It all started in 2004, when I moved into a duplex in Silverlake (Los Angeles) that allowed me to have a dog for the first time in several years. I'd had dogs off and on throughout my life, from cockapoos to boxers to Great Danes, but they'd always been shared dogs, either with family or significant others, and I'd never really had a dog that was mine and mine alone.
I'd been involved with a local boxer rescue for years, having helped place dozens of rescues into new homes as a result of people impressed with my boxers and wanting to know where to get one - I'd ALWAYS send them to the rescue. My boxers stayed with my ex after the break-up, as my life after that was a bit unsettled and they'd have a better life (and a yard) with him. Boxers had been his choice anyway, although I was the one who ended up training and caring for them, of course. I thought about another boxer, but honestly the energy level, especially as puppies, was more than I was willing to deal with again. This time around I wanted a dog that really and truly fit ME, and MY lifestyle; being single and living on my own, I wanted something that looked formidable and intimidating, but that I could have as my constant companion and be a part of my active social life, so it had to have a mellow, loving, balanced temperament. I also love smooshy-faced dogs, and big dogs, so my search for the perfect breed began.
My criteria, besides big and scary-looking but love-muffin at heart included easy to groom (therefore short-haired), unusual/rare breed (to match my own sense of uniqueness), chill but intelligent, low activity and low maintenance. I was really having a hard time finding a breed that checked all the boxes, so the search became an obsession.
One night at the Whiskey Bar in the Sunset Marquis, one of my "hangs" at the time, I ran into an old friend, a rather well-known musician and songwriter, and during our "catch up" I mentioned my search for the perfect dog. He told me about a dog he had had, a Dogue de Bordeaux, that unfortunately he'd had to put down at 10 months because of bad hip dysplasia but that he'd been the coolest dog he'd ever known. Hearing that heartbreaking story, I was intrigued but wondered if as a rare breed it might have genetic health issues in general or if he'd just had a bad run of luck with this one. The next night "Turner & Hooch" came up on one of my cable channels, and I remembered this as the same breed my friend had mentioned having, and after watching the movie I was even more intrigued. Then the next night an episode of "Sex & The City" with Carrie in a cafe in Paris feeding cookies to a Dogue de Bordeaux in the banquette next to her aired, and I thought "OK, Universe, are you trying to tell me something?" so online I went, researching the breed and where I might find one.
I read about how rare they were in the U.S., and how hard it was to find puppies. I found a litter in Minnesota, but they all died within days from fading puppy syndrome. Undaunted, I found a couple of naval officers in San Diego who'd just had a litter and decided to make a little day trip on a sunny Saturday to see what this breed looked like in the flesh. I was more curious about the adults, as of course all puppies are cute, but I really wanted to know what one looked like up close.
So, I off I went to check them out. I remember the mother sitting on my feet looking up at me with the most beautiful eyes, and the softest, most velvety fur I'd ever felt, although she was all skin and bones and teats and blotchy bald patches from having had 12 puppies, so it was kind of hard to tell what she looked like normally. I was standing in the whelping box looking at these little 4 week old fuzzballs thinking how cute they were but s**tting all over the place and wondering if this is really what I wanted, when I heard a bunch of little girls giggling and a bit of a ruckus on the other side of the house. All of a sudden, as if in slow motion, the biggest head on a dog that I had EVER seen came barreling around the corner, and attached to his tail and back end were three 7-year old girls (the breeder's daughter and friends), laughing and giggling like crazy. This monster beast came bounding up to me and all I could think was "S**T, I'm standing in the whelping pen - am I about to get eaten???" so remembering a documentary on wolves I licked the back of my hand and held it out for him to sniff. He took a sniff, looked up at me, and immediately threw himself down onto his back and waved his paw at me. My heart skipped a beat, and I was down on my knees rubbing his belly and falling madly in love with the most amazing creature I'd ever seen! I asked the breeder if this breed were all like this, and he replied, "yep, pretty much" so I asked if he had any males left. As it turns out, there was one left, that hadn't been breathing when he was born but they'd given him CPR and he'd survived so they called him "Lucky". Assuring me there was no brain damage and he'd be a perfectly fine dog, he quoted me the price, giving me a significant discount as I had previous experience with big dogs and it was obvious there was a little lovefest going on with me and Maximus Beefcake, who it turned out was the litter's sire, which made this pup even more attractive to me. I hesitated for a second at the price, which even at a discount seemed steep, but one more look at Max and out came the checkbook. I came back a few weeks later to take possession, and Veinard Rogue du Lac D'Argent a/k/a Rogue became my first ever Dogue de Bordeaux.
I'll post stories about my adventures with Rogue, and those that came after. I'm currently on Dogue #7 and #8, with #8 being the namesake for this blog - Stolenhearts Raelorasz Matasz Joie de Coeur aka Raelor, and as of this post he's a day shy of 10 weeks old, so there will be a lot of stories past, present and future to share here.
Welcome and thank you for joining me on this journey of retrospection and discovery of a dog breed that has captured my heart and soul from the moment I first met them...and I haven't looked back since.
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