Kirby's Fish
I think you have to have lived with a French Bulldog to understand how truly, wonderfully weird they are (which I mean, of course, in the most affectionate of ways).
Take Beth Thornton’s Kirby, for example.
Most dogs, if they’re going to pick something to be crazy about, it’s going to be a ball. Maybe a sheep, if you’re talking about a Border Collie. Not Kirby, though.
Kirby was crazy about fish – and no, not fish as in “hey, let’s have salmon for dinner’, but in a more Jacques Cousteau, intellectual curoisity kind of way. Kirby, in fact, had his very own fishpond, which he’d visit to sit and watch the fish. In the winter time (when even the most intrepid marine biologist has seconds thoughts about outdoor marine observation), Kirby would make do with looking at the indoor aquarium.
What else did Kirby love?
He loved cheese puffs, and having his dad blow water at him out of the pool noodle (see, I told you Frenchies were weird). He loved naps, and warm spots, and birthday cake.
On December 16th, Beth lost Kirby to a tragic and unforeseeable allergic reaction. Beth blames herself, but if Kirby could talk to her, he’d tell her that “hey, you were trying to help me – you were doing the mom thing, and looking out for me, just like you always did. No one could have known this would happen, so please feel better soon. BTW, the cheesy poofs in heaven? So. Totally. Rock. Also, fish ponds as far as the eye can see.”
Kirby’s ashes will rest in an urn, along with cards, mementos, and a small, perfect Jade goldfish that Beth chose for him.
Kirby was a deeply, wonderfully weird Frenchie, with many admirers and friends from around the world, all of whom miss him.
He was a little dog who loved many things, but most of all, what he loved was Beth. The feeling was mutual.
RB’s Curbing a Heartache
Tue Dec 16, 2008
Loved by Beth Thornton and Family, Champagne French Bulldogs
Stupidest Comment on a Dog Breeder Website
Side note: As much as I’ve enjoyed the stirring inaugural coverage on Lassie, Get Help, Terrierman and Pet Connection, I’ve got to give a huge hat tip to the Bloggess, for combining politics with oatmeal & booze, and for her observation that Obama should now come out as gay.
Also? best comment ever: “everytime they show Bush listening to Obama he looks like he’s lost in his own dream world. He’s probably all “How many ponies should I have? I think a lot.””
There’s a lot of stiff competition for this years “Stupidest Comment on a Dog Breeder Website” awards (affectionately known as the “Dummies”).
For 2008, we’ve decided to open the competition up to that new phenomena in the world of internet puppy sales, the “I’m just selling these for a friend” websites.
If you haven’t bumped in to one of these yet, you’re in for a treat. These sites, which usually list puppies for sale in numbers well into the dozens, explain this plethora of pups by saying that they don’t actually breed all (or sometimes any) of the pups themselves. Instead, driven apparently solely by philanthropy, these saints among men sell dogs for their ‘friends’, just because their friends have such fantastic dogs that it would be a shame to deprive the world of them.
Front running Dummie contender from this year’s newest category comes to us from the nice lady over at AmishPuggles.Com
Not content with giving us just one stupid statement, she’s given us three:
One of my faves:
Our puppies are raised in a barn with cats, horses, goats, sheep, chickens and pigs. So, they are socialized with other animals. Besides, puggles in general are great with other animals, but our puggles are more social than the norm because of the enviornment in which they are raised.
Yes, because nothing says “well socialized” to me like dogs that were raised with goats. I guess if I was looking for a livestock protection dog, I’d be thrilled.
Things just keep getting better from there, with this great paragraph:
I also bathe the puppies so that they do not smell like the barn when they come to you. I got the hint after some of my customers commented on how much they” loved the smell” of the barn on our puppies
Translation: After ten irate phone calls from people saying “Why the hell does this puppy reek like goats?”, we figured out we’d better dunk them in the water tank before we ship ’em.
The hat trick, however, comes from this touching description of the rearing conditions over at Chez Amish Puggles:
I also witnessed something that I have never seen before. One of the mothers decided not to give birth in the barn. Instead she dug a hole under a big maple tree stump that was overturned and has chosen to nurse and raise her babies there. I thought that was really special. I am going to put that picture on the website soon. It was just such a wonderful sight to behold.
Awww! Isn’t that adorable? A Pug is raising her puppies OUTDOORS. In New York State. In the winter. Under a TREE. Who knows, maybe it’s cleaner than the barn.
Holy freakin’ cow, if that’s not a hat trick of stupid comments, I don’t know what is.
Competition is open, folks – send me your best Dummie contenders, or better still post them in the comments, and we’ll start the voting around the end of February.
Penny is Missing, and Dexter is a Daddy
Penny is missing from the area of High Park, Toronto
How’s the weather where you are?
The other morning, my weather geek boyfriend came bounding back into bed to shake me awake and ask me “Guess how cold it is outside?”. I’m very much like my dogs, and averse to emerging from the warm cocoon of duvets I like to build for myself, so stuck my head under the covers and ignored him, in hopes he’d go away. No luck.
“Hey, psst – seriously, guess how cold it is?”
Sensing defeat, I gave in and asked how cold it was. The answer? A bone chilling -31 celsius (that’s minus -23.8, Fahrenheit).
Someplace out in this cold is Penny, a lost Hurrican Katrina survivor who also lived through Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike. Penny is missing, and her Toronto family needs your help.
Visit the One Bark at a Time Blog to find out more, and to help bring Penny home.
My Boy is growing up…
It seems like only yesterday that Dexter was our tiny little baby boy. I was just looking through some of his photos on Flickr, and had decided that this one is probably my favorite:
Now, he’s got his first CERF clearance, his CHIC health clearances are pending, his show career is about to take off, and he’s sired his very first two litters, with Sue Simon’s girls Babs and Juicy up in Traverse City. Babs had two baby brindles – one boy, and one girl, and Juicy has 1 cream boy, a brindle pied boy, and a very lite cream boy (who apparently has pink ears).
If they turn out half as cute as their Dad is, they’ll be very cute indeed.
Babs pups are here:
http://flickr.com/photos/frenchbulldogs/sets/72157612687854790/show/
And Juicy’s pups are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenchbulldogs/sets/72157612747539593/
Here’s a pic of Dexter’s adorable brindle daughter –
