Sabrina Meets the Children

Sabrina's foster parents sent a lovely long update on Sabrina a few weeks ago. Here are parts of it, along with some photos of the very photogenic Sabrina:



"I took her to a friends' house today and had Sabrina meet their dog, a greyhound, and their children (ages six and eight/nine). She met the greyhound first, and was afraid of him and tried to avoid him. They took him upstairs so she could meet the kids without any distractions. When she met the kids (and the parents), she was nervous at first too; she didn't tremble but she stayed very close to me and acted like she wanted me to pick her up. So I gave the extremely well behaved kids a bag of Wellness venison treats and turned them into walking, talking treat dispensers. Sabrina fell in love in no time, and charmed her young audience immediately.

Now that we're three weeks in, we've just about seen the last of the submissive peeing. Hooray for no more piddles...not even at our friends' house today when she met four new people and one new dog! She is definitely a little bit shy when she meets new people out of the house, although she seems much more comfortable with new people in the house when we're home. So we're going to recommend that her new family take things slow with her. I do think she could go to a home with kids, but it would probably be ideal if they were 6+ and well behaved and respectful. Once she gets comfortable, she has a tendency to jump on people and at people's faces when they're kneeling(although she does it with love and has never so much as nipped, even in wild excitement).
She has pawed at our faces though, and for some people, this might be scary. Her only other bad habit is flying off the sofa- the arms, the back, and the front. She also seems to have some allergies and scratches her ears and licks her paws frequently. Our town is also covered in yellow pollen right now which is aggravating my allergies, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's a contributing factor. I may take her into the vet this week just to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection, but
quite honestly, her ears look great. They're clean and beautiful, she has just been scratching at them a bunch, which is what makes me suspect allergies. I just love the noise she makes when I rub them...it's the deepest grunty sigh you've ever heard! She also has a strange habit of licking the sofa, licking the dog bed, and licking the comforter when we go to bed...anyone have a clue what that could be related to?

Fair Sabrina will be joining us on our road trip to FL. She'll definitely have a lot of new experiences there, from the road trip to meeting my family, including my six young cousins ranging in age from 2 yrs. to 15! She does beautifully in the car and likes to look out the window which is always closed, of course, so I have no worries on that front. All in all, she is still an absolute pleasure. I have full confidence in her housetraining, and she is going to make some family so, so lucky! Here are some pictures of Sabrina and our friends' children."

She's a beautiful girl, and we can plainly see that she has a great sense of humor.
Not unlike your own
Frog Princess

A Mighty Hunter

From Roma's foster mom: "Roma's new game is to play hide ans seek. She thinks if she can't see you then you can't see her. I will have to make a video of her playing. She is so funny to watch when she runs and stalks her toys."


The mighty hunter pauses, lifts her head to smell the wind, and takes a silent step-- another, one more, and--
she pounces!

Another insolent stuffie meets its doom.

No match for the mighty Roma's stuffy-seeking skills.

Thankfully, stuffies are not endangered in the mighty hunter's habitat, comments
The Frog Princess

Holly

Here's the latest update from the Kansas foster parents who are looking after Holly:


"My husband has the funniest nickname for Holly and he doesn't even know where it came from. He started calling her "Little Chicken" and does it in a really high pitched voice and Holly immediately gets excited and starts running around in circles and jumping up and down. Now he just calls out "chicken" and she comes running!!!! It doesn't matter where in the house she is, she can always hear "Hello Chicken!" and you can hear her coming!

Although Holly is gray in the face, you would not be able to tell that she is older by her energy level. Holly leaps, wrestles, runs, and does the cutest little bunny hops when she is excited. She loves to play with her foster siblings. The funny thing is that she is usually still eager to play when my 15 month old puppy is ready to take a snooze! The old gal has ALOT of spark left in her.:-)"

These older gals who've given their all so that families can have sweet puppies to love--it's their turn for some of life's pastry and roses, don't you think? If you have room in your home and heart for an older dame with a dance or two to do, you can apply for her on our available page.

The Frog Princess

Cypress

Here's the first message we received about little Cypress from his temporary foster mom. "I picked up the little guy from Mississippi earlier this evening from D. And I have to admit, I am in love. Really, head over heels in love. He is the cutest baby -- really not a baby -- he's 9 months old. But from what I understand, he weighs only 8 pounds (I don't know, I refuse to own a scale). D. suspects that he he has some mental deficiencies as well - he may, he's just a little off. But by far, his biggest issue is his hind legs. I don't know if it's his spine/hips or if it's neurological. I know that will be determined in time. His legs fly out from underneath him when he walks. He is better on a rough surface (carpet, concrete) but still very wobbly. However he gets around fine and is actually quite fast.

This tiny man will be going to Connecticut next week to be fostered. As much as I would like to keep him here, I know that I am probably not the most experienced person for a pup with his issues. So we will adore him during his time with us.

His name is Cypress -- I am assuming after the many swamp trees down here. But I felt like he needed a bigger, tougher name so we have given the nickname Truck Manworthy. A friend of mine used that moniker as his 'stage name' during his rock-n-roll days. It just seems so perfect for this little turkey - Truck it is!

I was able to get a few photos of him. They are not the best since it was getting dark, but they give you an idea of his preciousness. He is snoozing away in my lap right now."



If he's not the cutest thing to come wobbling down the pike since Roma rolled by, we don't know jam from jellyfish. Look at his sweet little face! Keep a good thought for this wee wobbler as he flies from NOLA to CT today. Our CT vol has a daughter who was planning a trip up from the area where she lives, so carrying an extra carry-on was no trouble at all.

We'll let you know when he arrives safe and sound!
The Frog Princess

Missy

Missy came to us an independent gal, happy to lie in the sunshine and gnaw on a nylabone. Today, she's growing more affectionate, she's interacting some with her foster siblings and she's acting more like a frog and less like a kitty. You can read her available page bio here. Surprisingly, this girl has had very few applications! Check her out--she's waiting to be recognized for the 14 pound
prima donna she is!


We got this note this weekend from Missy's foster mom:
"Missy is doing so much better than when she first came in. She is doing okay with small groups of dogs going outside to potty. I was home over the long weekend so I had opportunity to let her out often. She rarely used the papers. She has actually played a minute or two with my little frenchie mix Brie and my bully boy Hoss.
When with us she is giving us more attention than the toys which is great.

I am very happy with her progress!!!


I was so happy with her that I think I might have scared her (not really) but at one point I was rubbing her as she lay beside me. I stopped and she actually took her nose and put it under my hand so that I would start again. I grabbed her up and hugged her! She just looked at me like I was crazy!

It's little things that I get excited about :)"

It takes some of our frogs a little longer than others to reveal their true personality. Missy is nobody's fool, but she's not made of stone, either.

She's a good girl, and she's looking for someone to rub her ears and a family to love. Could be it's you and yours.

The Frog Princess

Willy Nilly Silly Ol' Bear

This is Pooh Bear. He was surrendered because he is aggressive toward other dogs, and his family were at their wits' end. It took us a long time to get an opening for a dog-aggressive dog in our foster homes. Our homes for troubled dogs are full most of the time, so we were glad his family weren't in a hurry.
Pooh Bear made the trip from Southern California to Oregon in a two day transport with 4 other dogs. One of our volunteers drove from LA to San Jose with the Wild Bunch (Jubal, Cocoa and Graciella), Pooh Bear and Rodney. One of our volunteers drove down in her trailer and rig from central Oregon to Davis to pick them up. She slept over with them and then drove them up to their foster homes in the Pacific Northwest--another 12 hour drive.
We need more foster homes. And we need people who can transport. If you have the rig and the time, why not become a volunteer and help us move these dogs to foster families who can help them? If you have the time and the room, why not become a volunteer and help ease some of the foster home crowding around the country? You can volunteer by getting in touch with our volunteer coordinator Kathi.
We'd appreciate the help. And so would grumbly ol' Pooh Bear.
The Frog Princess

Sigmund Frog Needs Help and Prayers

Sigmund Frog, an FBRN grad and school counselor at Patton Elementary School in Austin, TX, is very sick.

The local news station, KXAN,made a video about the children's efforts to save his life. You can read a transcript of the aired story here.



Please keep a good thought for the hard-working and beloved Sig and for his loving friends and patients.

The Frog Princess
PS One of our Austin volunteers is calling the school today to find out if there is a way to donate to Siggy's care! We'll post it as soon as we have the info.

PSS
When we asked Sig's mom, Kathy, how to make out the checks if we wanted to donate, this was her reply:
"As I am sitting here contemplating my blessings, I couldn't ask for a more supportive network than you've provided. I've got to tell you, I just appreciate the emotional support for Sig. I wish he didn't have to go through this but he is handling it well.
I believe it would benefit the network if they donated in Sig's name to FBRN. It is obviously an organization dear to my heart. O.K. tears are actually happening here. That's frequent at this point.
They played Sig's TV video at the school assembly this morning. I smiled on the outside but this is difficult to say the least. He did a beautiful job on his 2nd chemo treatment yesterday. I stayed with him to monitor the side effects when we got home. His oncologist and team have fallen for him too. He wore a bandana that said Doggie Oncologists have Good Bones. Now, they want T Shirts. Oh, he also made his famous almond bark popcorn mix for them.
Thanks again."
So that's the story. Sigmund's family is able to afford the cost of his treatment, and they'd prefer that donations be made to FBRN in his name. You can do that by clicking here.
If you'd like to leave a message of support for Sig and his family, you can do so by clicking on the word "comments" below and filling out the comment box.

We are sending Sig our love and positive vibrations. We'll keep readers posted on Sig's progress and condition,
The Frog Princess

Joba: Flying Frogdog!

We got a newsy little update about our handsome and charming foster Joba recently. The description of his airborn antics prompted one of our volunteers to create a little image of this feathered frog:

"Just thought I'd send a quick Joba update. He's still doing great. He had his vet checkup last night and passed with mostly flying colors! He's 31.8lb of lovin' (and could probably stand to gain a pound or two)!! He's been going at his paws lately, but doesn't show any signs of allergies elsewhere and benedryl doesn't help. So the vet thinks it's most likely a contact allergy and gave us a topical spray to use on his paws. We made the appt to have this guy neutered (hallelujah!) and hopefully get his little nosey done too.
He was a HUGE hit at the office - everyone loved him, and he loved everyone!
I had family up this weekend, too, with their 2 (neutered) males dogs and Joba was great with them. He tried to get the little guy (shih tzu) to play with him, but he'd have none of it, unfortunately. The golden he pretty much left alone . Did I mention he's getting neutered on Wednesday? His marking has subsided substantially - so much so we let him around without his belly band on now. He did mark a few times over the weekend when the other dogs were at the house.
Otherwise he's still a great little man. He's playful, but not overly energetic and I have yet to meet a person he doesn't immediately love - or a person who doesn't love him!
He's starting manners classes this weekend (I want to see how he does with a group of dogs), but he's such a quick learner it'll be no problem for him, I'm sure. He even doesn't try to jump the babygate anymore. He can clear it no problem, but I spent 10 min. that first night catching him mid-air and putting him back, and since then, he hasn't tried to jump it once. Again, a great little dog. There is going to be one super-lucky family at the end of this!!"

I'd rather catch a Frenchie than a fish! declares
The Frog Princess

Roma Visits Her Doctors

Roma had a vet visit this week! Look how handsome and good-looking her doctors and the staff are at Roma's doctor's office. If you look very closely, you might be able to see Roma waving to you.

Here's the report:

"Well, we are home and everything went well.

Dr. Goring is very pleased with her progress. He proclaimed her very healthy. He believes that the soonest she could be ready for surgery is 6 more weeks but feels the bigger she gets, the better.

Good news is, he feels like we might not have to do anything with the hard palate. He said as she has grown, the cleft has remained the same or even smaller and it might not need any surgical intervention. He will keep an eye on it and of course we will know for sure as she gets older.

He checked her legs and said that at this time she does not have any luxating patellas and the legs were fine. The way he described it to me was this: She is like a neonate baby. Small for her age, so her bone structure is not fully developed. He said she will catch up in time but she will be slower in doing this. He said not to worry and her legs will be fine.


He has removed her from her antibiotics. He said that since she is doing so well he feels like she doesn't need them daily. He said for us to watch her and if she develops any snuffles to start her back on them. He was very pleased with her weight gain. I am unable to tell you what her weight is because of a very top secret surprise that will be coming soon. I was informed by the Frog Princess that if anybody ask I was to say "I could tell you. But if I tell you, I will have to kill you." Well that is a lot of bullets and driving. So with the price of gas, and the possibility of not making it back in time for the next feeding, I will just super glue my mouth shut to save a lot of lives.

The doctors will see her again in 2 weeks. Once again the fee to FBRN from these wonderful vets was a NO CHARGE for today's visit. I have attached the pictures of them. The dark haired doctor is Dr. Neihaus and the doctor in green is Dr. Goring. I will leave it to all of you to decide which one is the cutest. Of course, you can't include Roma in the who is cutest contest, because we all know she'd win."

Each is more adorable than the last, but when it comes to cuteness, Roma beats them all to splinters! pronounces
The Frog Princess

Brie's Story

Brie came limping into a woman's yard one day last winter, emaciated and filthy, with cauliflowerd ears. The woman took Brie in and vetted her to the tune of several hundred dollars. Then she called FBRN. On Brie's first night in FBRN's foster care, she spent the evening in her foster mom's lap. The instant she was taken up she curled into a ball, gave an enormous sigh, and fell soundly asleep. She was exhausted, and we mean that literally: She was used up, empty, all gone.

Brie had obviously been used extensively as a breeder; the condition of her nipples told us that. However, there was worse news. Here's the second report from Brie's foster mom: "Brie went to my vet yesterday and she has some definite issues. They believe that her ears are bad enough that she may need to be sedated and have them flushed. They don't think any of the drops can even get into her canal. She also has neurosclerosis. This apparently is mainly seen in old dogs. Her eyes are cloudy and I thought maybe she had the beginnings of cataracts. Not so, and this neurosclerosis is not as severe as cataracts. She also says that she thinks (after seeing her eyes) that she is 10. I immediately started crying thinking about spending 10 years in a puppy mill. She is gaining about a pound every three or four days. She is sweet as pie (even my husband loves her). She played with my frenchies today for the first time. Too cute.
Because she is so skinny, she is no shape for spaying. She may be coming into season right now. My little fertility checker (15 mos old, Fame) is all kinds of excited. Anyway, that is my little Brie. I adore her and can't wait until she feels better so she can enjoy her life."

The very next day we received this report:
"I need some guidance, oh wise ones......Brie went in to have her ears flushed while under anesthesia this morning and it was WAY worse than I thought. In her right ear, she has calcification and extreme inflammation. This goes all the way down her ear canal. Her left ear is a bit better but not much. He basically said that there is no way to "cure" this without taking out her entire canal. Of course that means she will be deaf. She may have some limited hearing in the other ear. Her teeth are also horrendous. While under this morning they extracted a tooth that was so decayed it basically fell out. She will need a complete dental and probably a few more teeth extracted. Of course, let us not forget that she is emaciated. Should she have this surgery to take out her canal (which is costly)? She has had to be in such pain for years and years." Careful and consistent application of medicine has improved the canals to the point where we don't think she'll have to have the ear canal surgery, thank goodness!
The week following the ear cleaning, this is what we heard: "Things are so much better in Brie's world these last few days. I am seeing a lot more energy and not as much sleeping!!! When I get home, or even if I have just been in the bathroom, she will hop on her back legs in excitement. It is so cute! She suffers through her ear cleanings and then gives me a sweet little kiss. There is actual meat on her bones as well. My kids even noticed that she was looking better. This girl is so dang sweet. She will make such a wonderful family friend."

Most recently, 2 weeks ago, Brie underwent spay surgery. The surgery was successful, but extremely difficult: "Brie had her spay yesterday and I have to say, I was a little nervous.
The vet called me after the surgery to let me know that it was a bit more difficult than she had expected. Her abdomen was FULL of scar tissue. Undoubtedly due to the do it yourself c sections that the millers do. There was so much that it made it difficult to tell which organ was which. She also said that she had cysts all over her ovaries and fallopian tubes. She described her ovaries as all but shriveled up. She had a difficult night but was hungry this morning and her eyes were clear. Oh this sweet, sweet girl."

Why do we despise and loathe puppymillers so deeply? Consider Brie. Bred and bred and bred until her ovaries shriveled up and her insides were too scarified to bear any more puppies and then dumped on the wintery Kansas prairie to starve to death. That's the kind of person a puppymiller is. Ungrateful, uncaring, irresponsible and interested only in the money the puppies will bring. The next time you pass a petstore in a mall, think of Brie and the years of suffering and neglect she endured in order to provide consumers with that adorable 3,000 dollar impulse purchase.

Brie is on our foster page. If you'd like to sponsor her, you can do that by clicking here.

We can scarcely wait to hear all the wonderful, triumphant reports we'll receive from Brie's forever family someday. It may seem like a small thing, to save one old dog's life, but it really does lift the spirits and give joy to the members of FBRN and to
The Frog Princess

Bunker's Family Checks in!

Bunker's family has sent an update on this charismatic wunderhund!

"Bunker is doing great. What an absolute joy he is. I can't image us having found a dog with a better temperment. He has the perfect mix of affection and adorable enthusiam. The way he gets excited is absolutely precious but instead of a long tail
to wag he shakes his whole hind quarters. Bunker appears to have 3 favorite past times: 1) Playing with his big brother Logan (our soon to be 7-year-old son); 2) sitting on my lap at night in our recliner while I brush him and clean his eyes; 3) and of course, sleeping. He learning why he goes out for walks now and actually looks forward to them. His housebreaking is progressing as his wee-wee pad is moving progressively closer to the front door.

The whole family has been by to visit at least once since we brought him home including all four grandparents, two uncles, two aunts, and his nearly 1-year-old cousin. He is also the star of our neighborhood. The children in our neighborhood can't get enough of him. It seems everyone he meets fall in love with him

This week coming up Bunker will be visiting our vet and groomers for a first-time introduction. Also, Bunker and I will be registering for our 8-week doggie training class.

Let me say we just can't thank you and the FBRN enough for finding and taking care of Bunker and of course, allowing us to adopt him. It feels like he has always been with us. He has become fixture in our home that we don't know how we ever lived without.


So thank you again.

Bunker's family"

What a wonderful placement for Bunker! Bunker is a puppy mill survivor. The shelter staff at the shelter where he taken for treatment and assessment after the raid really wanted to keep this delightful, silly boy as a shelter mascot. Instead, they generously decided to offer him up to a forever family. We hope the staff will see this post, and know their decision was a good one. We are so pleased and proud to have played a part in this happy placement!

The Frog Princess

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