Thoughts from a Thankful Frenchie

Our pal Frankie Furter had the idea for all us doggies to do a post on Thanksgiving to let our parents know how thankful we are that they adopted us. From what I understand we are supposed to talk about what our lives and our pawrents lives were like before we met, and what has changed since the day we were adopted. Here goes - hope I do ya proud, Frankie!!

I was born near Toledo, Ohio in July of 2008. I don't remember much about the place, but I found these pictures of my actual parents. Here is my dad, Romain Pierre.

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And here is my mom, Acacia Belle. She is really all I can remember about the first 12 weeks of my life. I spent pretty much every moment with her in a big kennel until the day I was adopted.

I had two brothers (brindle like me) and two sisters (they were fawns like dad); my sisters were adopted first, leaving me and my two brothers to find homes. One day the breeder lady came in and picked up my two brothers, leaving me all alone with mom. I was really scared, wondering where everybody went.

Meanwhile my pawrents (who I will refer to as mom & dad from here on in) were meeting my brothers - one of them was totally crazy, spinning in circles and just a ball of energy. The other one was so quiet and shy that he just sat in the corner. My mom and dad played with them for a while, but just didn't think either was the right puppy for them. That's when the breeder lady said  "Oh, there's still one more little boy" and came back in and picked me up (phew!!).  She put me down in the playpen & I was relieved to see my brothers (even the crazy one). I don't think I'd been picked up by humans much, because when mom picked me up, I spread out my legs because I thought I was falling!

Mom and dad both held and played with all of us, then decided I was a "happy medium" - not so shy as my one brother, but not crazy (hehe I had them fooled) as my other brother. Here is a picture they took of me right after they decided that I was the puppy for them.  I sure am thankful that I grew into those ears!!

Finally it was time to go to my new home. It took a few hours in the car to get there, and I didn't know what to think. I wondered where Belle and my brothers were, but my new mom cuddled with me so that I didn't get too scared. When I finally got to my forever home, I was happy to find that I had two older brothers, Duncan and Mason. Here's dad supervising my first meeting with Mason:

And old Duncan even let me cuddle up with him sometimes (he was about the same size as mom my mom, so it just felt right...)

So adding me to the pack was pretty uneventful, although mom says she hasn't had a moment of peace and quiet since then!  Other than some common infections that the vet found when she checked me (I guess a lot of puppies that start out their life in kennels get parasites - yuck), I had no trouble in my new home.  In fact, I took over in a hurry!  The first night turned out to be the only one I ever spent in my crate - I cried so much the second night that dad caved and told mom to go get me.  Ever since then I've slept in the bed between my humans, head on the pillow just like them! In fact I have to be reminded on a regular basis that I'm a dog, not a human (although I don't totally buy into that fact).

It just so happens that mom used to work like 50 hours each week, but she had decided to make some changes just before I was adopted.  Since she's got a lot more free time, I gladly took it upon myself to make sure she never gets bored!  First we started puppy classes, so that I could meet other doggies and learn how to be good on a leash. I learn fast, and it turns out that I'm a pretty energetic boy (especially for a Frenchie) so mom kept signing me up for more classes to keep me busy. That's how I got into all the obedience and agility showing - guess it's sorta turned into mom's new hobby.  Not that I mind!  Besides, I love having a "job" and being in the spotlight, plus I get to spend lots of time with mom AND lots of treats!

I am so thankful to have such a great home and life.  A warm, safe place to curl up in every night, lots of places to go & doggies to play with, and a family that loves me.  I'm also thankful for some of the more unusual things I have, like my very own blog and tons of furiends all over the world!  Even if that means mom takes silly pictures of me, like this one of me wearing a pilgrim hat....

Good thing I took over posting for Thanksgiving, or who knows how many other silly pilgrim-type pictures there would have been (I put that one in just to appease mom).  

Nevertheless, I love sharing my life with you all!  I know I can speak for mom in saying we feel like we're part of a huge, caring family that goes far beyond what we can see.  Our heartfelt wishes that you & your humans all have the happiest Thanksgiving ever, and that your homes are full of love and joy this holiday season.  

Now if I can just get this silly hat off....