When our FBVillage volunteer arrived at the shelter to pick up Bella, the first thing she noticed was the horrible odor coming from the little dog, so bad that the shelter staff even allowed our volunteer to bathe Bella before putting her in the car for her trip home. Bella’s first veterinary appointment also revealed ear infections and a respiratory infection. At just 15 pounds, Bella was so underweight, her bones were visible through her skin. One can only wonder how long this sad little dog had gone uncared for.

Date posted: 11/09/09
Date last updated: 11/09/09
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Age: 3 years

Bella’s Gallery

Everyone who has met Bella describes her personality as sweet, sweet, sweet! Bella’s foster mom says she is very good about taking all her medicines and already, her beautiful brindle coat is now coming in. We are hoping that after a few more months of loving care, Bella will get a negative skin scraping for the mange and her veterinarian can get the secondary infections under control. Once that hurdle has been cleared, Bella can then be spayed and start to look for a permanent home.

In the meantime, Bella loves to hang out with the resident Boston Terriers and join them in their games of zooming around the backyard and at the beach. Bella is very curious about everything, but what she is really interested in is food! Bella loves dancing around and snorting like a piglet at meal times.

Some of Bella’s favorite activities are snoring like a drunken sailor when snoozing, snorting at everything, playing with other dogs and treats. However Bella’s favorite thing in the whole world is being with people. A lap to cuddle in is heaven for this little angel and luckily she now has people in her life that are more than willing to accommodate her.

Bella’s foster mom says she is an absolute gem of a Frenchie and she knows someday Bella will shine as she is meant to!

Bella is like a diamond in the rough that is just starting to shine with the love and care she is receiving. Please help us continue to give her the care she so richly deserves and needs! A donation in any amount, no matter how small, is much needed and very much appreciated. Just click on the donate button, and be sure to say it’s for Bella. Thank you!!

Friends of Bella!

When the staff of the Barstow Humane Society in Barstow, California first laid eyes on this tiny brindle French Bulldog girl, they knew that, as hard working and caring as they were, she needed more help than the overburdened and underfunded shelter could possibly provide. Eight years old, barely 15 pounds, extremely emaciated, dehydrated, suffering from a severe respiratory infection, little Heidi was too weak to walk and close to complete collapse. Her previous owner had said she had been vomiting up everything she ate for the past 3 or 4 months, and a checkup by the shelter’s veterinarian indicated possible congestive heart failure and megaesophagus. Without the funds to save this little girl or a foster home to send her to, the shelter reached out to the French Bulldog Village. Would we step in to help this little dog?

Our closest available volunteer was in Nevada, but she willingly drove the 5 hours round trip to pick Heidi up. What she found was the sweetest, most loving French Bulldog, who despite her wretched condition, even had a little sparkle left in her eyes at the sight of another brand new friend. That her appreciation of the little dog’s delightful personality was shared by the shelter workers was obvious - they gathered round and applauded as Heidi was carried off. Our volunteer decided that such a special dog needed a new name to go with her new start in life, and with her brindle striping and a personality as sweet as honey, Heidi became Honey Bee.

Pictures of Honey Bee

Upon arriving home with Honey Bee, our volunteer promptly took her to her veterinarian, where a more thorough examination determined that, through some small mercy, as sick as she was, at least she did not have congestive heart failure. Even so, it appeared that it might be already too late for little Honey Bee. Our volunteer did her best to nurse the little dog back to health, feeding her four small meals a day so as not to overtax her digestive system. It was heartbreakingly clear that Honey Bee was starving and desperate to eat.

Just eating and going outside to relieve herself afterward used up all of Honey Bee’s energy. The balance of her days, too weak to do anything else, she spent sleeping in a dog bed, snuggled deep into the blankets. Still, we were hopeful for a steady recovery for our little Honey Bee.

Unfortunately that hope was short lived, when she began vomiting again. Back at the clinic, in an attempt to control the vomiting, the veterinarian put her on anti-nausea medicines, and when those weren’t successful, he switched her to medicines for her upper gastrointestinal tract. The veterinary staff did everything they could to try to help poor Honey Bee.

Honey Bee did not get better. As desperately hungry as she was, her body would not allow her to keep food down, and just breathing had become a painful and frightening struggle for her. Her condition had so rapidly deteriorated, that there was nothing more that her foster mom could do for Honey Bee except hold her close, wrapped in her little blanket, while she passed peacefully and quickly over the Rainbow Bridge.

We picked her up on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, and by Sunday, September 27, she was gone. Honey Bee was a part of the FBVillage family for less than a week, but her memory will stay with us forever.

This good natured French Bulldog, formerly named Rocky, was living with a gang of unappreciative female Chihuahuas on Long Island who made it clear to the hopeful youngster that he was much too large and very annoying.  Consequently, he moved in with his owner’s mother, who was full of sympathy for the young dog, but, unfortunately, the situation only got worse.  When his new owner had to return to the work force, poor Rocky found himself relegated to a pen in the back yard every day, since he could not be trusted to behave himself in the house by himself.  When the family came home, then Rocky could come inside.  However, one night, his owner came home late, and found poor little Rocky sitting forlornly in his pen in the dark, apparently overlooked by the other family members.  That’s when she decided Rocky deserved better, and she contacted the French Bulldog Village to whisk the little dog away to a better life.  The first thing we did was to give him a name fit for an emperor.  All hale Claudius!

Claudius is a rescue placement!
Claudius is a K Kid!
Date posted: 11/01/09
Date last updated: 11/01/09
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Email: Claudius
Age: 18 months
Gender: Neutered male
Weight: 26 pounds
Color: Fawn
Dogs: Likes all dogs
Cats: He’s not familiar with cats, but he should be fine.
Kids: Likes kids
Object Aggression: Not at All
Handicaps: None
Medical Issues: Claudius does have some skin issues. His foster home is taking care of them and hopes that he will be at 100% by the time he’s adopted.
Crate Trained: Yes
Housebroken: Almost
Cost to Acquire: $400.00
Shipping: No
Our rescue dogs are placed without registration papers.

Claudius’s Photo Gallery

What you read here is based on information provided by his current FBVillage foster family.

Claudius arrived at his foster home late on a Saturday afternoon at the end of September, quiet, shy, and unsure. He tilted his head, taking in his new human friends quizzically, eyes askew, and let out a big snort. He immediately had his foster family laughing and scratching his large chest and majestic head, which he rewarded with more snorting. It was then that he received his new name: Claudius, after the Roman emperor known for his goofiness.

Claudius does some problems with his skin on his chest and front legs, possibly a staph infection secondary to allergies. Additionally, he had some minor abrasions and infections, which were dealt with immediately and are already better. He is on antibiotics for his skin, and has shown much improvement. The good news is that his skin causes him no discomfort, so he’s just as playful and ridiculous as can be!

It also does not seem that Claudius was ever properly house trained. Fortunately, he never messes in his crate, and so his foster parents are patiently trying to make the transition from “crate trained” to “house trained.” While there have been some accidents (and, to be honest, very few of them), they are certain that Claudius was just trying to claim some territory in an apartment that’s already “owned” by the resident dogs, a bossy female French bulldog and energetic male Boston Terrier. They expect that with continued training, and especially after he’s recovered from his neuter, the marking will be a thing of the past.

Claudius’ foster parents are truly blown away by what a handsome, sweet, good-natured and lovable dog he is. So are the dog walkers, the vets and everyone in the neighborhood where he’s being fostered! First thing in the morning, and when his foster parents arrive home from work, he bounds out of his crate and leaps up and down out of sheer elation. He loves playing with the resident dogs, and is a total ham whether he’s charming people or his canine friends. He will happily snuggle with you (if you don’t mind his snoring, which his foster mom doesn’t), and likes to follow his foster parents around the apartment looking for a leg to rest his big soft head against. Claudius is a bit of “calm and intelligent” and a bit “friendly and outgoing.” In fact, he is excellent at behaving appropriately in all social situations.

His wall eyes and flat face are endearing to no end, and when he lies on his back, his smile stretches from ear to ear. Even though he’d never been on a leash before, he trots happily alongside whoever is walking him - though he’s not looking to be anyone’s jogging partner with that snorty breathing of his! He’s a quick learner and has already caught on to “sit” and is working on “inside,” “down,” and “stay.”

He is the kind of French Bulldog people dream about when they think about the breed.

We would prefer to find Claudius a home with someone who worked part-time or was at home full time, but Claudius would do fine in a home where he had regular visits from a dog walker and visits to doggie daycare where he could play all day! His new owners will need to be aware of the continuing need to monitor his health so that his skin condition does not worsen, and they will have to continue to work on his house manners, in order to make him the perfect companion. Of course, a high quality diet is also important for his continued good health.

If you can provide a suitable home for our little emperor, please contact us!

Apply to Adopt This Dog

Even if you don’t adopt one of our needy Frenchies, that doesn’t mean you can’t help.

Please make a donation - any little amount helps us to care for more French Bulldogs and helps us to give another dog a chance to ride the French Bulldog Bus!

Pictures of Isaiah

He really had come a long way, but would I describe him as safe? No. Could I continue to control his environment enough to keep him in control of himself? Maybe. Could someone else exert this control AND continue it for the rest of Isaiah’s life AND never let their guard down? Not likely. If Isaiah could have been my only dog, and IF I were able to control his environment stringently for the rest of his life, he may have remained in control and not hurt anyone else. BUT he is not my only dog and I am not sure there would not come a time, even for me, that I would forget to exert control and something might happen.

Would he be happy with someone else and could someone else accomplish this task? Without human friends (besides his one person) AND without dog friends, would he really be happy at all? Finally, I realized there were too many “perfects” that would have to come together and not enough “perfects” in the world for me to rationally think that would happen.

It came time to admit that Isaiah was beyond my help because I was not what he needed and I was unable to assure him a happy outcome either. And it was time to admit that to myself and him. Oddly, and I know this might sound strange, when it came time, the actual time, he understood and was understanding of the situation. He was not afraid or stressed. I held him and one of my favorite nurses helped me and I told him how sorry I was. He sighed as he went to sleep as I find many of my patients do as well - as if a heavy load is lifted. He relaxed in my arms and I realized it was the first time I had felt him completely relax. And then he was gone. And I miss him - I hope he knows that and that I loved him.

Lisa Ethridge, DVM
October, 2009

Godspeed, little dog. Run with the angels.

Come get a kiss from Beans at the Bark at the Park!

Please join FBVillage volunteers and their French Bulldogs in Lancaster, California on October 3 for the annual “Bark at the Park” festival. This is a daylong event, it runs from 10am to 5pm, and you’ll find lots of activities for dogs and their people! French Bulldog Village will have a booth where you can you can visit with the cutest dogs on earth, including Beans! We would love to have you talk to our volunteers regarding French Bulldogs in general, and our own K-Kid rescue dogs in particular. We’ll have Frenchie collectibles available for purchase. Every penny goes to help support our dogs in need.

Beans will be there to provide “Frenchie kisses” for those who can’t resist a kiss from the sweetest dog on earth! It promises to be a great day. Hope to see you there!

For more information go to www.lancaster barkatthepark.org

Ceramic French Bulldogs available for sale at the 2009 FBDCA Specialty!

The WebDog invites you to join him and a host of FBVillage French Bulldogs and their friends the week of October 12-16 at the French Bulldog Club of America National Specialty show on his home turf in Massachusetts! This year, the biggest French Bulldog show in the country is coming to Boxborough, Massachusetts, and starting Monday, October 12th, the French Bulldog Village is going to have a booth at the show overflowing with goodies to buy for yourself and your French Bulldogs - we’ll even have French Bulldog shaped cookies for you and home baked biscuits for the dogs as well (if the WebDog does not eat them first)!

You can say hello to little Reenie and Sara-Leigh - and Stanley too - who are making the trip up from Florida as the honored guests of the WebDog! Also present will be LouLou, and we hope that FBVillage graduates Beefy, Rocket, and Fergie can put in their appearances as well!  Of course, our volunteers’ French Bulldogs will be there too, so there will be no shortage of froggy faces to kiss!

Please stop by and spend your money. We’ll try to make it as painless as possible, and you KNOW it’s for a good cause. The K-Kids need your support!

You can find out more information about the show, including a schedule of the weeks events on the French Bulldog Club of America official website!

Tessa, aged 14 years

Once again, the French Bulldog Village is putting together its LES VIEUX (Old Dogs) calendar in celebration of the golden oldies of our breed. Any French Bulldog (I hate to have to say this, but the dog must be still alive…) 10 years or older is welcome to submit a picture for a spot on the calendar. The picture itself must be taken or have been taken on or after the dog’s tenth birthday… please, no pictures older than a year.

That beautiful lady in the picture is going to be 15 years old on November 22 - you can see more pictures of her on her breeder/owner’s blog, the FrogDog Blog. There can never be too many pictures of Tessa…

Specs for the picture …

(1) No other dogs. (You can let a cat or an iguana or some inanimate props creep in as long as the dog is still the star of the picture)

(2) Simple uncluttered layout (Avoid busy, busy shots - your dog should be the focus)

(3) The dog should be awake (I know that’s hard for an old dog, but try!)

(4) Try to get the entire dog in the picture (Don’t cut of ears or feet or rear ends, unless it’s deliberately done for artistic purposes)

(5) NO BLUE EYEBALLS!

(6) The layout should be landscape, not portrait (that means wider than it is tall)

(7) The resolution should be as high as possible (I have an old camera, so my calendar pictures were all 1024×768 - even higher resolution would be better!)

Please accompany each submission or group of submissions (you can submit as many pictures as you want) with a BRIEF BIO. Be sure to include the dog’s name, age, and the dog owner’s name, city, and state. Foreign submissions are also welcome.

Milan Miklos of Lionheart French Bulldogs has very kindly offered to design the calendar for us this year, and we are looking forward to his considerable artistic talent, combined with some wonderful old dogs, to make this a memorable calendar.

Please send the pictures and bios to FBVillage@gmail.com The deadline for submissions is officially 10/16/2009. Thanks!

When a call came in from a home nurse about an elderly woman going into a nursing home and unable to take her beloved little eighteen month old French Bulldog with her, The French Bulldog Village jumped into action. One of our dedicated volunteer foster moms made the 7 hour round trip to fetch this little girl and bring her back home with her. One look at this unfortunate little creature, and two things were immediately apparent to our volunteer: (1) Tazz was not exactly a French Bulldog, and (2) her elderly owner had not been able to properly care for her for a long, long time.

Tazz looks older than what the home nurse had stated her age to be and she is afflicted with mange. The poor little dog had been suffering for quite some time. Her body is covered with sores from all her scratching, and she is missing hair in patches all over her body. Tazz’s ears have big open sores on them, and small hematomas have blossomed and burst from her scratching at them.

Tazz, however, refuses to be sidelined by such minor miseries. She has turned out to be a very happy, hopeful, delightful little dog!

Date posted: 09/22/09
Date last updated: 09/22/09
Location: Wimauma, Florida
Age: 4 years

Tazz’s Gallery

Tazz has a very sweet personality and a great disposition. She loves to run around with her new canine brothers, Winston and Jack, and to help her foster mom in the barn looking after the horses. She loves it when her foster dad makes a big fuss over her and speaks baby talk to her. The fact that HE hasn’t been the one to give her any medicated baths, cleaned her ears or trimmed her nails also helps to make him her favorite person! Even with her prescribed medicines and medicated baths, the only time that Tazz is not scratching herself is when she is sitting in someone’s lap getting lots of attention. Community naptime is one of the highlights of the day - she gets to lie down on top of her foster mom, while “the boys” snuggle up beside them on the couch. Her house manners have proved to be impeccable.

Nevertheless, Tazz does like to keep her foster mom on her toes, and she has proven to be a sneaky little girl when it comes to taking her medicine. Her foster mom has had to be very diligent in getting this girl to take her medicine. Tazz will eagerly eat any treat used to disguise a pill, but she quite cleverly holds the pill tucked into her cheek until she can find an opportunity to spit it out somewhere around the house for her foster mom to find.

Sometimes even the most well-meaning, loving owner reaches finds herself unable to care for a beloved pet. Thankfully, Tazz’s elderly owner found a much needed ally in her home nurse, and that nurse was kind enough to find help for Tazz. With her great personality, we know Tazz will more than pay that kindness forward when she finds a new home.

A “Bug”, by the way, is a Pug/Boston Terrier mix, which is what we suspect Tazz might be. Or she may even be a “Frug”!

Please be a part of Tazz’s transformation. We know money is tight, but every small donation makes such a difference! Give us the opportunity to help these little dogs who are as much the victims of the relentless passage of time as their aging owners. Thank you so much.

Friends of Tazz!

Spike

Spike was adopted as a puppy by a military family stationed in Germany and when they returned to the States, they brought Spike with them. All was going well until Spike developed a sudden paralysis in his hind legs. The family got the news that spinal surgery would be required and that extensive post operative physical therapy would be needed following the surgery.  Spike had his surgery, despite the enormous expense, but soon thereafter, his family received the news that dad was being redeployed, leaving behind an overwhelmed mom with a new baby, two young children, and Spike.

As much as the family loved Spike, they realized that they couldn’t give him the care and attention he so desperately needed needed.  Apparently, the uncertain aftermath of his spinal surgery was not the only physical hurdle that the poor little dog faced.  Spike suffered from severe allergies, and he also had difficulty eating, vomiting immediately after eating and sometimes even while he ate.  Reluctantly, they made the difficult decision to surrender their beloved dog to the French Bulldog Village.

One of our Nebraska volunteers took a day off from work to go fetch the little Frenchie and ended up spending more than an hour getting to know all about him, how the family got him when they were stationed in Germany, how he was named Spike for his big ears and how, according to one of the little girls anyway, Spike was actually six animals in one!  “He’s a dog, a bunny ‘cause he hops around when excited, a skunk (what Frenchie isn’t a stinker at times!), a pig when he eats, a bat with those big ears, and a frog of course!”

Date posted: 09/21/09
Date last updated: 09/21/09
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Age: 4 years

Spike’s Gallery

It wasn’t easy finding a foster home that could take care of Spike. His first stop was Omaha, Nebraska, where he shared a foster home with K-Kid Forrest, and resident Frenchies Ruby and Raider. As the extent of his physical needs became known, however, it was apparent that he was too much of a responsibility for his foster mom, a single woman who worked full time, and who already had her hands full with her own dogs and with a very needy Forrest, so Spike packed his bags and moved across town to a new foster home where he was welcomed with open arms by his new foster mom and dad. Unfortunately, his attempts to make himself at home were thwarted by the oldest resident canine, a crabby fourteen year old hound mix, who advised him not to even bother unpacking.

Spike’s next stop on his big adventure was Woodward, Iowa, where he stayed long enough for his foster family to be able to enlist a veterinarian to help Spike overcome his various ailments - she told his foster mom that she had dealt with all of his particular ailments before, just not all in one dog! Spike thrived in his foster home. Unfortunately, more changes were in store for our little trooper. The addition of a new puppy to the family pushed Spike onto the road once more.

Spike packed up his bags once again and this time crossed half the country to reach what we hope will be his final foster home. His Iowa foster mom drove him east through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and on to Dayton, Ohio, where he met up with another volunteer, this time from Michigan, who cheerfully spent her vacation ferrying French Bulldogs from Illinois to Virginia and back again to Michigan. She picked up tiny Bea in Illinois, then Spike in Ohio, and headed south toward Covington, Virginia, stopping overnight in Buckley, West Virginia for a well deserved rest. Spike made himself quite memorable by pooping on the seat of the volunteer’s car and trying to prove what a lady’s man he was with Bea. The next day, the entire troupe made their way to Virginia to meet up with Spike’s new foster mom, who had driven up from Charlotte, North Carolina. There our Michigan volunteer handed over Spike to his new foster mom, handed Bea off to her delighted new owner who had driven in from Maryland and then loaded up a puppy from Virginia to take back to his new home in Michigan.

Though confused by all the changes in his life, Spike is a solid, even tempered boy who has never had an unkind word for any of the people, dogs or other animals he has met along the way. He has remained the perfect gentleman, always greeting the new faces in his life like long lost friends. Spike’s new foster mom had brought along K-Kid Nanette on the trip from North Carolina to pick up Spike. With his usual style and grace, Spike immediately tried his smooth moves on both his new foster mom and Nanette, crawling in mom’s lap and giving kisses and offering kisses to Nanette. Mom was smitten, Nanette was not!

Spike has now settled down in his foster home in Charlotte, North Carolina, which he shares with K-Kids Nanette and Vito. He still needs careful maintenance to control his allergies and his occasional vomiting after meals - he has a pouch in his esophagus where food can collect. The most apparent reminder of his back surgery is his peculiar gait, and he does dribble urine occasionally, especially when he is excited. However, absolutely nothing is allowed to interfere with this little French Bulldog’s joie de vivre, and his love of people, dogs and life has not been one bit diminished by his troubles. He has even attended the local French Bulldog Meetup, where we understand he had a wonderful time!

Sometimes, it really does take an entire Village to take care of just one little French Bulldog. It will be a long road to recovery, however limited that might be, for Spike and we will be with him every step of the way. Please help Spike along his way! A donation in any amount, no matter how small, is much needed and very much appreciated. Just click on the donate button, and be sure to say it’s for Spike. Thank you!!

Friends of Spike!

Devina Hinojosa
Everett, Washington

Sarah Hall
Somerville, Massachusetts

Jessi Helm
Omaha, Nebraska

April Fultz
Louisville, Kentucky

Paulette Hynes
Seabrook Island, South Carolina

Michael Kaspar
Long Beach, New York

Amanda Martin, Dreaming Tree Studio
Southbridge, Massachusetts

Dave and Deb Williams
Plainfield, Indiana
Spike - hope you get better little guy! I’ll be praying for you! Deb Williams