The Reign of Terrier

GROOMER HAS IT TONIGHT @ 9pm

The claws are out, and the catty comments and tearful hissy fits are back as Animal Planet kicks off the second season of its hot reality, competition series Groomer Has It, hosted by Emmy award-winner, Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy).

Groomer Has It sniffs out 12 of America’s most passionate and skilled dog groomers to compete against each other in a test of desire, creativity and affinity for animals as they shave, shear and shampoo their way through a series of challenges that will crown only one “Groomer of the Year.”

Premiering April 11 at 9PM e/p, the contestants will be put to the test to see who can turn the dirtiest dog into a glamorous, pampered pup. These talented and quirky groomers live together in a swanky Los Angeles loft, aka “The Doghouse,” which can sometimes be too close for comfort. During each grooming challenge, the contestants work shoulder to shoulder and, sometimes as teams, tasked with everything from creating signature looks for a “bridal and groom party” in the show’s first-ever doggie wedding to using their canine-grooming skills on pot-belly pigs.

After each challenge, Jai consults with our outspoken panel of judges including esteemed veterinarian Dr. Karen Halligan, champion dog handler Xavier Santiago and leading U.S. grooming expert Joey Villani as they decide which contestant does not make the cut.

The grand-prize winner will receive his or her very own state of the art mobile grooming salon from Wag’n Tails Mobile Grooming, a brand-new Subaru Forester, a cash prize of $50,000 and the prestigious title of “Groomer of the Year.” With a prize package totaling approximately $145,000, groomers fight for their right to jump start their careers and change their lives. Each of these groomers thinks he or she has what it takes to be top dog in this competition, but in reality, only one ... Groomer Has It.

It's National Friendship Week

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.."I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up.....

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able
to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down
both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy. "40 cents" replied the farmer. "But I only have 39 cents" the little boy said sadly.

"Well kid...that's the way it goes, ya win some and you lose some, as he snatched back the little puppy. Now get outta here kid ya bother me."

OK OK...so that's not the real ending, I made that up, I was starting to O.D. on all the sugar. Here's the actual ending;


"No charge, sonny" answered the farmer.
"There is no charge for love."

DOGA WITH YOUR DOG - AH!

My French bulldog "Kobey-Rose" and I went to a class once in lower Manhattan to be filmed for Animal Planet’s "K9 Karma", while taking a doga class lead by the star of the show and owner of East Yoga, Kari Harendorf.

It was fun although Kobey-Rose did seem to lose her focus half way through the class.


Ms. Harendorf (above with Charlie) links yoga to reductions in stress hormones, like cortisol, and blood pressure. “People always ask me, ‘Do dogs need yoga?’ ” she said. “I say, ‘No, you need yoga. But your dog needs your attention, and bonding with your pet is good for your health.”

The New York Times has written about the challenges of doing the downward dog pose with your... uh, dog.

Finally A Positive Report on a Pitbull

His name is Blitz and he is a two year old 100 lb. Pitbull that scared away the estranged husband of a woman that was being dragged and beaten outside her home in Holland Michigan. Click here for the full story and a video.

BEAUCHAMP

The fact that I actually had myself a new dog started sinking in. And I began thinking about my little boys name. Pee Wee. Well, I am a fan of Pee Wee Herman. And this dog is a tiny little fellow. But then the name PEE PEE came out by mistake, so I started thinking of what I might change it to.

I had a tiny little pink polka-dot sweater that I thought might fit my little guy. It was left over from a Flea Market I had for my French bulldog social group recently.

But a boy dog wearing pink polka-dots? Oh, why not. I'll just tell people he is a little Transvestite. Which made me think of the song "I'm just a sweet Transvestite from trans sexual, Transylvania" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

What about calling him "Rocky" it has a little bit of the same sound, Peewee...Rockee.

But wasn't Rocky the name of the man Dr. Frank N. Furter made for himself in that movie? Frank N. Furter sounds like a name for a Dachshund. Oh well, my little guy has had a pretty rocky start, so OK, I'll call him Rocky. Fine, Rocky it is! I'll even post on my Facebook page that my new puppy is named Rocky. Done.

But as the day turned into night and I got to know my little boy better, Rocky just didn't seem right. This little guy has really long legs with delicate little paws, and a long neck that kind of curves in a very elegant way when he sits down. Besides he is part French. How about a French name?

Then I remembered a family name, Beauchamp. Which was my paternal Grandmother's maiden name. My French bulldog had been named after my Mother. Kobey being her maiden name and Rose which was my Mother's middle name, making Kobey-Rose. And if I name him Beauchamp, I can also call him Beau-Beau for short. Great. He will have a name that has real meaning because it is a family name. It's French. And there is a certain elegance to it. Beauchamp.

But is that too weird to have changed his name twice in one day? Well, let's try posting on my Facebook page that I am thinking of calling Rocky (aka Pee Wee) Beauchamp or Beau-Beau for short.

I received a couple comments right away that people liked the name Beauchamp - Beau-Beau. My friend Linda even said that she liked it better then Rocky.

And so do I! So before going to bed that night I posted back on Facebook.

"The puppy formerly known as Rocky has now officially been named BEAUCHAMP."

COMEDY & TRAGEDY

Don't these little Frenches portray the classic comedy and tragedy symbols?
(I think that's my friend Monica's dog "Butter" on the right)

Valentino and Pugs at home

I remember when these sheep sculpture/furniture thingies were all the rage, even Yves Saint Laurent had one. Must go to see the new Valentino documentary film that's out now. The man loves his Pugs...I think they have their own Jet.

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

Boston Bull Terrier, that is.

Live Dogs Used as Shark Bait

Sorry to post such a horrible photo but this is a horrible situation. On La Reunion island in France it has been the custom for years to use live dogs and cats as shark bait by dragging them along behind the fishing boats.

Sea Shepherd is trying to stop this practice from continuing. Please help.

TOM THUMB

"Tiny terrier Tom Thumb may be the world's smallest dog. The mighty midget from Scotland weighs in at a mere 3 ounces." The 2-week-old Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix named Tom Thumb can sit in a teacup, weighs about 3 ounces and is less than 4 inches from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, according to London's Daily Mail.
Owner Archie Thomson is convinced Tom is not likely to grow much more. "He's perfectly proportioned, but absolutely miniscule," said Thomson, of West Dunbartonshire in Scotland. "Judging by the size of his paws and head, I'd be surprised if he grew much bigger than an inch or two more."

Don't know why folks are so obsessed with having the tiniest dog in the world. The sad part is that when they are really small it usually shortens their life span drastically.
Go here for the complete story.

Meet My Boy...

This is the photo I saw on my Facebook page when I started my day. It was April 4 2009, a Saturday. My first thought was "what a weird looking little dog". His ears are so big they look like they could pick up sonar transmissions.

Then I read the post under the photo and saw that it was written by Skie. Skie was the husband of a recent business acquaintance of mine Pierce. Just the previous weekend the two of them were married in a big ceremony at Saint Bartholomew's Episcopal Church on Park Ave.

And I think it was just a week or two before that, that I had my meeting with Pierce at his public relations firm Pierce Mattie.

Now it seems they were looking to find a home for this four month old Papillion-Chihuahua mix puppy. The post stated he was up to date on his shots, would probably be around six pounds when full grown, and was available to a good home free of charge...just call this cellphone number to discuss. Oh, and his name was Pee-Wee. Hmmmmm.


I scrolled further down the page and saw another photo of Pee-Wee. He looked much cuter in this shot and so I scrolled back up to the original post and reread it.

I had recently lost my just turned five year old French bulldog "Kobey-Rose" on January 14 2009 due to an inoperable cancerous tumor, and was still in a bit of shell shock. I knew dogs didn't live forever but never expected to lose a dog so young. We had just celebrated Kobey's fifth birthday on December 28 2008. She was an extremely healthy and happy, 25 pound little tank , that I had raised from a pup. Kobey-Rose will live on in my heart forever.

I did want to get another dog someday, and was thinking I would like a smaller breed so we could be more mobile together. Maybe a Chihuahua I could put in my pocket and go. All this ran through my mind as I went back to look at the photos of this little Pee-Wee character.

I continued on with my routine of eating some fruit, drinking some water and checking the other posts out. Then I thought maybe I should just call and find out the story on little Pee-Wee. I quickly checked to see if anyone else had left a comment under the original posting. Someone had but they were in California so I felt relived as I punched the number into my telephone.

Skie answered and told me the dog had been brought to New York from Puerto Rico by a relative the weekend of his wedding. I asked if the dog was a yappy little thing and he said he was not that he was a very sweet dog but their own Shitzu did not seem too happy about having another dog in the home.

I asked for the address and said I would come by around five pm to meet the little guy. I hung up the phone feeling rather amused that I was actually considering getting another dog. As I said I was planning on having another dog someday, but was actually enjoying the freedom from the responsibility of having to care for one. But Pee-Wee was such a cute little dog, kinda like a Chihuahua, and the price was right. OK, now I was starting to get excited.

I called Skie back and said I would try to get there earlier...around 3pm and not to let anyone else take him. He said he would not, that he spoke with Pierce, and knew I was a real dog lover.

I gave him my website GentsCanineSociety.com to check out and mentioned I was also the organizer of FRENCH BULLDOG NYC a social group on Meetup.com. Just to further my credentials as a good adoptive parent.

I washed up and put some clothes on. I found the Sherpa bag I had brought Kobey-Rose home in from her breeder in San Francisco. Called my neighbor Mayda to tell her I was going to go look at a little dog up for adoption.

Mayda got very excited and even told me that the A subway train was running local so I could go all the way to 50th Street and 8th Avenue. Pee-Wee was on West 51 between 8th and 9th Ave. Good!

When I arrived at the apartment, Skie opened the door with Pee-Wee in his arms. I sat down on the sofa and he put the skinny little dog in my lap. Pee-Wee immediately started licking my face all over. I looked over at Skie with a look that said, does he always do this? He was just laughing.

As we talked Pee-Wee settled right down into my lap and started taking a little nap. OK so I have a new dog!

We gathered up Pee-Wee's things, his food, a couple sweaters, a coat and a couple peepee pads. Tiny feeding bowls, a collar, leash, and his paperwork along with some meds he needed because he was teething. We put one of the little sweaters on him and then into the travel bag Pee-Wee went.

Got on the subway going back uptown with me holding the Sherpa bag on my lap. I put my hand into the opening on the top of the bag to reassure the little guy and he nuzzled my hand all the way home. As we entered my apartment I decided I would set up the peepee pads in the kitchen. Since Kobey-Rose was gone I had gotten used to having my thick shaggy carpets down in the bathroom...and I enjoyed feeling them under foot. So this time I would use the kitchen for the potty place. I put the pad down, let Pee-Wee out and he went right for the pad to make a peepee. Great. I then realized I had placed the pad upside down...it's been a while, so I used a second pad to cover the liquid, right side up this time.

I picked Pee-Wee up...gosh he is a tiny little fellow, and called Mayda to come see the new arrival. But not to bring her Pomeranian, Chloe, as Pee-Wee is still too young to be around other dogs.

Mayda loved him at first sight and Pee-Wee stretched out his long neck to give her a little kiss on the mouth. The little guy sure looked cute sitting up in the crook of Mayda's arm with his little paws posed just so. We laughed as I exclaimed,
"I can't believe I have a dog!"