Hey there, Butters!

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I checked in with Butters (re christened Bella, a fact which I studiously ignore. Co owner Paula can feel free to call her Bella, but she’s still Butters to me!) yesterday, where I found her to be growing into a lovely – and bratty – little girl. She and Delilah share a remarkably similar temperament. Both prefer to be pretty much left the hell alone, until they’re worn out and looking for a soft lap to crash on. Until then, don’t bother trying to pet them, as they have places to go and things to chew.

Sharing a house with a menagerie of Bullmastiffs and Abyssinian cats (and one really sweet pet Bulldog) has enhanced Butters’ already well rounded sense of confidence. She now knows for a fact that, no matter how big the other dog is, she’s still the boss of them.

Here’s a video clip of Butters being a goof and chasing a ball, and a small flash gallery of photos.

Best White House Pet EVER

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While the world waits with (semi) bated breath for the Obamas to choose their dog, I’ve been reading up on past White House pets, and have come to a conclusion – none will ever beat Billy for sheer coolness factor.

From Wikipedia:

Billy, or William Johnson Hippopotamus, (1920s – October 11, 1955[1]) was a Pygmy Hippopotamus given as a pet to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge. Captured in Liberia, he was given to Coolidge by Harvey Firestone in 1927. Billy spent most of his life in the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. In addition to his fame as an exotic presidential pet—which afforded him a trip to the 1939 New York World’s Fair—Billy is also notable as the common ancestor to most pygmy hippos in American zoos.[2] By the time of his death in 1955, Billy had sired 23 children; 13 of whom survived at least a year.
Harvey Firestone (left) gave Billy to Calvin Coolidge (right), who donated Billy to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

In 1927, Harvey Firestone, the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, acquired Billy in Liberia, where he was captured on one of Firestone Tires’ large plantations.[3] Calvin Coolidge, who was the U.S. President at the time, was known for his collection of animals, including many dogs, birds, a wallaby, lion cubs, a raccoon and other unusual animals.[4] At the time, pygmy hippos were virtually unknown in the United States. On May 26, 1927, Coolidge was informed that he would receive the rare hippo, already adult-sized at 6 feet (1.8 m) long and around 600 pounds (270 kg), as a gift.[5]

In Coolidge’s autobiography he wrote about the unusual menagerie he collected and stated that he donated many of these animals, including Billy, to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.[6] Though Coolidge had a deep fascination with animals, he was overshadowed by Theodore Roosevelt, who was more widely known for and associated with his interest in animals. By August of 1927, Coolidge had sent the second largest collection of animals of any president after Roosevelt to the zoo, and paid them frequent visits.[3] Upon his arrival, Billy was one of the most-valuable animals the zoo had ever received, and was only the eighth pygmy hippopotamus to be brought to the United States. Billy was a popular animal; several months after his arrival, The New York Times wrote Billy was “as frisky as a dog. Even the antics of the monkeys go unobserved when the keeper opens the tiny hippo’s cage and cuts up with him.”[3]

Parenting troubles

Today, pygmy hippos breed well in captivity: since Billy’s arrival, 58 pygmy hippos have been born at the National Zoo alone. As one of the earliest pygmy hippos in captivity in the U.S. zoo system, Billy went on to become the direct ancestor of nearly all pygmy hippos in American zoos.[2] When Billy first came to the zoo, however, keepers did not know much about pygmy hippopotamus husbandry. A mate for Billy, a female named Hannah, was acquired by the zoo on September 4, 1929.[7] Billy’s and Hannah’s first child was born on August 26, 1931, but did not survive the week. “Inability to survive the neglect of an errant mother was the cause given for baby Hippo’s demise”, eulogized The Washington Post.[8] Over the next two years, two more babies would follow, both of which died in infancy. Billy’s third child was killed when Hannah rolled on top of the baby and crushed it. “She’s just a bad mother”, said the zoo’s long-time director Dr. William M. Mann to The Washington Post, upon the death of the third infant.[9]

The only thing that could possibly be a cooler White House pet than a Pygmy Hippo would be a rare miniature House Hippo.


BTW, our poll continues:

Stupid Phone Calls, Stupider People & Pedigree Dogs in Canada

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I had just been gloating a few days ago that this Christmas season had been almost blessedly free of “We need a puppy for Christmas” calls. I should have know better – it doesn’t really get interesting until the last minute callers come out of the woodwork.

This morning’s phone call was an almost text book perfect of the impulse gift giving puppy buyer.

Caller: “Do you have any puppies that will be ready for Christmas?”

Me: “No, I’m sorry, we won’t – and we don’t sell Christmas puppies, or puppies for gifts”.

Caller, in distracted, ‘I’m not really listening to you’ tone of voice : “I want one that’s not too expensive, either. I have a limited budget. Because I looked at some pet store ones? And oh my God. They’re so expensive. Are yours that expensive?”

Me: “Um, yeah. Like I said, we don’t have any Christmas puppies. Also, we don’t sell puppies for Christmas gifts.”

Caller: “Well, that’s stupid. Why not?”

Me, frustrated and really wanting to get off the phone so I can get coffee: “Because all my dogs are Jewish dogs, so they don’t celebrate Christmas”.

Caller, in ‘well, that explains it all’ tone: “Oooooh!”

Seriously, it’s hard not to get snotty with some of these people. I am almost sorry for lying to her (my dogs are actually agnostic), but some callers just make it so tempting.

In less amusing news, a pair of fuckwits idiots calling themselves “veterinarians” harnessed their half starved horse to the (uninsured) car they got stuck in a ditch, then left the poor horse to strain in the harness until it literally gave out from exhaustion.

From the Langley Times Newspaper:

Starving horse in Langley, BC The seven-year-old emaciated gelding used by its owners to pull a sedan out of a muddy ditch on Wednesday has been put down and five other horses seized. The owners, a man and a woman claiming to be veterinarians, face animal cruelty charges, confirm the SPCA.

The Langley residents were arrested after SPCA investigators found out the couple had tethered the horse to the sedan, which had gone off road in front of their property in the 2000 block of 208 Street.

Langley RCMP confirm the car wasn’t insured and the SPCA estimates the horse was labouring in the mud for more than 45 minutes before emergency responders came on the scene.

They were trying to get him to pull the vehicle out of the ditch when the animal simply collapsed and couldn’t get up, said SPCA senior animal protection officer Eileen Drever.

The SPCA determined the young horse to be in critical distress and humanely euthanized it.

“It was terribly upsetting for all the investigators involved,” said Drever.

“We thought he might have a chance when he tried to stand a couple of times but he just couldn’t muster the strength.”

There’s video on the website, if you can bear to watch it. In an update on this story, five more starving horses were found at a barn belonging to the owners of the euthanized horse. Surrey SPCA inspectors are referring to this as “one of the worst cases of alleged horse neglect it has ever seen”.

Up here in Canada, the fur is flying after the CBC aired the BBC Documentary “Pedigree Dogs Exposed”. Canadian breeders are up in arms, decrying the sensational journalism, and issuing stern (but pointless) letters to the Television Standards Ombudsman’s office.

Personally, I just don’t get it. Cavaliers have an endemic breed health problem, one which they have the ability to test for. How much simpler does it get than “Don’t breed them unless they have tested clear?”. Where is the controversy in this? Where’s the debate? It’s as simple as my choice to not breed from or to French Bulldogs that have had a soft palate re section (aka palate clip – the same surgery that the Peke featured in the documentary had).

It’s not complex – if a dog can’t breathe without surgical intervention, remove it from the gene pool. Ditto hip dysplasia. Elbow dysplasia. Patellar luxation. Heart defects. Eye defects.

What is there in any of this that is controversial to us – and by ‘us’, I mean breeders. It’s not controversial to pet owners, that’s for sure. Ask you average pet owner if they’d rather have a shorter faced dog, or one who lives for an extra seven years, and which one do you think they’d pick?

I also think it’s fairly simple to say that we breeders are being faced with a choice – clean up our own mess, or the CKC and the government will clean it up for us.

Actually, I’m curious about just this subject – if a subtle change to your Brachycephalic dog could improve their health, would you be for it? If so, how far would you be willing to see breeders go to improve the health of your chosen breed?

This poll is intended mainly for pet owners of Brachy breeds (Pugs, Bulldogs, Frenchies), since none of the questions address the changes that would correct problems in other, non brachycephalic breeds. The one exception is the question about out crossing – opening, and then closing the stud book, to allow a controlled breeding to a dog of another breed, similar to what was done in the Dalmatian backcross project. Owners of non brachycephalic breeds can choose this option, or ‘select other’ and leave their suggestions in the comments (or they could always choose ‘none’).

(BTW, sorry about the issue with comments — apparently, when an unusually large number of people attempt to comment at the same time, the database assumes it’s a flooding attempt by spammers, and shuts down comments to everyone but registered users).

Respect Your Elders

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There’s a lot to be said about life with an older French Bulldog.

They’re through with their teething stage – your furniture is safe with them, generally because even if they still did want to chew it, they don’t have the teeth left to do so. They no longer tear around the room, rocketing into furniture and sending your drinks flying. They no longer take off first chance they get, heading up the lawn and for the road, sending your heart into your throat just as rapidly. For old dogs, a slow and short walk is the best walk of all (although not preferable to an extra nap). If you want to sleep in, an old Frenchie will be happy to oblige, lounging along side you under the covers and eating cheerios while you do the crossword puzzle (or so I’m told).

Best of all, an older French Bulldog repays you with steadfast love. You are their anchor, when their sight starts to dim, and their ears when their hearing starts to fail. In return, they love you without condition or reserve.

The French Bulldog Village regularly has older French Bulldogs available for adoption – consider bringing one into your life. They won’t be around forever – perhaps they won’t even be around for long. They won’t be the playful puppy they were in their youth, but you’ll find no better companion for a shared twilight of good meals, long naps, warm sweaters and companionable silences. For those of us who are ourselves getting older, a senior dog has a special charm.

If you already share your life with a French Bulldog senior citizen, I hardly need to convince you of their charms. If your French Bulldog is over ten years old, consider sharing their beauty with the world, via the French Bulldog Village’s “Les Vieux” calendar, in celebration of old Frenchies. Your dog could be featured in the only calendar to celebrate those most lovely of all Frenchies, our seniors.

FBV needs just one more senior Frenchie to fill out their months. If you own a photogenic French Bulldog who is:

Over ten years old
Is still currently with us as of this writing

.. then Les Vieux needs you!

Send a high resolution photograph of your beautiful senior (and only them, please – no other dogs or people) to frenchbulldogvillage@gmail.com

If your photo is accepted, please make sure to let us know! We’ll be announcing the calendars as soon as they’re completed and ready for sale.

Pet Vs. Show and Rumble Bundles Up

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Canadian French Bulldog Puppy

Hey, look who’s got a Flickr account – it’s Rumble, and he’s looking pretty good, don’t you think?

I love this photo most of all, because he looks like such a prototypical Canadian French Bulldog – all he needs is a toque and a cup of Timmies (and if you don’t know what a ‘Timmies‘ is, you’re obviously not a Canadian!).

Go to Jennifer’s gallery and check him out!

Unfortunately, I’m going to miss the Saturday show in Brantford. Sean’s car is in the shop, so he’s using mine attend a training class for work. Sucks to be me, although Elliott doesn’t seem to mind. We’ll be there on Sunday, though, so again – if you want to try to come and see us, just drop me a line.

In the meantime, here’s a short list of Pet Versus Show Terms, along with a some handy terms to help you understand Dog Show terminology.

Pet dogs versus Show dogs:

* Pet dogs shed ……………… Show dogs blow coat.

* Pet dogs are in heat ……… Show dogs come into season.

* Pet dogs trot ………………. Show dogs gait or move.

* Pet dogs stand …………… Show dogs stack.

* Pet dogs get a bath ……… Show dogs are groomed.

* Pet dogs beg for treats …. Show dogs bait.

* Pet dogs poop …………… Show dogs exercise.

* Pet dogs bark at other dogs ….. Show dogs spar.

* Pet dogs wear leashes……Show dogs wear leads

Dog Show Definitions:

1. Great stud dog …………… Mounts anything that can fog a mirror.

2. Excels in movement …….If he gets loose, runs like hell.

3. Personality Plus ………… Wakes up if you put liver up his nose.

4. Good bite ……………… Missed the judge, got the steward.

5. Large boned ……………. Looks like a Clydesdale.

6. Good obedience prospect …. ugly as hell

7. Quiet and good natured ….. In his kennel.

8. Excels in type and style ….. However, moves like a spider on speed.

9. Won in stiff competition ….. Beat four puppies and a 9 year old novice dog.

10. Multiple group winner ….. At two puppy matches.

11. Pointed …………….. His head is shaped like a carrot.

12. Noted Judge …………He put up our dog.

13. Respected Judge ……He put up our dog twice.

14. Esteemed Judge …… He puts up all our dogs.

15. Specialty Judge ……. Puts up anything that looks like his own breeding.