Bruin Bops Along

Last week we caught you up on our beloved Magnolia, who got great news from her doctor.  Today we'll catch you up another of our hospice pups, the natty and everlastingly besweatered  Bruin.

Bruin has a strange case of constant lung infection.  He can't kick it, so he's living on antibiotics, and gets meds 4 times a day, including the antibiotics, a broncho-dilator, health and immunity supplements, and cough medicine.  The poor guy!

But at least his foster parents bury the meds in yummy satin balls (a concoction designed to put/keep weight on dogs) and she feeds him by hand!  He's so spoiled that he won't eat unless she gives him food tidbit by tidbit.  (Note to royal self:  Get a handmaiden to feed us by hand.  Because we're worth it!)

And his lung condition does not affect his Frenchie weirdness even a little. 

It might even amplify it.  Bruin is a guy who likes his things to be his.  He's really particular about his toys, though.  He verges on the huffy.  He's that guy at work who puts his name on his jar of coffee creamer and then puts the coffee creamer in a lockbox with his name on it. 

Bruin's toys are Bruin's toys.  If you look at his toys, he will gather them up and move them to where you cannot look at them.  If you are tidying up and you put his toys into the toybox, he will climb into the box and lie on top of them, giving you the indignant stink-eye all the while.  Did he ask you to move his toys?  No, he did not.  What's the matter with you?



  If he's really worried about somebody sneaking in and stealing his toy, he will fall asleep with the toy in his mouth. 

He also doesn't like it when laundry day comes around and the dirty beds get washed and clean ones take their place.  If he wanted clean beds, he'd wash them himself!  It took him and his foster siblings days to get the beds smelling just right, and now they have to start all over again! 

People are so thoughtless. 

Dogs like Bruin who are in our hospice program aren't ready or suitable for adoption because of ongoing health issues.  Sometimes we make dogs hospice because they are elderly and we think a move to another home would be too disruptive or confusing. 







Hospice dogs will stay in their foster families for the remainder of their natural lives, or until their conditions resolve to the point that they might be adoptable.  We are very proud of our hospice program, and it's only possible because our friends and supporters send us donations to help.  So from all of FBRN's hospice foster families, and from Bruin and his hospice friends, thank you!

You make it possible for Bruin to keep bopping along in his ridiculous, grumpy way, with one eye on his toy box and one eye--ok, well, who knows where.  Somewhere else.

With no intention of manifesting or laying claim to any of Bruin's toys, we remain

The Frog Princess

Cancer? Fuhgeddabowdit. Gimme a Donut.

Magnolia, our irrepressible and (don't tell the others) favorite FBRN foster has some good news to share.  At her 3 month visit with Dr. Wen, she was found to have no signs or symptoms of cancer.  Period.  The end.


That's right.  Magnolia's hospice status may well be up for review!  She has another visit scheduled in six months, but she's not worried.











At the doctor we found out that she's gained a wee bit of weight during the winter.  As who hasn't?  What with the holidays and the Polar Eclipse or whatever it's called, Magnolia and 90% of the American public might have a reason.

But Magnolia has an additional reason.  Donuts.

Mags had a morning routine in place for a long time.  Get up.  Go out.  Get in the car and keep foster mom company on a ride to the northeast's favorite fried food emporium, Dunkin Donuts.  Recently, the owner of her local Dunkin Donuts banned Magnolia from the premises!

What the hey?!  Banned?  Our Mags?  Shocking.

Never again to taste the delicious proprietary blend of flour, fat, and sugar that puts weight on a girl, and, apparently, cures cancer?  Never again to meet and greet the locals and enjoy the attention and affectionate ribbing of the hoi polloi?

This state of affairs could not stand.  And when the guys at the Dunkin Donuts, a group of veterans who meet there for breakfast and raillery every morning, heard that Magnolia had been made Frenchie non grata, they did what vets do.  They stood up for what's right.  They approached the store owner and argued that with her background and her prior tough life, she was suffering from the canine equivalent of combat-related PTSD, and they wanted her privileges reinstated.  Well, what was a donut-maker to do?

Mags is back in her morning groove.  And now when she visits, she gets a free munchkin donut hole.

On account of because munchkins fight cancer.  And because her friends made a fuss.

That extra pound Dr. Wen discovered?  That's just a little side-effect of the successful, if unconventional, treatment.

That's our story, and it's the one being stuck to by Mags and

The Frog Princess

Nee-co-las!

Nee-ko-las!

Nine-year-old Nikolas is good for what ails you.  He'll keep you company and give you something to do when you are at a loose end.

He's very willing to encourage you in meeting your fitness goals.

He'll happily go with you to exhibits when no one else has the time or inclination.  He is interested in sculpture and the arts. 

And if you have to get some work done or fix dinner, he can occupy himself with harmless diversions.  Unlike a puppy, Nikolas doesn't have to be supervised or kept out of trouble.

He's a great dog for first-time Frenchie owners who'd like to get acquainted with the breed! 

If you'd like to get to know him a little better, stop by Nikolas's page at the FBRN website.  He's a great dog who got a lousy deal.  We're trying to find him a happily ever after. 

His home is out there somewhere.  We never fail! boasts

The Frog Princess

Mylie

Mylie is one of our special dogs.  She'll be waiting as long as it takes for the right family to come along.  She is a girl who likes the world to run on her rules, but that makes life hard because it means that her world becomes smaller and smaller as she tries to control who comes into her life.

Mylie's adopters must be experienced with reactive dogs, and they must be willing to be consistent, firm, and committed to helping Mylie adjust her perception of herself as the sun around which the planets spin.  She'll be happier when she doesn't have to take on the role of Empress of All She Surveys, and we are going to wait until someone with the chops to help her learn a lesser role comes along.  We understand.  We ourselves are guilty of a bit of an Empress complex. 

Meanwhile, Mylie is staying warm and cozy in her comfy bed while the Minnesota winter rages fearsomely outside, completely oblivious to Mylie's wishes that there be green grass and warm breezes. 

We agree that it's a cold, cruel world, Mylie, and we believe it would be a better place if only people would subject themselves to the wishes of

The Frog Princess