Tuesday, September 23

A Message from Juliette


Juliette says: Just because it's officially Fall, don't think it's time to relax about the too hot heat!

Whew! Some states don't cool off for another several weeks still, and then there's Indian Summer to watch out for.

Keep your French bulldogs cool, even when it seems like the frost's on the pumpkin!

Mmm, pumpkin...

The Frog Princess

Monday, September 22

Gratuitous Beefcake


Our dear dogangel Gabriel, who is doing so well on his special diet and all the love his foster family can show him.

Thank you to all Gabe's sponsors for donating to his care! He has gained 8 pounds and is looking marvelous, in the opinion of

The Frog Princess

Sunday, September 21

Haricot Is Full of Beans!

Great news about Haricot, one of our wheelie dogs:

"Next Thursday Haricot and I are off to Toronto again to go see her Neurologist. I have a lot of questions and want to see what the doctor says about my little Bean's progress. She has been walking more and standing more lately. Her muscle tone continues to improve and over the past week I notice that her bladder has also become more toned as well. Her bladder used to feel kind of soft and mushy.

Last nite it was quite cool here so we dug out the sweater she came with. What a cute sweater it is. It looks like it was hand made. Her she is modeling her sweater."

We have wonderful foster parents who really go the extra mile for our disabled dogs.

We bet the neurologist is simply amazed at Hari's progress! Isn't she gorgeous? And she looks so proud! She's going to be available next week. Preference will be given to applicants with a fish tank!

The Frog Princess

Saturday, September 20

Napoleon!

This week, FBRN has a couple of Hallowe'en costumes on eBay! Both are handmade by an FBRN volunteer who makes a living as a professional seamstress. The details and craftsmanship on these costumes will really impress you. What Frenchie doesn't deserve COUTURE fashion?





One of the outfits is called Napoleon BONE-aparte. The costume is modeled by Ramsey, former foster, now a grad.

When we saw this costume, we were reminded that we received a video of former FBRN foster and current grad, Napoleon. Watch Napoleon and his tough life here.


The other costume is a sailor outfit, and we really wish we'd had a dog called "Popeye" to go with this one. But it's a mighty adorable costume, complete with hat!

Your French bulldog would be ready for a hornpipe and a mug of rum in this! Well, maybe you should drink the grog and let your frog do the dancing. On the other hand, if you both pass up the tot of spirits, you could make some money! At least you could if things haven't changed too much in the British Navy since 1933. Do we digress? So sorry.

The fact is, these costumes are so well-made and so witty (note the "frog" closure on the chest?) that your French bulldog will be the cynosure of all eyes at your Hallowe'en party, parade or trick or treat night at home!

Bid high, people! These are the last costumes you'll ever have to buy that frog of yours!

The Frog Princess

Friday, September 19

Darcy



The irrepressible Darcy is one of a number of puppies on our available page. When we asked her foster mom to say a few things about Darcy, she wrote:

(look! Darcy is good with kitties!)



"Darcy is a puppy poster child. She plays in hyper little spurts of energy and then passes out in any position that she happens to end up in. She's totally sweet and devoted and will let me hold her like a baby and rub that adorable spotty tummy as much as I want. When I take her for walks she demands that every single person we happen across must stop to admire her and it's rare that someone meets her that isn't immediately smitten with her. She loves to give tons of kisses (watch out for the ear nibbles, though) and always wants to be where I am.
When I am getting ready in the morning she'll lay down on the bathroom floor and keep me company. It's really sweet. Seeing her cuddle with my Frenchie is enough to break a girl's heart. Ideally I'd like to see her to go a home with another dog since she really enjoys that companionship. She loves any toy you throw at her which is nice but dangerous since she can easily mistake balls of expensive yarn and knitting needles as exciting new toys."


Oh, now, really! Look at that face? Could she really expect us to believe that sweet puppy could be guilty of destroying property? asks

The Frog Princess

Thursday, September 18

Calendar Deadline: Sept. 19!

If you have adopted an FBRN dog and you'd like to submit a photo for one of the two calendars FBRN makes each year, Friday Sept. 19th is the deadline to submit your photo!


Here is Bubba, a 2006 grad, and former cover dog, making an appearance to ask that you get on the stick. This year, we'll have a calendar featuring photos of ONLY FBRN fosters and grads (no other dogs or people, please) and a second calendar featuring FBRN fosters and grads and their furry friends. Photos should be in the highest resolution you can possibly get, NO CROPPING and without any other kinds of fiddling at all by you, and in landscape mode.

Send your photos lickety-split to our calendar coordinator fbrncalenderphoto@yahoo.com.

We apologize for the late notice, but hope that the looming deadline will cause our friends, most of whom are terrible procrastinators anyway, to get busy and look through those photos you've been taking all year.

Do it tonight! shrieks

The Frog Princess

Smeagol to Attend Puppymill Awareness Day!


FBRN's unofficial mascot and undisputed main squeeze is getting in a Prius (he's very green) and driving from his home in North Carolina to the big doings in Lancaster, PA! Saturday, Sept. 20th, from 11 to 5, join with other decent human beings (including these guys!) in protesting the unconscionably cruel and horrifying treatment of dogs at the hands of puppy millers.

Puppymill Awareness Day has grown every year for the past 5 years, and with today's USA Today article, the event has even wider exposure than ever before. If you can't make the event in Lancaster County, PA, you may be able to find an event going on near you. Puppymills can be found in virtually every state.

FBRN will be visible at Awareness Day events, so watch for FBRN volunteers carrying signs (and weary frogs!) during the march itself. Before and after the march, look for the FBRN table and meet some current and former FBRN dogs and volunteers who will have driven or flown hundreds of miles for the chance to meet like-minded people and make some noise. Smeagol himself may be at the table for part of the time!

If you are a resident of Pennsylvania or you spend time vacationing or working in the commonwealth, make your feelings about Governor Ed Rendell's proposed legislation known. Visit the site dedicated to this legislation, read the shocking article about the puppymillers who elected to shoot their 80 dogs rather than make minor changes to the kennel and have veterinarians treat the dogs for flybites and parasites. Contact your state senator or the senator who represents the area you visit, vacation or work in.


Just yesterday, the PA House of Representatives passed House Bills 2525 and 2532 and thoughtfully rejected the amendments to HB2525 that would water down the law. It would be a lovely gesture to call or send a thank you note to your Representative! Now that the Representatives have done their part, Pennsylvania state Senators will be feeling heat from puppymillers across the state and the country who have a vested interest in continuing to exploit and profit from the miserable dogs in their "care." The voice of the people must be louder, more insistent, and more compelling than the voices (and the promises of campaign money) of the puppymillers.

If you attend, watch for Smeagol's big blue SmeagolMobile and give him a wave and a cheer! Smeagol is a puppymill survivor himself, and he knows the horrors his fellow mill dogs are enduring even now.

Right now.

The Frog Princess

Monday, September 15

It's Only Rock 'n Roll, But I Like It!


Hey! Have you seen this fabulous thing? Check it out:
Four (4) tickets to see Angels and Airwaves, opening band for Weezer, have been donated to the French Bulldog Rescue Network to help raise funds for their rescue frenchies.

FBRN grad Reggie and his little buddy Henry want to go!

The tickets are good for one (1) show in any of the listed cities on the eBay link below. Included in this package is a meet-and-greet with members of Angels and Airwaves before the show which will include photos and autographs. This is NOT a meet and greet with Weezer, AVA band members only. The tickets are for general admission for the entire concert which includes Tokyo Police Club, Angels and Airwaves and Weezer.


Haricot and Nicky are crazy with excitement!



This package has been generously donated by an FBRN volunteer and her husband (band member of AVA) and we thank them for their wonderful support! All proceeds benefit the rescue dogs of FBRN.


Pippin pouts. No dogs allowed!


Please visit the eBay posting and bid high to help the frenchies and to win this fantastic evening of music! Thank you.



FOUR tickets PLUS a pre-show meeting with autographs and photos?! What a night of memories that'll be!

And look at all the cities! Somebody you know has GOT to be having a birthday or an anniversary! What a great gift. You would be godlike for someone you love, wagers

The Frog Princess

KC: A Sunny Disposition

KC is a handsome boy who made his debut on last week's foster pages. Here are some photos and a report on him:


"KC should be snatched up pretty fast, he is SUCH a good boy. The only issue he's had since he's been in my house is being a brat sometimes while playing with toys. He can be protective of his toys, but not in an aggressive way. He gets his point across and goes back to his toy. He plays rougher than my two do, we're used to playing nice.
But he is so quick to respond to me. He stops instantly when reprimanded and comes to me for reassurance and praise. He wants to be a good boy. He is SO willing to please. I think he'd make a great obedience dog.

He's a pleaser, he wants to make you happy!

Since he is a young dog he's unsure of himself and CRAVES positive training.

He has adapted SO easily, he is not stressed out at all!

He's a pup, so he's active and curious, always looking for something to do, but he's not obnoxious and not destructive. I think he'd do best with another active dog or someone who could keep him occupied.

He is crate-trained, has no food aggression. My fur kids have had their heads close to his food bowl, not in his bowl and there was no reaction from KC. He greets strangers like they are his best friend!

He does NOT like the squirt bottle. When he is too frisky with Angel, I show him the squirt bottle and he's off her in a flash! Then he comes over to me and looks so sorry! Who could be mad?

We have been working on his jumping on people. He is one smart cookie... he knows he shouldn't jump on me, so he'll stand on his back legs right in front of me. I will make him sit, then give him lotsa lovin'."


This handsome boy is scheduled for a neuter surgery and will be available shortly afterward. Now is the time to apply for some of our adult dogs--the puppies are getting all the attention these days!

What puppies? Why, these puppies, of course!

Puppies! As if all our handsome and appealing foster dogs weren't adorable puppies, once, sniffs the mature and only slightly creaky

Frog Princess

Friday, September 12

Little Lizzie Is Not Amused

Lizzie prefers the natural look!



Please keep a good thought for Little Lizzie. She's about ten years old, and appears to have been rode hard and put away wet.

Her foster mom sent these photos and captions. It is very hard to be forced to dress up. Poor Lizzie! We Frenchies are subject to such indignities.



In addition to suffering the torment of playing dress-up, Lizzie is in the beginning stages of kidney failure. We are seeking out alternative approaches to bolstering her kidneys as well as allopathic therapies.


Little Lizzy was found as a stray and a Good Samaritan vet took her in and fixed a whole host of problems!

"I don't wanna be a jiraff"


Here is the introduction we received from Lizzy's foster mom:

"She was found in San Diego as a stray in deplorable condition, and was eventually turned over to a wonderful veterinarian who fixed Lizzie up and then surrendered her to FBRN.




Lizzie was suffering from pyometra, mange, tooth abscess and rotten teeth, tumors on her back, skin, eye, and ear infections, and an old ear hematoma which left her ear crumpled, and various scars on her legs.

"I don't wanna be a firedog, neither!"


The vet spayed her, removed the tumors (biopsy was benign) on her back, removed the abscessed and rotten teeth and cleaned the few savable ones, and treated her for the various infections.






Little Lizzie's BUN and creatinine are running a bit high, so she is on KD food, must be given sub-q fluids every couple of days, and must be monitored with continued blood tests. Her shoulder set looks odd to me.

"I don't wanna wear dat banbana."



Lizzie is about 10 years old. She is very sweet and tiny. She is a little grumbly to my dogs, but does not snap or bite. We will work on pottytraining and using the doggy door, and fattening her up a bit."


Yesterday, Little Lizzie's foster mom had more news:
"I have joined a Dog Kidney Failure yahoo group, so I can start researching and learning about this disease. I must admit, I've grown so close to Lizzie, and I was teary-eyed with a lump in my throat when my vet told me she has kidney failure. I was hoping her kidneys were just out of whack due to the pyometra infection, and would return to normal.

Lizzie is still a happy dog. She never had the shyness and uncertainty like all my past foster dogs. She approaches everything matter-of-fact. Everyone adores her where
ever I take her, despite the fact that she's no beauty queen. [Hey! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Lookit that twinkle in her eye!--FP]

"Dis one is not so bad!"


She eats well, and uses the doggy door, but isn't really pottytrained when it comes to peeing. We're working on it! I wonder if part of it is due to her history, her age, and her disease. My neighbors must think I'm nuts because every hour I'm home they must hear, "Go potty Lizzie" "Go potty Lizzie" and "Gooood Girlllll" over and over.







She would make someone a wonderful companion, but I doubt that anyone wants to take a chance on an old, chronically ill dog who could take a turn for the worse at any time.


"I just wanna take a nap, pwease."



I have noticed that people do adopt paralyzed dogs, but she is so much easier to care for. She is welcome to stay with me as long as she needs to. (I love her already.)"

It is possible that Little Lizzie will receive no applications. But knowing our friends and supporters, we think she'll find her own family regardless of her medical condition. And have no fear, if she does not receive many applications, a foster family, perhaps her current foster mom, will come forward to provide her with hospice care for the remainder of her life. If you'd like to sponsor Little Lizzie and continue the generous support her Good Samaritan vet started, visit her foster page and click on her photo to donate.

We promise, Lizzie! No more dress up until Hallowe'en!
The Frog Princess

Thursday, September 11

"Beach Baby, Beach Baby, There on the Sand

Give me something that I can remember!"





Ahhh, summer! Twila got to go on vacation with her new family to the shore! Here are some photos documenting the fact that a disabled dog can have a great life and fun, fun, fun!

Here's her new mom's note to us:

"We are back from the Outer Banks and have discovered Twi's true calling in life: Beach Bunny. She absolutely LOVED the sand and water and just about drove us nuts chasing crabs. We were afraid she'd have trouble walking on the sand with her wheels, but we needn't have been. She handled it like a pro. As always, she was a rock star in the neighborhood we stayed in. Our walks took forever because she greeted every passerby and they all wanted to talk about her. By the end of the week, we had people pulling over their cars and stopping us to tell us they'd heard about her and wanted to meet her. The best question about Twi came from a 10-year-old boy:

Him: "What's wrong with her?"

Me: "She's paralyzed."

Him: "Does that mean she can't see?"


Enjoy the pix. I especially like the one of her tracks on the sand."

We like that one, too!

The Frog Princess

Friday, September 5

Someone left a frog out in the rain...

Here is a story from one of our foster moms. We rarely acknowledge the resident frogs who put up with so much from so many of our fosters. Angel is the resident Frenchie and KC is a new foster. Here's the story:
"We got home from dinner tonight, I let the dogs out, I let the dogs in, the dogs played. I could tell Angel was getting p[erturbed] at playful pup, KC. He was being a pup...relentless. She wanted to go outside again...in the rain. She was out there for a while so I went out to see where she was. She had dug herself a hole and WAS SITTING IN IT!!!!! in the rain!!!!! It was the funniest thing I've seen."


Now let this be a lesson to our volunteers: If you tell a story, you must have a photograph to go with it. Or else the Frog Princess will punish you by making you look at a drawring clumsily executed* by our own unschooled self in an inappropriate drawing program and requiring the help of two other innocent individuals to bring it at last to your suffering eyes.

Hardly ashamed at all,
The Frog Princess

*For anyone wondering, that is a representation of a Frenchie in a hole in the ground during a rainshower. It is not a remarkably unappetizing drawing of a hot dog.

Slava Comes ALIVE!

Our cover girl Slava has some good news to share.
Slava is out of the hospital, off the sub-q fluids and having only two messy but controlled bm's daily. Too much info? Just wait.

She has digested blood in her stool, which indicates that there is bleeding high in the intestines.

However, the awful fresh bleeding is no longer in evidence, and the near constant explosions are a thing of the past!

Slava is now on a new steroid to see if the inflammation that may be causing the continued bleeding high in her digestive tract can be calmed down enough so that some healing can occur. The doctor has hopes that the bleeding can be stopped, but if it
turns out that Slava's condition is chronic, there is treatment that can manage the problem.

Slava's foster mom said her vet has asked her to send her some photos of Slava, and that her little boy asks about Slava. The vet techs think she's just wonderful. Her foster mom says that now that she's feeling better, she is a lovely, affectionate, happy girl!

We are so grateful for the contributions to Slava's care we have received. Almost half of the costs of her week's stay have been received through PayPal. It looks as though, even if her condition isn't curable, she will survive this awful spell and can go on to bring happiness and comfort to some very lucky family!

Thank you again for supporting our girl in her time of crisis!

The Frog Princess