Nanna Sails Away

 

Who knows what adventures a Frenchie female of a certain age has filed away in her little leather book of memories?  We feel sure that Nanna must have known the thrill of the open sea, though, and felt the salt against her nose and the whisk of sand and sea foam against her fur.  Looking at her as she dreamily relives those moments in the harbor just before casting off or perhaps floating serenely along a wide river's current, we remember that none of us can know another's love for a thing or the joy they feel in recalling it.

Sail on, silver girl!

We're with you, Nanna.  There's "nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" murmurs

The Frog Princess

Kinsler

We are happy to report that Kinsler, a foster with us for quite a while, is showing signs of great improvement now that he is taking Prozac and has experience of a family with consistent responses to him. 

His foster mom reports that he is going to work with her at the vet's office sometimes so he can greet some people, and she's been taking him for short car rides to prove that they, too, can be enjoyable experiences.  (We have some advice on making the car trips even better.  Drive-through windows and Frenchie fries.) 

Many thanks to Kinsler's devoted foster mom! 

We hope young Kinsler will find his forever people shortly, and he's on the available page waiting patiently for them to find him.  We know his family is out there, even if they don't know they are looking yet.

Speaking of Frenchie fries, it's about time for a toodle around the neighborhood, in the opinion of

The Frog Princess

Rest in Peace, Paulie Walnuts

Paulie Walnuts was a special favorite among FBRN volunteers.  He suffered from heart problems and we all knew he probably wouldn't get to live out all the years that most Frenchies have.  He recently passed away in his mom's arms.  He was a happy little soul, and he will be sincerely missed.

We hope that there are cows and sheep across the Bridge, Paulie.

With love from

The Frog Princess

Nanna Finds Her Place

If you keep up with the website, you'll remember the sad story of 12-year-old Nanna, surrendered by her family when no one could keep her.

"I don't like that one. Let's go the other way."

She's a classic Frenchie grandma.  When she's out on walks she likes the people she likes and she doesn't like the people she doesn't like, and at her age she doesn't need a dang reason, so you just mind your own business, young lady! 

She may be elderly, but the old girl is sprightly!  Her foster dad came home to find her sleeping in the living room on her bed rather than in the kitchen behind the baby gate.  She'd leapt right up and over the 2 foot gate!  It is apparent that Nanna will do what Nanna will do.  Get used to it, people.

Nanna has taken over the responsibility for teaching her 6-month-old foster brother how the world works, and she is his Nanna now. 

She is *his* Nanna now.

Go ahead, big dogs at the park.  You wanna pick on him?  Sure.  Go ahead.  See what happens.

Napping with Nanna

No?  Um hm.  We didn't think so.

Nanna's UTI has cleared up  mostly and with the infection, her housebreaking problems have cleared up, too.  She's taking some medicine for whipworm, and that has a longer course to go--another 3 weeks or so.

Though she is still blind in one eye and needs drops for the other, her foster mom reports that  her 12-year-old niece who followed all the instructions about how to approach Nanna from her good eye's side was well received, as was foster mom's mom and sister.

Nanna is also delighted to tell the world that while she may not be down in pounds, she has regained some of her girlish figure, and her waist is back!  Frenchie girls are always concerned about their appearance, no matter how many candles they've extinguished.

We do love the old dames with a dance left in them, sighs

The Frog Princess

Jasper!

Adorable, easy-going Jasper is going to be available this week! Look for him in a day or two or three on the available page.  Meanwhile, you can check out his foster page.

He's come a long way since his brush with euthanasia, and we are so grateful to the vet who called us instead of putting him down.

Jasper loves his froggy friends, loves swimming, and his foster mom tells us he loves to hide his toys and cow ears.  On the west coast, looking for a great Frenchie?  Look no further.

It is wise always to have a stash of toys, in the opinion of 

The Frog Princess 

What's That Lump on My Dog?

Lots of Frenchies get odd little lumps.  Sometimes it's just a pimple.  Sometimes it's a tumor.  If it's a tumor, it could be a mast cell tumor, which should be removed, or it might be a benign histiocytoma, in which case you are home free.

A lot of our volunteers' personal Frenchies have had histiocytomas and a few of our fosters have had them.  As you can imagine, it freaks people out to wake up one morning and find a growth that wasn't there the night before.

Handsome Izzy, sans spider bite!

One of our volunteers has a dog called Izzy.  Izzy was bitten by a spider on his face.  He had a big swollen lip that night.  When he woke up, he had a bump on his tummy.  It was a histiocytoma and it was related to the spider bite--all those histamines released to fight the spider bite reaction sort of came out sideways and formed a bump.

This is what Izzy's histiocytoma looked like. 

Here's what to do if you find a lump:  First, don't mistake a nipple for an ominous lump and ask your vet about it.  It will make your vet snort, and nobody likes to see that.  (We won't say who made that mistake, but her initials are F.P.) Once you have determined that the lump isn't a nipple, scurry over to the vet.  A needle biopsy will be done and maybe some other tests, and you'll have an answer within a few days.  Your vet will give you options if the lump is a mast cell tumor, and if it's a histiocytoma you can just breathe easy.

Tucker, not worried at all

One of our volunteers has an aged frog of nearly 14, and he has had a histiocytoma on his front leg for some time.  It started out soft and pink and over time has become harder and white.  His mom says there are 3 reasons she has left it alone.

1.  It's not itchy and it doesn't bother him.
2.  It's probably related to an immunity problem, and
3. since Tucker has had skin problems for a long time, if there's no reason to open a wound, why do it?

Tucker's vet is all in favor of leaving the thing alone, so his mom is going to do that and just keep breathing easy.

Breathe in as you count to 4, breathe out as you count to 6, that's the advice of

Frog Princess

Update:  The very night this was posted, one of FBRN's foster dogs, Miriam Rose, developed a histiocytoma!  Like June, they are popping up and bustin' out all over!

In Advertising Circles

We believe what we are doing here is called a tease.  This is Tiesto.  Brand new foster dog.  Handsome as hell.

Don't know a ding-dang thing about him except he's somewhere in Canadoodle.  Oh, and he got a boatload of treats and toys and a bandanna to wear from one of our hundreds of extraordinarily fabulous volunteers you haven't decided to join yet (As Lola said: "We're irresistible, you fool!  Give IN!").  You wanna learn more about the boy, you're going to have to check out the New Faces section of the Foster dogs page way the heck and gone next week.

Yep.  We believe that there is an excellent example of what they call a tease. 

Meanwhile, you can wiggle over to the New Faces and get an eyeful of brand new Hamster, Sansa, Goober, Sofia Grace, and Cookie Monster.  If you get there tomorrow or the next day, you'll find Al Poochino (don't you roll your eyes at us, Buster!), Billy Goat Gruff, and Odin, Allfather of the dogs.

But next week, let us dangle a little info before your gobblesome eyes:  More than 10 new faces.  You read that right.  Next week, the annual summer dumpin' o' the dawgs will begin in earnest, and we'll hit the ground running with more than 10 new dogs!  That cutie-pie above is only one of them.  Now how's that for a tease?

Enticingly yours,
The Frog Princess