the way to his destination with sheer force of personality. And a little bit of the ol' herky jerky.

He's a smart boy, and he's a funny old thing. If you are one of the few folks in the population who can claim a higher I.Q. than his, why not check out his biography and see if he'd be a good fit for your family?
Everybody loves a smartypants! says
The Frog Princess

Tasha's Time

When we picked her up at the shelter, we were told that Tasha was surrendered with only the terse explanation, "Cannot keep her."
She is an extremely gentle, quiet, loving girl, and she seems very happy to be among other dogs and people.

We were told she was born in 1993. She was also a champion. Now she is abandoned, and we are left wondering what could possibly have happened to her people that could have forced them to drop her off at the shelter rather than rehoming her with friends or family. Whatever happened, we are so glad we could help!

Here she is on a recent visit en route to her new foster home with NC10 dog, Cora, in the upper right. Polka dots are the new black, we hear!

Tasha is in excellent shape, suffering from none of the indignities that elderly Frenchies can sometimes fall victim to. She is active, playful, fully housetrained and a bundle of fun!



Here is Tasha, receiving an homage from young Curran, who grew up respecting his elders, not like some young Frenchies these days, BOOMER!, who insist on chasing their elders around the house and dangling from their cheeks and pouncing on them from under couches and around corners and gnawing on their tail nubbins, and otherwise being sassy young thugs. No, Curran was raised right, and Tasha is very grateful for his gentility.

Tasha won't be going on our foster page, nor will she be available to the public for adoption. At fourteen years old, we have decided not to put her through the stress of a foster home and then a subsequent placement following several weeks with her foster family. We will be expediting her permanent placement, placing her with a volunteer who will care for her for as long as she has left. We've had several offers and we will let you know where Tasha will be going as soon as we have a final decision and a photo!



We are very thankful to the shelter and for the technologies that allow us to find Frenchies in need all over the country, and to our volunteers, like the volunteer who picked up Tasha, loaded her kids in the car, and made the trip to pick up Tasha into a family adventure, culminating with a trip to a certain fast-food restaurant. Turns out Tasha is a french-fry fiend, turning up her nose at chicken pieces, but virtually tunneling through the upholstery to get to the little red box with the deep fried taters in it. She's calm and quiet and well-mannered in every other regard, but the girl loves her fries!

After some consideration, we believe it is not a bit surprising that a French bulldog would be freaky for French fries, finds
The Frog Princess

Queenie Dresses Up

Queenie's foster mom sent us her resume:



Here is Queenie's bid to be Playdog of the Month (costume designed by
Jan Frymyer):

Occupation: Dominatrix

Age: Mature and Experienced (one NEVER asks a lady!)

Favorite Things: Humans, tattoos, Riding my Harley, Rumbling with the boys, S&M (snacks & munchies), guarding my house and family, keeping everything in order according to my rules

Dislikes: Anything with four legs, rain, pedicures


Objective: To find a human/humans who need a mature gal to rule without question, protect the family and keep law and order and never, ever give me away again. I have
lots of love to give.

Reason for
Application: My foster Ma would keep me forever if I'd only stop trying to bite off the boys' private parts! I'm really a very happy Dominatrix!



We like it when our foster parents have fun with their foster frogs! Queenie is a great sport. Don't you think your house could use a little Queenie? asks
The Frog Princess

Bubba's Happy Home

We received a lovely update from the family who adopted our adorable Dewey, now called Bubba, a few months ago.

It appears to us that he is settling in very well, and has even discovered the secret to happiness: Cheese and children!










Here's what his new mom told us about a typical day in Bubba's new life:
"Wanted to share some pictures of Bubba. He has been doing great. An average day for Bubba is getting up with the girls to drive to school, and then we have some breakfast, and maybe a nap in the sun. Then we move on to a mid day walk followed by another sunlit nap. Then the kids come home and it's time for some begging because Kyle is the cheese man (Mom knows nothing of this).








After the afternoon snack it's time for some doggy wrestling and maybe another nap. Then comes dinner yum. Then Mom goes upstairs for kids' baths and bedtime which involves all dogs and kids on the bed for a story. At last bedtime in Kyle's bed because it's the lowest to the ground and I can climb up all by myself! What a busy life."





Bubba looks very comfortable snuggled in his bed with his new pal, and hanging out with the children. We love to get updates from our adopted frogdogs, and we hope adoptive families will continue to send their notes and photos to their dogs' foster parents for forwarding to the blog!

Till next time, Bubba!
The Frog Princess

Queenie Cleans Up

Queenie came to us when her family's condo board decided to forbid dogs. She is enjoying her reign in her foster home, where she relentlessly bullies the two male Frenchies she has decided are not courtiers but mere vassals for her abuse.

Queenie will be happiest, we feel, as only dog, where her every whim and wish can be anticipated and provided for. Her foster mom, who has become her number one lady-in-waiting, says that following her bath, Queenie's beautiful brindling became more apparent, and she is a lovely girl. As you see, there's a look in Queenie's eye that hints at mischief and a certain je ne sais quois in the area of personality. We imagine that following this photo, Mme. Queenie sprouted wings and flew around the house spattling soapy water and medicated shampoo all over the furnishings. There's a Mary-Poppins'y grumpiness with a soupcon of magic, there.

We are very glad that Queenie is in the wilds of Mary's land and nowhere near our own quiet, comfortable, no-flying-frogs-allowed kingdom, says
The Frog Princess

Joey One Eye in the Garden

Joey One Eye has survived his first rainy winter in the great Pacific Northwest. His allergies, which caused him to rend himself to shreds and tatters, are thankfully under control, and he seems more comfortable and less itchy when he is dressed. Now that the clouds have rolled out and he can enjoy the occasional patch of blue in the sky, and the bulbs are manfully pushing up and greenery is emerging in every corner of the garden, J.O.E. is happy to be helping with the winter clean up and keeping the mosquito-catching fish safe from predatory raccoons and any cats that might show up with a minatory eye for a seafoody snack.



J.O.E. has a great sense of style and is always happy to entertain his folks' friends and serve as taste-tester for the appetizers. He is especially fond of foreign cheeses and has twice done such a good job testing the cheeses for a party that the visitors arrived to find only a few sad smears, some salty cracker crumbs and a number of sniffed-at and disarranged fruit slices to attest to the fact that there were ever any hors d'oevres at all to go with the wine. A surreptitious dash to the local 7-11 for nachos and corndogs saved the evening on one occasion, we believe, and a quick raiding of the larder and some ingenious mixing of a variety of pickles, some olives, and a few pulses of the food processor turned some Vienna sausages and a couple of tablespoons of Vegemite into a creditable multicultural pate and antipasto plate.

Joey One Eye is a very cosmopolitan gentleman, he is, with sophisticated tastes and a charming and urbane personality, even considering the occasional gluttonous cheese-snarfing. If you are in the Portland, Oregon, area sometime and can make the Frenchie meetup you just might run into him in person. He's very puppular there, in one of the best cities to be a dog in in the whole USA.

Vegemite and Vienna sausages. It's what's for dinner! squeals
The Frog Princess

Summer's Days

We got this update from Summer's foster mom several weeks ago. We hope you'll enjoy hearing about the progress this petrified girl, a former breeder, has made.




"Summer is a totally different dog from the little scared rabbit that first entered our home. She went from a terrified frozen in place girl to a leaping, bounding, pouncing, running and skidding-through-the-house snorting frog. She is by far the "happiest" little dog I have ever seen. She wakes up in the morning and bounds through the day with endless energy, joy and enthusiasm for life. When YOU feel down, she makes you feel up. She is a sunny summer day, and that's why we never thought to change her name.

The meds did a good job of clearing up most of the skin infection, but she'll have to be on a non-allergenic food for the rest of her life. I have contacted the volunteer that said she would do allergy tests for us to see if she can do one on Summer so we can isolate what she is allergic too. So hopefully that will help and she'll be able to have a wider variety of food, if indeed it is a food allergy.

Summer adores other dogs. She met her first cat since being in foster care and didn't show any reaction. She wasn't really interested in getting too close, choosing to stay closer to me. We went on a nice walk the other day and she must have another dog while on a walk or she will not go forward. If she has a dog to trail, she just trots right along. With the exercise she's getting, her tummy has tightened back up and she's looking really good.

Summer is an absolute joy, and I can't say it enough. She does enjoy her crate and will go in there for a nap with the door open if nothing is going on around the house. She'll now trot right in there at night when I say kennel. She LOVES to chew on things, and recently chose my antique cedar chest, but was easily dissuaded from it with some new and interesting chew toys."

Summer is being fostered in South Dakota and is available for adoption. If you have a dog or two and would like to add a little Summer fun to the mix, check out her biography and see if your family might be a good fit.

The Frog Princess

Bunnies, Ducks and Lambs!

Some of our beloved FBRN grads and fosters put on their Easter bonnets to wish those of who celebrate it, a sunny, funny Easter holiday!







Rajah is working hard to separate this duck from his feet, on account of he heard duck feet are a delicacy in some parts.











Here is Smeagol, wearing his lambie ears, and looking raffish with the lip stuck up on one side. Heavens. A black sheep if ever there was one.






And Kaspar, the formerly ornery and obnoxious young frog, patiently poses as an egghead bunny for your pleasure and appreciation.

Enjoy your Easter, and don't forget to count the eggs you hide for the hunt, advises a sadder but wiser
Frog Princess

Valentine Is Looking Great!

We got a note from the happily adopted Valentine's foster mom, who works as a vet tech. Valentine recently came in to have her allergy status checked, and her former foster mom sent us this update:
"Just wanted to share with everyone. [Valentine's dad] brought her in for her recheck today and she looks fabulous!! I took a pic with my camera phone so it is nowhere near great but I suppose better than nothing.She is a firecracker and would not sit still so he had to hold her. He took his busy day off from being a surgeon to bring her in. She has gained almost 5 lbs since she has been with him!! She looks great and has all her hair back. She is finally off of all steroids and the mange and fungal infections all cleared up. They could not be happier with her. I am just so happy that I got to give her a kiss and say hi. :) She looked better than I have ever seen her look FINALLY a little over a year later!"
Many of you will recall Valentine's shocking condition when she first came to us on Valentine's day last year. Adjusting and readjusting and testing and trials ensued, and at this point it appears that Valentine's system has reached a state of something like equilibrium, and she is no longer bouncing from staph infection to mange to yeast infection and back again.
Valentine garnered enormous support and sponsorships when she appeared on the website and for weeks and weeks following. She really needed that support for all the meds and the tests and retrials she had to undergo, and we wanted you all to know that your donations have paid off. Placed with a physician who understands the importance of proper medication and careful monitoring, and who has the wherewithal to provide Valentine with the kinds of food, medical treatments and care she needs, we are confident that Valentine will never descend into the cycle of miserable itchies she once endured.
And that's thanks, in large part, to those folks who send us small and large donations, whether on a one-time, occasional or regular basis.
We are so grateful to know you all are out there and we can count on you, but our gratitude is small potatoes compared to what we are sure Valentine is feeling!
Imagine--itch free after all these years!

Mmmm. Potatoes. Is it time for breakfast? wonders
The Frog Princess

Denali in Daylight

Though man may work from sun to sun

















And woman's work is never done












A Frenchie must be eternally vigilant in following the sun across the room as the day wears on and she waits patiently for her perfect application to appear. Denali is likely, even now, to be sleeping in a sunbeam, standing up to move over to a sunbeam, or preparing to settle into a sunbeam.
Listen, it's a difficult and demanding job, but somebody's gotta do it!
The Frog Princess

Beautiful Beasley

This is Beasley, an FBRN foster girl we are a little worried about.
Isn't she gorgeous? She's an absolutely stunning dog, but she seems to have a screw loose, and we are doing all we can to diagnose and figure out if we can and how to save her.
Beasley is that scary thing, a people-aggressive dog. She does not like to be told what to do, and we don't mean in the ordinary way that most Frenchies don't like to be told what to do. She really doesn't like to be told what to do. She has come progressively closer to biting her foster moms during fits of temper, and although we have taken her to a professional veterinary behaviorist, we are not seeing the kinds of improvement we had hoped to see.
As the numbers of Frenchies coming in to FBRN continue to rise (have you visited our foster pages recently? Look at how many dogs we have in foster care and on the available list!), we are very likely to see more dogs with behavioral disorders. These dogs are very difficult to place in foster homes, because so few of our volunteers have the facilities or training to know how best to address the unique problems presented by hard-case Frenchies, but also, of course, because we hesitate to place dogs who might bite in our volunteers' homes, where their own dogs or families might be placed in harm's way.

We are now looking for volunteers who are willing and able to take in behaviorally difficult dogs and to work with them, along with support from trainers or behaviorists, to reboot their responses so that we will not have to euthanize these dogs, or at least they will not have to be euthanized until they have had every chance to overcome the bum hand of genetics and history they may have been dealt.

Folks who work with challenging dogs must have even temperaments themselves, must understand the importance of consistency and must be willing to work closely and at length with dogs whose progress may be slow or intermittent or, in some very sad cases, who may not be safely placed with any family or person ever, and must be humanely euthanized. Volunteers interested in working with challenging dogs should also have the means to keep the dogs safe and separate from their own animals and family until such time as the dog is proven to be rehabilitated.

We work very hard to do the best we can for every French bulldog who comes to us. We have a certain luxury in this breed rescue in that even with the swelling numbers we are seeing, we do not yet have to make cut and dried decisions about what degree of disability we'll accept in a foster, or to deny a dog a second chance if she has any history of aggressivity or biting. That day may come. Until it does, we will continue to look for ways to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome every Frenchie who needs us. If you'd like to volunteer to become a foster family, or to help in transports, training, organization or any area of specialized skills you can contribute, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Sally Curatola, and let her know your interest.

We know we can't save every Frenchie. But with the help of educated and dedicated and hard-working volunteers, we can at least know that we did all we could or knew how or were able to do. And we'll continue to be proud of what we do and the people we work with as we keep on keeping on.

Meanwhile, Beasley continues to have good days when she plays with her ball, enjoys tummy rubs and pretties up the landscape. We are hoping we will soon unlock the chamber of her personality that causes her to lose her mind sometimes, and help her be the basically bossy, but not ballistic, young bulldog she could be.

The Frog Princess

Eloise in Las Vegas

Eloise, our Arizona foster dog, has gone to live in the warm, dry climate of Las Vegas with her new Dad.As you see, she is as comfortable as she can be, and her dad says the change in scene has been really good for her. She's no longer chewing her feet and she has lost a little weight and settled right in to the neighborhood. We think she's pretty enough to be a showgirl, and smart enough to beat the house at Blackjack! But right now she's keeping her work at home dad company and watching the cactus flowers bloom.
There are cacti in Las Vegas, aren't there? asks a botanically ignorant
Frog Princess

Easter Basket Raffle Winning Numbers!

The winning numbers for the FBRN Easter Basket Raffle are:

Canada - #69


California Dreamin' - #24

California Bad to the Bone - #52

Pacific Northwest - #159

California Hollywood Style - #40

Southeast Southern Belle - #12

Southeast Seashore - #28

Midwest - #7

Northeast - #85


Arizona - #17

Texas - #75

New Hampshire - #26

Alaska - #12

North Carolina Queen for a Day - #15

North Carolina King for a Day - #18

North Carolina Remember the Little Ones - #7

North Carolina Everything BUT the Dog - #27

Mid-Atlantic - #221

Congratulations to all the winners, and our grateful appreciation to everyone who bought tickets! The raffle raised almost twice as much money this year as last year, selling over 2,000 tickets! Our volunteers pulled out all the stops on these baskets, and our imagination boggles at the prospect of what we'll see next year!

Young Pippin wishes all our supporters, volunteers and adopters a happy Spring, and reminds us all to take a few moments to take some deep breaths of fresh and fragrant air.
The Frog Princess