Our French Bulldogs

French Bulldogs are perfect for us. They're muscular, confident, so goofy looking that they're unbearably cute, affectionate companions, friendly to others and, best of all, content to sleep all day until you get home from work—as opposed to tearing up the couch cushions because they're bored. We started going to dog shows and meeting French Bulldogs and their owners—not just Frenchie specialists, but other breed owners that secretly admitted that their pet Frenchie was their favorite dog. Once we said to ourselves, "We're ready to get one," it took us over nine months to find an available dog (Frenchies have small litters that often have waiting lists of prospective owners).

We first got Xev in January 2001. We went over to a breeder's house, the Kings, in Fremont to look at a pet-quality puppy. Though we thought the puppy was adorable, we really fell in love with their 18-month old Sassy (Xev's original name). She was the mellowest of their five adult dogs and loved our attention. The son, Timmy, thought she was such a good fit with us that he gave his mom his blessing to sell Sassy to us.

Six months later, through the Northern California French Bulldog Club, we heard of an 18-month old, fixed boy that needed a new home. In September 2001 we took Xev down to meet Chico at Laura and John's house in Fresno. They got along wonderfully—so well, in fact, that it was the first time we had seen Xev run and play with another dog—and we added the little guy to our family.

Chico is the Yang to Xev's Yin. She's a girl, he's a boy. She's tiny for a Frenchie (16 pounds), he's big (26 pounds). She's alpha dog, he thinks he's alpha dog. She gets tuckered out after a short sprint, he'll run until he throws up and then run some more. She's fawn on white pied, he's black brindled. He eats as if he's inhaling, she eats slowly and makes sounds like a little rutting piglet. She's more interested in people, he's more interested in dogs. She's tender with her kisses, he'll attempt a tonsillectomy. She's courteous and patient, he's a bulldozer. But something they share in common, they love to chase varmints out of our back yard (deer, opossums, racoons, skunks, cats and squirrels) and we love them both dearly. They never cease to make us laugh.

Chico and the Xev's Photo Gallery

Links to other sites:

• AKC French Bulldog Info
• Xev's Breeder (with puppy pics)
• Xev's Namesake
• Legacy of the Dog by Tetsu Yamazaki (which is how we selected the breed)