Abby and Donald

Meet Abby - a very lucky dog. She's two years old and until recently lived in a breeding kennel in the Var. She had one litter of two puppies and was then put up for sale.

Now meet my good and dear friend Donald. Donald has always had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and he bought her. So from living in a kennel, lucky Abby now lives in luxury in Beaulieu and of course goes out on Donald's boat nearly every day in summer. She's taken to boating like the proverbial duck to water. When Donald is whizzing around the water she is shut in the cabin below but otherwise she sits on deck, mostly on Donald's lap and looks up at him adoringly. It's a match of joy for both of them.

The 'Beausejour' Dogs

Regular visitors to Riviera Dogs will have met the Beausejour dogs of Gorbio before. On the chair is Boutchette and at her feet is the most recent addition to the family, Galinette.

Seems to me that Boutchette has the most comfortable seat in the house! Not that all the seats aren't comfortable. We had dinner the night I took these shots and it was fabulous!

Naughty Boutchette tho appears to be pregnant and no one knows who the 'daddy is...in fact tho, she isn't. Turns out she has a phantom pregnancy. Sigh of relief all round.

Freedom!

This little dog is often to be seen running around Place du Cap in Menton. I think he lives in Rue Longue in the Old Town.

You can also see him on Menton Daily Photo today where the two dogs on a lead probably wish they could play with him whilst their owners chat.

Greta - Garbo of course

This is tiny Greta, named for Greta Garbo. She's half chihuahua and half shih-tzu and lives in Menton. She's not had all her vaccinations yet so I wasn't able to stroke her - too too too cute...

Hot Dog!

Meet Gavi, he's a six month old chocolate Labrador who lives in Monaco. I met him on the port on the day of the recent Civil Marriage ceremony between Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock. (The big religious ceremony was the next day).

It was a warm day, hence the title of this post.

By the way, Gavi is a delicious wine from Liguria, just across the Italian border.

Igor, the Chinese Crested

Here's another dog I met at the Arabian Horse Show in Menton - and an unusual one.

This dapper little Chinese Crested is called Igor. He's two years and four months and he lives in Belgium.

This breed, being nearly hairless, has to have sunscreen put on the skin in hot weather - just like us! You can read more about Chinese Cresteds by clicking on the link.

He carries himself so beautifully, doesn't he? Looks like the tiniest shire horse with a blond mane.

Salukis at the Arabian Horse Show

Salukis go with Arabian horses - you often see them at the fabulous Arabian Horse Show in Menton and so it was the other day.

These have beautiful collars - see the tassels on the first and the purple and green woven collar on the second.

These two were tied up whilst their owners watched the competition. You can see more by clicking on Menton Daily Photo.

Fanny Update...two months on

It nearly two and a half month since Fanny was dumped, tied up outside my gate. (click to see how she was then)

Since then she's had an ultrasound to see if she had Cushing's Disease - really awful skin, which she had, is a symptom. The result was negative although she does have a very bad heart - on a scale of 4 being bad, the vet said she is 3. She's on antibiotics, two lots of heart pills, something for her crazy stomach that sounds as if it's in the middle of a rough ocean, special baths every five days and cortisone twice a week to help stop the scratching. The vet wasn't sure she could sterilize her because she didn't know if her heart would take the anaesthetic.

Then she came into season and it went on for over a month. The vet said she'd have to sterilize her as otherwise she'd get pyrometra (pus in the womb) but that she'd use the safest anaesthetic she had. And so Fanny was sterilized, had her teeth cleaned at the same time and is now fully recovered.

She has no upper front teeth between the canines - the vet thinks she probably never did. She looks, in profile as if she has an overshot bite but in fact she is vastly undershot, so there is some deformity there. I've not mentioned it to her, of course...

She's put on half a kilo but to do so eats enough to feed a small labrador. She doesn't seem to get the goodness from food and needs more than a dog her size should.

Amazingly she is growing coat where she has the elephant-like skin on her face and under her chin - not around her rear end but then we don't have to look at that too often.

She's very needy - stuck to me like glue. She isn't crazy about the dogs who come to stay but is having to learn dogs share attention in this house but she's now got used to Beau and Mia - she really didn't like Mia at the beginning.

And she barks... so we are working on that. Barking dogs and me - we don't get along.

And she has a godmother in Monaco - a good friend of mine who has undertaken to pay her vet bills for life - and they've been considerable. Isn't that incredible. Thank you to my dear friend, Sue.

Fanny always has the saddest look in her eyes but now she plays with a toy - brings it to me to throw and and I don't think she'd play if she wasn't happy - or at least as happy as she can be. I often wonder about her life before and why those eyes look so sad...

Kisha

Meet Kisha. She lives in Mandelieu, which is along the coast a bit. Kisha is 7 years old and looks a bit like a Briard gone wrong, but in fact she is registered as a Griffon x. Her coat doesn't look like a Griffon to me.

She's a beautiful dog, so gentle, so polite. Very shy yet wags her tail enthusiastically when you talk to her. I've a very soft spot for Kisha.

The Lacemaker's Dog

This lovely old Peke was sitting near his owner in Menton. She's an English lady who is part of a group demonstrating old crafts - her speciality being lace making. They live in Nice.

Baci, the Jet-Set Dog

Baci is tiny, adorable and 13 years old - his name means 'kisses' in Italian. He's also a jet-set dog who flies regularly between his homes in California and La Turbie, a beautiful medieval village above Monaco.

The Lucerne Hound

I did a double-take when this beautiful hound walked towards me on market day in Menton. She looks like a small version of my Beau, who is a Bruno de Jura.

Her owners told me she is a Lucerne Hound and I've included a photo of her walking with her owner to show that she really isn't that big a dog.

Her name is Fanny, she's 3 years old and lives in Vienna.

The Beauceron Sisters

Pippa and Cassie are 12 year old Beauceron sisters who perhaps look fierce but are the gentlest creatures you can imagine. Just look at their kind eyes.

Beauceron is a French short-haired shepherding and guarding breed from the Brie region of France. These two are living out their old age in Monaco.

Pippa is in the main photo and Cassie in the one below.

Tied up in Pink

This little dog looks as if she should be the cute and clever mutt in a television advertisement...

Her lead was fixed to one of the stands at Garden Dreams, a garden fair below the Casino in Monaco. Her owner wasn't there and the lady in charge didn't know her name. All I know, according to the disc on her harness, is that she lives in Monte Carlo.

She has a quiet dignity about her, doesn't she?

Pearl

Perle wasn't at all sure about me, as you can see in the last photo (the one I took first) but she soon settled down and behaved like an angel.

Perle is two years old, was born in Poland, lives in Brussels and was on holiday in Menton, where I met her on the beach.

Ming Tchoko

Ming Tchoko knows he's goodlooking, doesn't he? He has a certain swagger about him even though he's only 11 months old. Ming Tchoko (don't you love the name!) lives in Nice but was bred in Poland to prizewinning parents. I met him walking around Garden Dreams in Monaco.

Chelsea - who loves the sunshine

Chelsea would lie in the sun all day, given the chance and screw her eyes up against it, as you see.

She lives in Monaco with her buddy, Toby - also a Golden Retriever (see smaller photo) and although they are both 11 years old they play together like puppies.

In that same photo you can see Fanny (the abandoned poodle - doing pretty well) and Lizzy who you met a few days ago.

Gerome and Brattdog

Today we have TWO French bulldogs for your delectation.

First, meet Gerome who is a two year old French bulldog from Milan. We met in Menton when the Brattcats were here.

Readers of Brattcat's Brattleboro blog or perhaps you saw the Brattcats' photo on my Menton Daily Photo blog, will know that recently she and Mr. Brattcat came to stay. And one of the gifts (too many!) she so kindly brought from Vermont was Brattdog, who is also a French bulldog. Brattcat had knitted Brattdog herself - a most impressive accomplishment to one who couldn't knit her way out of a paperbag or even into a scarf.

As Brattcat said - she had difficulty placing the ears and eyes. Perhaps they are a little too far back on the head so that Brattdog is forever looking skywards, waiting for manna (or perhaps a bone) to fall from heaven. And that he falls over because one leg doesn't quite reach the ground - well that's life and he has learned to live with it. He found a home on a wine rack, sleeping across a rather interesting Bordeaux, but it wasn't very comfortable (and in any case, I've drunk it), so now he sits on my desk - a treasured reminder of the lovely time we had when the adorable Brattcats came to stay.

And lest you should doubt that Brattdog is a real dog, look at Thandie, the dachshund - she knows the right end to sniff...even if she did knock him over to do it.

Lizzy

Lizzy lives in Nice and is as adorable - and naughty - as you'd expect a 7 month old puppy to be.

In the photo below, Lizzy is playing with Roxy, the other Cavalier who stays at Pension Milou and also Daisy, the labrador, and Stormy, the Saluki - all of whom you'll find on this blog. Sorry about the rather disgusting rope toy!