HUGE thank you to the citizens of Richmond and greater B.C. for leading the way. Hopefully other cities, provinces,  US counties and states will follow. USDA inspections mean PUPPY MILL!  Reputable breeders only  breed a few litters per year and do NOT house their dogs in facilities ie BARNS, SHEDS, requiring inspections like  you would for cattle or hogs! ___________________________________________________________________________________

Richmond stops sale of dogs in stores 
METRO VANCOUVER - Richmond city council voted unanimously on  Monday night to
draft a bylaw amendment that would ban the sale of dogs  in pet stores, in what
the B.C. SPCA is calling a "landmark move against  puppy mills.

While several U.S. cities already have such a ban in place, it is the first time
a decision of the kind has been made in Canada.

"The City of Richmond showed such leadership being the first in Canada,"  said
Lorie Chortyk, general manager of community relations for the B.C.  SPCA. "We're
really hoping that this is something other municipalities  will see as the
progressive way to go."

Councillors voted unanimously for the amendment, initially proposed by  Coun.
Ken Johnston last year, after hearing from more than a dozen  delegations. It
will be brought to council for preliminary approval on  Oct. 12, followed by
public consultation.

Pet-store owners would be given until next spring to sell or remove all dogs.

Chortyk said the decision will help prevent the breeding of puppies in  puppy
mills, where they are subject to cruel and inhumane conditions.

"Pet stores will always tell you that they only deal with reputable  breeders
and family-run breeders, but our experience has been just the  opposite,"
Chortyk said. "Pet Habitat, for instance ... get their dogs  from the Hunte
Corporation, which is a massive puppy broker in the U.S."

Ernest Ang, owner of Pet Habitat in Richmond Centre, said he was shocked  and
saddened by the decision, insisting all of Pet Habitat's animals  come from
USDA-certified facilities and are inspected by veterinarians  through the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Animal Health Export  Program.

"I went into the pet business because I love pets," said Ang, who opened  Pet
Habitat in 1980. "All the staff that work with me really love  animals and we
really take good care of the puppies and kittens we have  in the store."

Ang believes the city should inspect individual stores for violations  rather
than implement a city-wide ban on dog sales in pet stores.

"I think the city just has to be fair," he said. "They have to look  further and
see if we're doing anything wrong. If we're doing something  wrong, come in and
tell me. I'm willing to correct myself."

If the amendment passes, Richmond residents wanting dogs can get them from the
SPCA or from reputable breeders, Chortyk said.

There are more than 10,000 puppy mills operating in the U.S., breeding  between
two and four million dogs annually, according to Kristin Bryson,  a criminal
prosecutor who volunteers as a member of the B.C. SPCA board  of directors.

Bryson said U.S. taxpayers spend about $2 billion each year to house and
euthanize unwanted animals.

American cities with full bans on live animal sales in pet stores  include
Hermosa Beach, South Lake Tahoe and West Hollywood in  California; Fort
Lauderdale, Coral Gables, Lauderdale Lakes, Flagler  Beach, North Bay Village
and Opa-Locka in Florida; and Austin, Texas.

Albuquerque, N.M., imposed a ban on the retail sale of all companion  animals in
2006. Since then, animal adoptions have increased by 23 per  cent and euthanasia
at city shelters has decreased 35%, says Bryson.
 
 

Sadly Ema's story plays out across all breeds. This is WHY it's so important that people do their research and buy from REPUTABLE breeders. By buying from REPUTABLE breeders who show and health test their dogs and live up to a higher Code of Ethics,  you help to end the suffering of precious little beings like Ema.  Back yard breeders can be very tricky and can, on the surface look to be reputable if you do not understand the "catch phrases" that they use to deceive the public. Reputable breeders are here to help you navigate through these deceptive websites and catch phrases to help you find a HEALTHY puppy from someone who truly cares about the breed. Don't buy on impulse,  RESEARCH RESEARCH and reach out for advice.

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You know you are facing something serious when your puppy is in ICU before you’ve even checked in at the front desk of the vet clinic.

We’d barely walked into the front doors of the Veterinary Referral Clinic when a passing tech took one look at Ema and shrieked “Get that collar off of that puppy!!!”. Startled, I asked why and was told, “Because she’s turning blue!”. Sighing, I said “Yes, I realize that – she’s always blue. It’s why we’re here”. I’m not sure that the tech still didn’t think I was an idiot, and she snatched up Ema and said she was taking her into the back to ICU, to put her on oxygen. I’d only just had time to agree before Ema was rushed away from me and into the back.

When I saw her again, twenty minutes later, Ema was perched on the examination table, looking just slightly more pink than she normally does. She was in the middle of a crowd of adoring techs and vets, all of whom were cooing at her. Ema tends to have that affect on people.

The diagnostic testing Dr. Minors and her staff did on Ema gave us an answer for what is wrong with her – in fact, it gave us two answers.

Ema has two separate issues, the main of which is she has severe pulmonary stenosis. “Stenosis” is a fancy way of saying she has a constricted opening (think “stenotic nares”). In this case, the constriction is impeding her blood flow into her heart. So, she gets excited, her heart pounds, and she faints.

The second issue is that she has an atrial septal defect, which is a fancy way of saying she has a hole in the septum diving the two sections of her heart. This is what is causing her to be cyanotic almost all of the time, except for when she’s asleep. Ema is, in essence, a “Blue Baby” (although I suppose “Blue Puppy” would be more accurate).

In Ema’s case, her pulmonary stenosis is making her septal defect much more dangerous. Her heart pounds because of the stenosis, the pressure builds, and the non oxygenated blood spills through the shunt into the other chamber of her heart, mixing with the oxygenated blood, and flowing through her body. Since the blood isn’t properly oxygenated, she’s blue.

When she’s asleep, her heart slows, the pressure lessens, and the blood does not spill across the shunt. This is what we hope the surgery can accomplish – by opening the stenosis, her heart will be better able to function, and the effects of the shunt (which might get smaller with time) can be lessened. Her heart will never be ‘normal’ – the surgery can’t ‘fix’ her – but it can give her something much closer to normality, and a life span that can be measured in years, rather than the months she has now. As she grows, the strain on her heart grows as well, and her life span lessens. Without surgery, she has months, maybe. With the surgery, we hope she’ll have years.

She will never have a fully normal life. She will always need to live in a calm environment, and avoid excessive strenuous activity. There is no agility in her future, but perhaps there can be a lifetime as someone’s beloved pet and companion. For most Frenchies, I think that can be enough, don’t you? I hope so, at least.

Dr. Minors, who diagnosed Ema (and who waived her entire consultation fee to do so), is trying to get us a spot for her surgery as soon as possible – within the week, because she’s not sure that Ema has much more time than that. I basically have to sit and wait for the phone to ring, and get there when they tell me they can fit us in. It’s s simple procedure, actually – they’ll go in through her neck, and enlarge the stenosis using something like a balloon. The wonders of modern technology – ironic, really, because when my family vet first said she was sure it was a heart condition, I’d said “Well, then they can’t do anything, can they? It’s not like they do open heart surgery on dogs”. Turns out that I was wrong – they DO do open heart surgery on dogs, or something like it, at any rate.

I have debated the merits of doing a $3,000+ surgery on a little tiny rescued Frenchie, of no known pedigree and from heaven only knows where. Practicality says that spending that kind of money on one little dog is a ‘waste’, when it could, theoretically, help 6 dogs who need $500 surgeries. I would say, in our favor, that time spent with Ema will quite quickly convince you that $3,000 is a reasonable price to pay to save her life. She is a winsome, loving, sweet little creature, who desperately wants to make one person the center of her world. She loves her people with a fierceness that can make you throw all of the practical reasons for not spending $3,000 on one surgery out of the window, especially in a world where you can just as easily spend $3,000 on a single purse or pair of shoes.

Ema’s diagnostics have cost about $850 so far, and we’ve raised about $2,000, which means so far we have $1,200 or so to contribute to her surgery. I’m hopeful we can raise the rest before she goes in, but French Bulldog Village has kindly agreed to pay the difference, if we can’t. Ema is a joint rescue between Eastern Canada French Bulldog Rescue, and the French Bulldog Village (which has made rather a career out of helping the misfit Frenchies of the world).

To date, Ema has had almost 65 donors, which I find just staggering.  I think when we start to burn out on rescue and on all those horrid stories of the cruelties that have been done to animals, we need to remember things like this – that there have been 65+ strangers willing to send Ema money, including one donation that had a paypal note as follows:

“Our ten year old daughter reads your blog because she has been asking us for a French Bulldog for over a year. We’ve said not yet so she reads about your puppies. When she read about Ema she asked me to send you the $25 she got for her birthday money because she says that everyone needs someone to love them. We hope little Ema gets better soon”.

If you can’t afford to donate to Ema’s care, please do the next best thing, by helping us to spread the word. Share her story on Facebook, on Twitter, or on your blog. I know she’s just one little dog, and, worse still, she’s one little dog that most of you haven’t even met yet. However, to paraphrase an old saying – you can’t change the whole world, but you can change the whole world for Ema.

Ema's story and chip-in on Carol's blog

Pictures can be viewed here

Frenchie Photos Artis Photography

I cannot convey enough how excited I was to be watching the Westminster Kennel Club 134th anniversary show on TV. ,Non-sporting group and there was Janice and "Drake", a dog that I had seen at the BTCWW 30th anniversary Specialty in the summer of 2009, and at Rose City Classic Cluster weeks before and bred by local gals!!!! This was not only a win for the breed and local breeders, but a HUGE win for ethical breeders who have brought their dogs to the pinnacle through ethics and hard work, not the backing of rich people and ad campaigns. It meant so much more than just a win for a local dog. In my heart it was a win for those who have a true dedication for the fancy of dog breeding and showing. True fanciers of any breed get their dogs to the top through merit, excellent breeding, dedication and hard work.  

Way to go Flying Ford and Sunglo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flying Ford Boston Terriers

Sunglo Boston Terriers

I will go on record as saying that I DO NOT recommend off-leash dog parks or off leash "play-dates/meet-ups" with large groups comprised of different breeds of dogs.  (Small, supervised, breed specific groups are OK). At the very least dog parks are a cess-pool of contagious disease and parasites, and at the worst, they are a place for your dog to become seriously injured and maybe even killed.  What most people do not realize is that when two dogs get into a fight, the other dogs in the area will all join in the fight. Very scary and dangerous situation.

Too many people take unsocialized, ill mannered dogs to these parks and let them loose without any supervision. The majority of the owners treat the day at the dog park as more of a social outing for themselves-chatting/texting, drinking their latte, everything under the sun except paying attention to their dog and the dogs around them.  Most dog owners are also uneducated on canine behavior and what cues to watch for.  All things that contribute to dog attacks. 

Several years ago I was speaking with a local and highly respected dog trainer. It was also her belief that off leash dog parks were a horrible idea.  She stated that it is a misconception that dogs need to socialize with other dogs. They need to be polite when they meet or encounter another dog. But they don't really need social time with other dogs. They need to socialize and bond with their humans.

The following are links to two really great articles.

Dog Parks A-recipe-for-Disaster

Dog Parks-Why they are a Bad Idea!!

If you wish to socialize your Frenchie in a safe manner the wonderful guys at Tahoma French Bulldogs have been hosting Frenchie walks for a number of years.  You can sign up for their walks here

Frenchie Walks

And the French Bulldog Club of Puget Sound has recently put together some small, breed specific gatherings.   There are also a number of Farmers Markets in our area that allow well behaved dogs-Fremont Sunday Market as well as the Ballard Market are just a few. Check with your local farmers markets to see if they allow dogs.

Again, I will stress that off-leash dog parks are a BAD idea.  If you truly love your dog and want to keep them safe you will take them for a walk (on a leash) around your neighborhood, or maybe to one of the local farmers markets, or some other fun outing where dogs are allowed. But on a leash or a breed specific gathering with people who are knowledgeable in canine behavior  If you still insist on taking your dog to an off-leash gathering please pick up a can of bear mace/pepper spray at your local sporting goods store beforehand.

People cross breeding dogs are doing it for one thing and one thing only-MONEY. Studies have proven that these "designer" dogs are NOT healthier than purebred dogs.  In fact in many instances they have even more health concerns.  Charles Rupert Stockard is considered by many in the scientific community to be the father of genetic studies.  His early work was conducted at Cornell University and his subjects were purebred dogs. In an effort to study genetics before we even knew that genes and chromosomes existed, he cross bred purebred dogs. Often times the results were disasterous. Jaws that did not match up, legs too long/short for the torso, socket problems, etc. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/28881#1

There are no such breeds as:

Puggles, Frenchtons, Frenchbos, Royal Frenchels, Fauxbos, Malti-poos, Silky-poos, Peeka-poos.  etc.

Unscrupulous back yard and commercial breeders can create all of the cute names that they want and it will NOT change the fact that these dogs are MUTTS!  Are they any less worthy of love than a purebred dog??? NO!!!  They all deserve love, however they do not have the careful breeding behind them that a purebred dog from a reputable breeder does.  Are the breeders producing these mutts concerned about improving the breed and conducting health testing on their dogs? It's doubtful, as:

1) these types of breeders usually are not very intelligent

2) it would cut into their profit margin

So, buyer beware. Do your home work and do not be fooled. If you already have one of these "designer" dogs, love them, but also do not be offended when someone informs you of the truth. Instead of being angry with those telling the truth, be very angry with the one who lied to you and conned you into paying a lot of money for a mutt that in my childhood, would have been given away for free in front of the grocery store, or sold for no more than 100.00

Purebred dogs like humans can suffer from food allergies. In some cases those allergies can be devastating and life threatening.  NEVER feed a dog food containing corn or wheat products. Look out for "by-products".

I have tried many high end foods with different results. Some borderline positive and some with some very unpleasant results. The most positive, and consistent results have been with Natural Balance.

Natural Balance is nutritionally sound without corn or wheat and by-products. They have many different options and flavors based on protein.  Natural Balance is the ONLY food that I have found to agree with all of my dogs-both breeds.

I periodically also cook for my dogs and add it to the  Natural Balance.  You can find a lot of wonderful recipes on the internet.  One of my favs. is brown rice boiled with ground turkey, chicken or lamb with chopped apples, blueberries, sweet potato and sometimes frozen veggies like peas and carrots.   And any combo of the above. I've found that the veggies tend to increase the gas. So you may want to re-think that.

When it comes to feeding yourself and your pet, become a label reader. 

Some people like showing dogs to feed their competitive nature. However I've never been very competitive so that is not the most attractive piece to me. In fact it can be one of the dark sides of showing dogs if people carry it too far. What I DO love and find fascinating is the genetics of dogs and the centuries of breeding that went into creating a certain look . The health, the temperament, the history.  Dog showing is so much more than competition. Looking at a dog is like admiring a fine piece of art. You critique the form, the movement, the expression. The nuances of the top-line, the head, the tail set, the gait.  Breeding dogs is like structural engineering but in flesh from a genetic level.

In my career I have been priviledged to have worked with some of the greatest scientists on the planet. In my work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and now in my current role at one of the most prolific Intellectual Property/Invention Investment companies. In my personal life I have been blessed with some wonderful artist friends. The commonality between the two is the light in their eyes when speaking of their work, the excitement in discovering and creating.  For me, showing and raising dogs is the perfect blend of science and art, and I finally understand how each of these individuals feels towards their passion.

The puppy match was fun and informative. Helping us newbies and new puppies. The costume contest was HILARIOUS!  So many cute little Bostons made even more cute in their little costumes.

And most importantly it was nice to get my mom, who is a senior, out of the house for some fun and socializing. I hope she had a good time.