Wow, who knew one little, cranky, red and white dog could start this much ground swell?
Tessa says “Being leader of the free world is nothing compared to raising 21 cranky little Frenchie children. I’d take Putin over Sailor any day.”
It’s always a wonderful surprise to have someone pop up and say “Hey, remember me? We got so and so from you”.
In this case, so and so is actually an adorable little guy named Blue, out of Tessa’s very first litter. Blue was a handsome, spunky little boy, and he’s grown up to be a still handsome, spunky little guy.
Here’s the lovely note that Blue’s mom, Jennie Leto, sent along for me to share:
Blue
I got Blue from Carol Gravestock when he was 7 months old. He came charging down the
stairs and I was in love. He is now 11 and he still comes charging down the stairs, or
racing after birds, or squirrels, or bunnies. He absolutely loves life and I thank Carol and
God every day that he is in my life. This past year has been a huge transition for Blue,
since I had a baby girl named Lillian.Blue came through like a trooper and Lily and Blue are in love. He is her protector,
her buddy, her furry sibling. Boo Boo was her first words, before Dadda and Mamma,
and Boo Boo is the first one she asks for every morning. Before we drop my daughter off
at daycare we drop Boo Boo at my parent’s house for his daycare.Blue’s other favorite people are my niece and nephew Avery and Caleb. Caleb just kisses
him all day long, and Avery is so gentle with him. The only thing is that Blue doesn’t think
he is a dog. When Lily, Avery and Caleb are around Blue tries to get in the middle of
everything they are doing and participate. He tries to color and play ball and play dolls,
and this past Easter Blue didn’t understand why Grandpa didn’t want to take a picture of
him in the Easter backdrop he set up for the kids shots. Blue is stubborn, lovable,
adorable, and such a blessing to our whole family. He is such a handsome boy, people
look at him and compliment him before my daughter.We treasure Boo Boo, thank you Carol and Tessa (Blue’s Momma), you created a most
amazing Frenchie and we adore and love him so much!!!
Here are some photos of Blue (seriously, is this a handsome face, or what?). Oh, and there are two in there of Blue as baby, one with his entire litter.
It was cool and overcast this morning, so we decided to bring Tessa with us when we went to Keady market. It’s very dog friendly – lots of people bring their dogs with them, and so long as you avoid the livestock areas, there’s no problems taking them through the entire market.
The market today was the most crowded I’ve ever seen it – a combination of nice weather and prime tourist season, I suppose. Keady is right on the road north to Tobermory, a popular tourist spot, and a lot of local literature pumps it up as a ‘great place to see real! live! farm animals! It was wall to wall people, with more than the usual complement of ‘free kitten’ hawkers present.
What’s with that, anyways? Why would you haul your yard bred kittens all the way to the market, and sit around all day waiting for someone to take them away, when you could just spay your cat? I don’t quite get the logic in that.
Our ‘own’ cat, Petal, has some rather strange secret life that Sean and I haven’t quite figured out yet. She comes to our porch for her meals, twice daily and as regular as clockwork. Seriously, you can almost set your clock by her, she’s so regular. What’s strange, though, is that we have no idea where she goes for the rest of the day. We’ve seen her trotting across the road, apparently from our neighbour the bucket hoarder.
We’ve speculated that she’s actually their cat – she seems to live there. If so, why don’t they feed her? They can’t possibly be feeding her, we’re sure of it – she chows down simply incredible amounts of food when she’s at our place, and she was skinny and malnourished when we first noticed her. She was also covered in fleas, which we treated her for.
So, if she is their cat, she’s not being well cared for, which means I should have no qualms about simply taking her and making her into an indoor cat, right? It’s not so simple, however, in large part because the bucket guy sort of scares me a little bit, seeing as how he’s kind of a hermit and we only ever see him when he drives down the driveway to get his mail (which he does from inside his truck). Sean doesn’t want confrontation with him, partially because he might be crazy, and partially because he’s our closest neighbour. For now, then, Petal comes here for her meals, and goes wherever it is she goes in between. This is going to have to change come winter time, however, as I can’t stand the thought of her being out there in the cold. I have an appointment to take her in for a spay next week, and don’t see why she can’t just stay inside the house for good afterwards. Outside cats disappear all the time, right?
Today at Keady was the first time that Tessa really seemed unhappy out in public. She didn’t seem comfortable in the crowds – she kept getting confused, and worried when she couldn’t see me. Finally Sean just picked her up and carried her, which she accepted as her Princess-like due, and which gave her a great view of the livestock areas. I think that might have been her last trip to anyplace so crowded and busy, as she really didn’t seem to enjoy it, and I couldn’t relax because she was so stressed out.
I think from now on I’ll stick to bringing her places that are less crowded, like the ice cream stand, and for short walks in Durham. Farmer’s markets and other places with big crowds just aren’t enjoyable for her anymore, and Tessa’s happiness is incredibly important to me.
Tessa has always been a rather stylish lady, but of late I admit I’ve rather slacked off on accumulating new goods for her (other than designer cookies, of course, which go without saying).
So, here are 13 things that Tessa has found on line and is insisting I purchase for her. Since my credit limit is exactly that (a ‘limit’, rather than a ‘limitless’), she’ll likely have to make do with just one or two things, rather than the whole shebang. This, no doubt, will cause her to skulk around acting like I’ve kicked her, which she was already doing as a result of my refusing to let her charge at the new kitten.
Poor Tessa. Born to be the pet of royalty, and sadly stuck with me instead.
13. Pink and Sparkly Skull and Crossbones Collar
It’s pink! It’s shiny! It’s got a skull on it!
Added bonus – I can get a matching necklace.
12. Skinneez Stuffing Free Toy
Tessa’s favorite thing to do with stuffed toys is to grab them, shake them into submission, then gut them. By the time she’s done with them (roughly two minutes, give or take) all that remains is a pile of fluff and a masticated stuffie.
This toy from Golly Gear is perfect – it’s already stuffing free! It does look a little bit like roadkill, however… but Tessa thinks that’s a bonus.
11. Slightly Disturbing Leather and Lace Dog Corset
Tessa is a very, very girly dog (when she’s not kicking poodle butt and taking kitten names). I accept her propensity for wanting to wear frilly dog clothes, but I think I’m going to have to draw the line at this rather disturbing (yet very well made) piece of doggie lingerie.
I let her have this, and the next thing I know she’ll be hanging out downtown Toronto at the 5ive Nightclub…
What becomes a pretty pretty Princess better than a rhinestone tiara, custom made for your dog? Nothing that I can think of, that’s for sure.
Tessa firmly believes that what she really needs is a conquering army and a shirt that says “Dictators Do It Whether You Want to Or Not”, but barring that, she’ll settle for a tiara.
9. Jakey BB Handcrafted Luxury Pet Bed
Holy Hannah… what becomes a doggie dictator better than this super deluxe, hand crafted, custom made pet bed? As the sales pitch says “From the hand painted signature border along the lower edge of the bed to the decorative molding, it’s easy to see that at Jakey BB it’s all about the details. Even the welt cord on the cushions has been tea stained to achieve that exact perfect color.” They even use recycled materials.
8. Alaskan Bear Wild Salmon Treats
When a girl is getting up past a ‘certain age’, her hips and joints aren’t quite as flexy as they used to be. No, I don’t mean me – I mean Tessa (although it might in fact be applicable to us both). The Omega fatty acids in salmon oil are supposed to be good for creaky old bones, plus Tessa has always rather liked fish. We ordered some of these in sample size, and she ate them up so fast I’m going to re order some in bulk.
One of the things that goes along with those aforementioned creaky joints is an inability to go for long walks the way Tessa used to. I hate leaving her at home, but hiking up the wooded trails behind our house just isn’t possible for her anymore, and it’s breaks my heart to see her struggle on the rough terrain. This stroller looks like the solution for that dilemma – it’s rugged, trail rated, and has sturdy suspension. The 50 pound rated model means that I can carry two Frenchies in it at once – which is good, because a few of my Frenchies are getting up there in years.
I’m a firm believer in intermittent baths for dogs. I bathe mine once every other month, at most, and while I do use a good quality, extra gentle shampoo, I skip all the colognes and sprays. Tessa finds this to be unacceptable. She personally believes that it is her Goddess given right to smell like “Rose Wood, Orange Leaves, Osmanthus, Freesia, and Vanilla”, and that my refusal to pat her down with cologne is tantamount to abuse. I caught her googling “PETA save stinky doggie” the other day, so I’d better order her some, stat, before a group of crazy naked chicks show up and stage a protest on my front lawn.
OK, technically this might not be a ‘pet chair’ per se, but wouldn’t Tessa look cute sitting in it? I think so, and more importantly, so does she.
And yes, you’re sensing a theme.
4. Custom Baked Doggie Birthday Cake
Tessa has a rather monumental birthday coming up this year – her 14th, in fact. In people years, she’d be Dick Clark, for heaven’s sake! What better way to celebrate than with a custom baked and decorated doggie birthday cake, to be shared with some of her closest friends? Or not shared, since this is Tessa we’re talking about…
3. Custom Made Bronze Sculpture
What better way to immortalize a divinely diva-esque doggie dictator than a custom crafted, way more than life size bronze sculpture? All Tessa would need to go with it is a park named after her. Or perhaps a small country.
2. Villa in the South of France
Well, hello? She’s a French Bulldog. Where else could be more fitting for her to live?
You didn’t expect her to fly coach, did you? Neither did she. And let’s not even discuss shipping her via cargo (shudder). In the interest of economy, Tessa pointed out to me that she’d settle for a part lease. She’s a thrifty one, that Tessa.
Dear little old man at the Durham Farmers Market:
You are an old man, quite obviously cranky and set in your ways, and used to just saying whatever the hell pops into your mind. I suppose age could excuse this, but I strongly suspect you were like that before the years added up, and the walker was needed. I suspect it, but I’m not sure – perhaps before the years passed you were a sweet and gentle fellow, friend to all, polite to a fault. That doubtfulness is the only thing that kept me from whacking you with my purse on Friday afternoon at the market.
You see, I personally don’t think it’s polite to walk up to a stranger and say “Jeez, look at the mug on that dog – that’s one ugly face. Face only a mother could love, huh?”.
Because, no – no, I don’t think she’s ugly. I don’t think her face is ugly, and she is, in fact, loved by a great many people. More, perhaps, than could love a cranky old coot like you.
I bit my tongue when you said it – ignored you, in fact. Just let it slide, walked right past you. Sean was shocked – he said he was surprised I didn’t ‘kick the crutches out from under you’.
Like I said, I gave you the benefit of the doubt, old man. But my little dog is just as old as you – older, probably, in dog years. I see nothing but beauty in her face, and the fact that you can’t see it? Your loss, I suppose.
I still wish I’d hit you with my purse, though.
