Friends Forever

Man and dog - friends forever. As Edith Wharton wrote:

'My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet.'

These photos appear on Menton Daily Photo today but in reverse order.

Bruno, the Tasmanian Beagle

Meet Bruno, a beagle who has crammed a lot into his two and a half year old life.

When he was a puppy, he was found playing in
the Derwent Valley in Tasmania, Australia with his sister. The owners came and took his sister home but left Bruno in the Hobart Dogs' Home saying they could only afford to release one dog. They said they'd go back for him when they'd saved enough money to release him but they never did.

When Bruno was 8 months old he was given a new home by a super young couple, Amanda and Jason, who work on racing yachts. Bruno has been all around Australia and protected Amanda by chasing away dingos, snakes and wild boars. And he's met turtles, dolphins, kangaroos and whales. He's even been chased by a crocodile and survived.

In October, he and his family came to France where they live in Juan-les-Pins along the coast from here and since then he's travelled to Italy and Switzerland - where he loves the snow. His favourite hobby is chasing Amanda along the beach whilst she kiteboards.

And his favourite hobby at Pension Milou is chewing the other dogs' cushions!

The dog with the funny ears...

Ricky doesn't really have funny ears. He just does strange things with them when you try and attract his attention. He's 9 years old and lives in Monaco and has appeared on Riviera Dogs once before - you can find more pics of him HERE. Isn't he a love!

Victor, the Performing Dog

Meet Victor, the performing dog. He is part of a troupe of animals - cats, poultry, white mice, goats and sheep who are part of a show in the Jardin Bioves in Menton. You can see a better photo of one of the cats jumping through fire on Menton Daily Photo - HERE. You can also read my comments on the show - all were treated beautifully, enjoyed their work and had a very kind and sympathetic owner, Jean-Luc, who you see in the smaller photo.

Thankyou so much to everyone for following Riviera Dogs and wishing you all a very happy and healthy New Year and hopefully one where more unwanted dogs find loving homes. A little peace and common sense in our poor old world wouldn't come amiss either...

The Dog in the Wheelchair

No, nothing wrong with this little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as she is pushed through the Christmas Eve crowds outside Menton's market. She's simply having a ride in her owner's wheel chair.

Cavaliers, with their markings and those eyebrows, sometimes look so worried, don't they? Like a clown.

Hunter

Hunter is an old dog now and totally adorable. He's mostly Jack Russell Terrier and was born in England but now lives in Menton.

This Christmas, Hunter is staying at Pension Milou but he's appeared on Riviera Dogs before. You'll find some pics I took two years ago at his home HERE.

Happy Christmas from Marlow!

Marlow and Riviera Dogs wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

This photo was intended to be where it is, on Riviera Dogs, but last minute I decided it would suit Menton Daily Photo too, being Christmas Day - so apologies for showing it twice to readers of both blogs.

Marlow is eight and a half and lives in Monaco and when he arrived at Pension Milou for his holidays he was wearing this Santa hat - so it had to go back on for a short photo session yesterday. Woof!

Thank you so much to the dog lovers who follow this blog. Big hugs to your dogs - and you - from me. What would we do without our dogs?

Coffee

This lovely dog is called Coffee. He was walking near to the Old Port in Menton. Coffee is 9 years old and lives in Cuneo in Italy.

Mr. Chips

Pugs - you either love 'em or find them ugly. I happen to love them.

Meet Mr. Chips who lives in Monaco - I met him one day walking near Larvotto Beach.

Trolley Dog

This photo was on Menton Daily Photo yesterday but here it is again for readers of Riviera Dogs.

France welcomes dogs almost anywhere. No problem taking a dog to a restaurant, of course - a water bowl will be is provided. This is Danette, a 3 year old Bichon Maltais (Maltese Terrier) making sure her owner has bought the right dog biscuits in the supermarket.

You often see little dogs in a shopping trolley in a supermarket in France - or hanging off it, like Danette.

The Pleasure of Goldens

Two Golden Retrievers walking up from Port Hercule in Monaco to the Casino area. You can see the pleasure they bring by looking at the faces of the two ladies who have just noticed them.

That's what dogs do. Bring joy to people.

Crumpet

This is Crumpet. She's an eleven and a half year old labrador who lives not far from Bandol in the Var - fairly near to Toulon. Isn't she pretty? She's quite a small labrador. Small and beautifully formed as they say.

Donald

Isn't he gorgeous... This is Donald, a 3 year old mix who lives in Menton.

Creole the Guide Dog

Meet Creole, a 4 year old Guide Dog. She lives in Menton and I loved that her owner lets her off-lead to go and play with other dogs for a few minutes.

Walking for a Green Planet

In the last post we had two Cavaliers running for charity and here we have two Yorkies promoting a Green Planet. Quite right too!

I met these two in the Jardin Bioves in Menton - they are sisters, eight years old, and are called Mlle. Louise and Mlle. Margot. Adorable, eh?

Cavaliers running for Charity

Apologies for the image being not quite as sharp as usual but I wanted to share with you these two adorable Cavaliers who are walking for charity in Monte Carlo - the same photo is on Monte Carlo Daily Photo today.

No Finish Line is a charitable event where people walk, run, stroll around a circuit created at the port.

You can do as many circuits you like or as few and at any time of the day or night and it runs for 9 days. You have an electronic tag attached to your foot (you can see the tag on the lady's back shoe) and for every kilometre run money goes to charity. The dogs have a tag fixed to their collar. Some people walk with friends and chat, others take it really seriously and aim to beat records. There is even a special 24 hour run for the most kilometres during that time - last year's winner ran 248 kilometres in this category.

The record for the most kilometres run by an individual over the 9 days has just been beaten and now stands at 200 ks.

For a full explanation go to the website - NO FINISH LINE.

Achilles

This is six month old Achilles, a lovely Doberman who lives in Varese in Italy and was visiting Menton with his owners. Here he is with the beach in the background.

Cookie

This cute long-legged terrier was standing with his owner at the foot of the Old Cemetery in Menton. A mix with quite a bit of Jack Russell Terrier, don't you think? He's a one-year old boy called Cookie who lives in Menton.

Nina

This tiny chihuahua lives in Menton and is called Nina - she's one year old. Her owner said she is a toy chihuahua, which I believe is called a 'mini' in France. I didn't know a smaller version of a chihuahua existed. How small can you get?!

In the photo below, as you see, Nina says Bonjour to a shih-tzu.

There's a patient white poodle on Menton Daily Photo today.

Scott

This is Scott, covered in sand and seawater, who was having the best time yesterday on the Sablettes beach.

Our recent terrible storms have left the beach littered with driftwood - heaven for a dog like Scott. He's a 9 year old Labrador mix who lives in Menton. You'll find him on Menton Daily Photo today along with a photo of the beach, showing the detritus that includes broken up canoes.

Rain

Despite the protection of his raincoat this little dog in Menton looks happy to hop up onto the step and out of the rain.

Cilla

Cilla is Ted's other half. You met Ted in the last post. Cilla, like Ted, is 9.5 years old and lives in Monaco. Here she is sunning herself on the terrace. Sweet dog.

Ted

Ted, the Westie and Cilla, the Scottie, are saying at Pension Milou at the moment. When their owners first called I said 'No.' I love both breeds but have had bad experiences in the past with them being snappy with other dogs. So 'no' it was. Later, my vet called and asked if I'd reconsider and she confirmed they have wonderful temperaments - and goodness, they do. These two are angels.

They were bred in the UK, have been living in Las Vegas for a while but now they live in Monaco. We'll meet Ted's other half, Cilla, another time.

And how cute is Ted? That's Roxy, the Cavalier, in the background, by the way.

A Yorkie's Ears...

Have you noticed how, when you get a Yorkie's attention, it can put its ears back? Really saying...'ok, what do you want?'

That was the case with this little one who was out walking along the sea at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin one day. I took it last January and can't for the life of me find where I wrote his or her name.