Olfen

There was far too much going on at the Blessing of the Animals in Gorbio for Olfen to want to pose for a photo. I took a few and they weren't any good.

Much later I saw him on a road leading out of the village and snapped these two. He just wanted to go home! Olfen is 12 year old and lives in Gorbio village and I think when a dog gets to 12 he's entitled to not want his photo taken, don't you?

Boutchette, the BAD pup!

Who can resist a Basset Hound puppy only six months old. It's the day of the Blessing of the Animals in Gorbio village and many horses are the main square. Boutchette has stolen a beautiful round oh-so-tasty horse dropping and is happily munching her way through it - see small photo.

Soon she'll be booted back inside - no, not booted - her owners adore her, of course.

Boutchette lives at my favourite restaurant in the village, Le Beausejour and she's called Boutchette because the owner's previous Bassett was called Boutch - so she is 'little Boutch.

How adorable is she? You know, I've yet to meet a dog who doesn't love to either eat horse droppings or roll in them - or better still, both!

The Boat Dog

Unlike the last posting of a labrador, I don't know this one's name. I was on a boat and the sea wasn't calm - our boat was moving, the labrador's boat was moving - and so zooming in brings an image not quite a sharp as it might be. We were moored in Latte, a village just across the border in Italy - not much sun that day either - just as well else I'd have got burnt!

Seeing a dog on a boat for hours like this made me wonder when he pees but I suppose he's used to it and pees when he gets off!

Maya

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Do you think if this labrador put her nose any nearer the ground, she could smell the scent any better?! This is 3 year old Maya, a yellow Labrador who lives in Lille, in northern France but was on holiday in the camping grounds of Gorbio village.

Isn't she gorgeous and isn't she having a good holiday?

The smells that day were particularly interesting as Maya had attended the Blessing of the Animals in Gorbio village alongside a lot of horses and I suspect, in the top photo, she has picked up a the scent of a horse.

Gator, the Service Dog

Gator is known as a Goldendoodle. A mix of Golden Retriever and Poodle, specially bred for allergic people - many breeds are mixed to produce such a dog. In addition, Gator is a Service Dog and so was able to fly from Florida (that's why he's called Gator!) to Nice, in the cabin and 1st class, of course.

Gator lives in Monaco and is two and a half years old. I've written Gator's story on Postcards from Pension Milou - just click on the link. You'll also find a 'Mia' update.

Lancelot

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Normally I feature a close-up of a dog as the main photograph but on this occasion I couldn't resist Lancelot (Sir Lancelot I believe) doing what he loves best...exploring.

I met 2 year old Lancelot at a friend's house in Sainte Agnès, a hill village above Menton - in fact Sainte Agnès is the highest village in Europe with a view of the sea and that is some view! For anyone interested, the village is currently being featured on Menton Daily Photo where the village recently celebrated the Fête de Lavande.

Lancelot who was bred in Italy lives in Menton with his Irish owner. He's a Jack Russell although I feel he might have just a touch of Staffie in him. A lovely little dog. (click to enlarge his photo)

The Candle Maker's Dog

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Sitting by her owner's tent at Monaco's Fête XVIIIth Century is the Candle Maker's Dog. I don't know where she comes from or even if she is a male or female, but she looks female, don't you think? She also looks an old dog.

Do click on Monte Carlo Daily Photo to see her owner making candles at this festival.

Cheyenne ...and Oudai ...and Oscar

You don't expect to bump into a Chesapeake Bay Retriever in Monaco. I confess I didn't know what breed she was until I asked. Isn't she gorgeous. Click on the link to read more about this lovely breed.

Her name is Cheyenne and she's two and a half. The pointer, with the beautiful eyes, is called Oudai and she is 10 years old and the wire-haired dachshund is also 10 years old and he's called Oscar.

They live on le rocher (the rock) in Monaco. That is the area where you find the Palace, the Oceanographic museum and the Cathedral and also some beautiful little back streets where people actually live, including these three lovely dogs.

It was the day of the XVIIIth Century Festival (currently on Monte Carlo Daily Photo) so the place was packed with visitors and it wasn't so easy to get them to pose with people pushing past all the time. Look how they obviously adore their owner. Lucky dogs, lucky owner.

Titta

Copyright 2009 Monte Carlo Daily Photo. All rights reserved.

This is little Titta, a 5 month old dachshund puppy, with her young owner. If you are a follower of Monte Carlo Daily Photo, you'll know I put this same photo on about a week ago. So apologies if you've already seen it.

Titta was present at an Art Gallery 'Opening' in Monaco but in fact lives in Genoa, Italy.

Lily

Lily is a beautiful Springer Spaniel who lives just along the coast at Villefranche, which is a town next to Nice. Lily is much travelled dog. Sometimes she lives in Paris and sometimes in London and she even flies on her owner's private plane as if it's something all dogs do.

One time in Paris, when left with her dog carer, she was walking in one of Paris' beautiful gardens, when a firework went off. She took off, scared, and was lost for two days. A nightmare for both owner and carer. They plastered the park with posters and eventually she was found in the hands of an SDF (sans domicile fixe = of no fixed abode) on the end of a piece of rope. Happily, apart from very sore feet and some dehydration, she was OK. Of course she should not have been off her lead but it's easy to say - we do get to trust our dogs but personally I'd never let someone else's dog off lead in public. No way.

Like most spaniels, Lily's passion is a ball or any toy - so long as it's in her mouth.

Tullius

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Little Tullius is taking shade from the hot sun under a Jade plant in the medieval village of Roquebrune. It's the 5th August - the day of the Procession giving thanks for the time, in the 15th century, when the village was spared the plague. I'll be putting photographs of this on Menton Daily Photo eventually.

Did you know that the Chinese believe that if you put a jade plant in front of your front door and another by the back door, money will come in and won't go out?

I thought Tullius might be a Sheltie cross but his owners told me he's simply a mix - indeed a cute one. Tullius, who is 9 years old, is on holiday in the south of France from his home in Germany.

Choupette

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

You either adore pugs or you don't - and if you own one, likely as not, you are obsessed with them. There is probably more pug paraphernalia for sale than for any other breed.

Meet Choupette who is one year old and lives in Monaco. She was bred in a very good kennel but unfortunately she suffered from several serious illnesses in her young life and thanks to her caring owner and a great vet has pulled through and is now in excellent health.

This is for 'Lady Jicky' who loves pugs - so do I, even though they snore!

Legs

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

This bright little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel isn't quite in focus but I did take it on the zoom and from a long way away. I was sitting drinking a glass of wine at the Bar du Cap in Menton at the time and this is way across towards another bar. And naturally it wasn't the wine that made the photo out of focus...

Look at all those legs in the smaller photo. When you take a photo from this angle you wonder how on earth a little dog manages to avoid them all.

Comfort

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Some dogs have all the luck. Taken in the pedestrian street of Monaco.

Ol' Blue Eyes

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

Ol' Blue Eyes - well yes, but not the Sinatra version. I was crossing a small square in Menton and this lovely Samoyed came up to smell me. If you have dogs, then other dogs find you incredibly interesting.

I don't know his or her name. He/she seemed to belong to a restaurant nearby. Eventually he gave up the sniffing and leaned against the wall. It was a hot, hot day.

Temptation

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

The Yorkie is in love! Perhaps someone should tell him the object of his desire is a battery operated toy.

Dog Training - Charley in the Tube

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

It's hot and Charley knows it will be cooler hiding in the Agility Tube. Charley is a Labrador/Griffon mix, 18 months old and lives in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

Dog Training - A-l-t

Copyright 2009 Riviera Dogs. All rights reserved.

This adorable little Spitz looks in magnificent condition, doesn't he? Altaïr is 4 years old and lives in Contes, which is beyond Nice - he perhaps travelled the furthest to be at the Roquebrune Dog Training class.

I really should have asked owners to clean their dogs' eyes before I took the photographs. The sun was so bright I didn't notice until the pics came up on the screen and probably the sun made the dogs' eyes a bit runny.

We had to keep making noises to get him to put his ears up - you can see in the middle photo where they are not up. Too cute - wot no ears!

Note: I've changed his name in the heading as for some odd reason it has been bringing in tons of spam for weeks now.

Capsule and Carnage - the Street Dogs who have been Stolen

As is obvious, these are street dogs - meaning they belong to an 'sdf' (which stands for sans domicile fixe = no fixed abode) Unfortunately, since I met these dogs, they've been stolen. But let's start at the beginning....

I met them outside Marche U, a supermarket in Roquebrune. The one on the left is Capsule - she's a Dobermann crossed with a German Short-haired Pointer and she's 18 months old. She came from the refuge in Ventimiglia, just across the Italian border.

The big boy is Carnage and he's three and a half and he's a mix of a Dogue de Bordeaux and Bull Mastiff.

I took the photos on the 25th June and hadn't yet got around to putting them on Riviera Dogs but a couple of days ago had an email from a friend of the owner to say, they'd been stolen from him in Nice and could I send her the photographs to use in trying to get them back.


Some people I know won't be happy to see any dog living in the street but you can at least see they are not thin and have a blanket to sleep on. Are they happy? Well, I leave that up to you. At the moment, no one knows where they are. Let's hope they've been picked up by someone who will find them a good home. If I hear, I'll let you know. Probably they've been stolen by another 'sdf' as begging with dogs apparently brings better rewards.

Dog Training - Chiva, the dog with the biggest grin

Isn't this the biggest grin you've ever seen?! Meet 2 year old Chiva, the French bulldog. She was late at Dog Training (don't think she minded) so she happily posed and made me laugh. Chiva lives in Beausoleil, which adjoins Monaco.