You Know It

V is for Vincent. 

Unfortunately, the little man is creeped out by cameras.  When he sees that camera, it must be that he sees a big eye looking at him.  He immediately lowers his eyes and looks away, and I can rarely get a decent shot of him, even with much teasing with toys or treats.  By the time the digital camera focuses and takes a shot, this is what we get -- the back of him, slightly blurry. 

But he's a wonderful dog.  The best.  I know everybody says that about their pets, but really. I know dogs, and he is exquisite.

I grew up with lots and lots of dogs.  We raised litters of black Labs and had Basset Hounds and Beagles and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Chocolate Labs and mutts.  All big, muscley country dogs, and I loved them all. I never, ever pictured myself with a froufrou dog.  But this is the best damn dog in the whole freaking universe. Now, don't you come in here and argue that YOUR dog is better. 'tain't true. 

I'd never heard of the breed before we went to spend most of the summer of 1995 with my sister-in-law and her family who lived in Paris.  But they had a Bichon Frise and I liked him a lot. I thought my daughter, being an only child, should have a dog so she could experience the joys of dogs that I had experienced as a child, but we didn't have the proper living situation for a big old country dog that needs lots of room to run. 

When we came back home, I started researching and found that Bichons, especially at that time, were relatively few in the U.S.  I found a breeder in Connecticut who had a litter on the way, and asked for a female.  When the litter was born, all the surviving puppies were spoken for, and they offered me a male.  I wasn't so sure about a male -- I had always been partial to female dogs.  Then further explanations were forthcoming:  This male was the runt of the litter previous to the one we were asking about, and he was four months old and now about ready to be taken.  He had almost not made it and he was very small.  These breeders were all into champion show-dogs and he-who-would-become-Vincent was not show quality, but he would make a wonderful pet, they told me. And they were so right. So right that I have long since forgiven them the misrepresentations they made and the fact that they took advantage of l'il ole naive me with the price. Whatev. 

Vincent has been My Boy from Day One.  He was meant to be Abigail's Boy, but honestly she was a bit afraid of him (I know!) in the beginning, and they never bonded all that much.  He and I are b-o-n-d-e-d. 

He is so smart -- again, I've had a lot of dogs, all of them smart and all of them well trained -- but never any as intelligent and full of personality as this one.  I train my dogs as if I'm the Wolf Mother, always have -- it was nothing anybody ever told me and nothing I ever read about until I was an adult.  I did it intuitively, from a young age.  You could say I'm a dog whisperer, heh.

Now I guess we are living on borrowed time.  As you may remember from my entries in about May of this year, he has a mass on his liver, although you'd never know it now.  He seems to have recovered (knock on wood) more than completely.  He seems more like a two-year-old dog now than an eleven-year-old with a liver tumor.  I'll take it. I only wish I had been savvy enough and had read articles such as this and this which confirm my belief as to what happened to him before I allowed my vet to administer all those vaccines and medications that he convinced me we needed each year.  (i.e., bordatella?  ridiculous!  When I said no, no, no, to all the questions such as "does he ever get boarded?  Does he go to the groomer's?" etc., they fell back on, "Well, he comes here.  So he ought to have it."  i.e., Lyme?  "we've had three positives!"  What the FUCK was I thinking to say yes to that?  He spends 95% of his time in our house, and certainly NEVER in long grass or any kind of place he could get a tick. Et cetera.)  Not ever again.

I love my boy. 

Comments

[Cookie]

You being a dog person explains a lot... in a good way. :p

We learn as we raise them, love, and we trust our vets to know what's best. Sometimes that works well and sometimes not.

Enjoy every day with him, Norma. I'm on the clock with my 17 year old cat, and we have to love them while we have them.

[Lauren]

I hope I can one day meet the exquisite little furball.

[Debi]

Vincent is such a cutie! I know what you mean Norma, we are the voices of our beloved pets and we try to do the right thing but it's so hard to find any real honesty in the medical profession, animal or human.

It's very obvious you love your boy and he loves you!

[freecia]

Vincent is an excellent dog. Plus, the good photos you get of him are heart melting. Just can't stand how cute he is. Instantly forgiven of all sins... or at almost instantly.
Hope he prances about like the two year old at-heart he is.
V is my favorite letter of the series.

[sandy]

He is rather Exquisite! :D (I'm up early and diet coke is firmly on desk!)
Perhaps he is Amish with all the looking away from camera lenses and all.
Warms my heart.

[Manise]

V is for Very lucky he pulled through his crises this year. What a cutiie! I especially love the photo of him modeling the barf scarf.

[Carole]

Hooray for Vincent. I'm glad he's such a wonderful companion for you.

[Dave Daniels]

Yeah, I'm a member of the Vinny fan club. He's adorable. He looks like he's had a recent hair cut. And it's surprising that he's afraid of cameras with you as a mom. YOU'RE never afraid of cameras!

[margene]

I feel like you about the vaccines...we have not given Murphy ANY since the first (that almost killed him) and Moxie hasn't had any since living here. Murphy's condition is from vets giving him steroids even short term. Our new vet doesn't use them often at all...we love him. My boys don't care a whit for the camera...it doesn't smell good or 'do' anything so way pay attention? A treat in hand might get them to look. Vinnie is a wonderful dog and we become so attatched to our furry kids. We're so lucky to have them in our lives even if it is for a short time.

[beverly]

Thanks for those article links. I'm in my third year with my very first dog, and I didn't know any of that.

Vincent is a handsome, charming fellow, I'd say!

[Lucia]

Awww. I am not really a dog person myself, but I know a sweetie when I see one.

[Ruth]

What a pumpkin. He really is a Stellar Dog.

[Kelly]

Vincent does sound like a wonderful little dog. It's funny how these little furballs can capture our hearts.

[Anne]

And he is such a cutie - of course he's da bestest!

[Marcia]

I wonder if your breeder was the woman here in town who raised the one that took Best in Show at Madison Square Garden a few years ago? Anyway, our present cat is like that with the camera...just not photogenic or interested. The previous cat (they were almost identical) LOVED having his picture taken, so when this one goes to that Litter Box in the Sky, I'll have albums of cat pictures. Just of one cat, though!

[Paul]

He's just a sweetheart, isn't he!

My lizzie is also not too fond of cameras. She'll sit there, but then look away as I'm about to snap the picture. Can you say "diva"?

[elisa]

Hi Vincent! I'm sending you a virtual belly rub from Boston! :)

[claudia]

I think that Vincent should get a special treat today, seeing as how its V day. Just sayin'.

[Rachel H]

Of course he's afraid of the camera, what with the number of times you've put knitting on him with camera in hand... *dancing cheekily out of arm's reach*

My Riley is one o' them big run around kind of dogs. Border collie/German Shepard cross. A big softie who will do anything for a treat, and is Mine. Likes other people well enough, but minds no one like his Mummy.

[Jen]

V is DEFINITELY for Vincent. I wouldn't DARE argue that my dog is better (though she is for me) but I totally understand about the big dog vs. little dog perspective. My Mum is a Collie breeder and I've lived with up to 20 dogs at a time - all big, all well trained etc. They are beautiful dogs. But one day she came home with Smartie and it was love at first sight. I had sworn off of dogs (needed a break) and NEVER thought I would be someone who owned a 10 lb., spoiled rotten diva. But that's what I've got and I love her more than is really quite decent. Little dogs ROCK. And I'm glad his tumour isn't giving him too much trouble. We swore off vaccines after Smartie spent 2 1/2 months paralysed and have never looked back. She's been perfectly perfect ever since :)

[Chris]

I've been blessed to share time with two such special dogs. The first, an Irish setter, only lived for about 22 months (I suspect some kind of poisoning, perhaps antifreeze) and I still miss him/celebrate him almost 40 years later. The second, a witty, smart border collie/? mutt, I lost a few weeks ago, age 13. Totally different personalities in those two but that deep bonding existed with each of them. I love the two still sharing life with me but that bonded aspect just isn't there. I miss that as much as I miss them. I hope you have lots and lots of good time ahead with Vincent.

[regina]

He is such a sweetie, and you're lucky to have found one another.

[Kayten]

Dog people are the best. I'm trying to keep our 16 1/2 year old chihuahua going till my daughter returns from a stint in the Peace Corp in China next summer. Not sure if we'll make it, but I keep him thin and he had vaccines only every other year till he was 9, and none since then. He's had a collapsed trachea all his life, and as a result, is accompanied by a resounding cough. His hearing is gone, and his vision has dimmed, but, given the right light and a hand signal, he jumps up, tail wagging, to join the rest of the crew into the run for a foray, after which he curls up in the sun for a nap. Yay for Vincent! Yay for Jacko!

[Cathy]

I love Vincent. I first read about bichons in one of Erica Jong's books (she lived in Connecticut!). I wanted one since the 70s. Then Mike saw the bichon winner of the dog show (I can't think of his name) spring 2000 and that was that. I love our little foo foo dogs too.

[Teresa]

I just adopted my greyhound, Keeper, and took him to the vet. He is a healthy 3.5 yr old and she mentioned the Bordatella vaccine if he is boarded or plays with other dogs. I don't have any plans to board him yet, although he plays with other dogs weekly. Greyhounds are also very sensitive to drugs* (no body fat), I decided not to give him the bordatella vaccine unless something comes up. Thanks for reinforcing that I am doing the right thing.

* many anesthesias and flea controls are off limits.

[jackie]

I'm right there with you on how wonderful and amazing Bichons are. Ty is probably not full Bichon and he's probably 3 Vincents in size, but their personalities are just terrific. I love Vincent never having met him, but I hope to one day!

[Elizabeth]

Vincent is beautiful!
The problem vets have regarding yearly vaccines (and this is according to my vet)is that if owners don't come in for the vaccine, they don't come in at all for a check-up, which is the best preventative medicine. However (and this is according to me) once they get you in there, they are very persuasive in talking clients into the vaccines anyway! We have had "discussions" about this every year, my vet and I. Now I go to a regular/holistic vet and she is wonderful.

[Annie]

My little Cotton has the same phobia of cameras. And I echo everything you said about Vincent in regards to Cotton. They are wonderful dogs! Also, thanks for the links to the articles. I've bookmarked them and I'm going to take them with me the next time I go to the vets. (Cotton had a terrible reaction this year to the vaccines- one week of him being very, very sick. It was scary.)

[Elisabeth]

Vincent is actually the reason I came to read your blog. I was reading another blog and they had a link to your blog that day. Vincent had gotten a buzz cut and he wrote an entry about the indignity of it all. I guess he's moved on from that little episode. ;)

I know what you mean about living on borrowed time. My beloved Ghiradelli is a carrier for FIP. One day he will come down with it himself. Every moment is a precious one.

[Kristen]

Yay for V! (I'm so glad I have a vet who is opposed to giving more vaccines than necessary.) Keep on truckin' little white one!

[Beth S.]

I was wondering how he got his name, and why. Did he come from the breeder with it, or did one of you name him?

[monica]

One of my friends' dogs had a really bad reaction to the lyme disease vaccine and she now has epileptic seizures. :( I definitely think that if dogs don't need any vaccines or other treatments they shouldn't get them.

[lyssa]

I'm surprised that Vincent doesn't have his own category of posts! He certainly deserves one. I grew up with black labs too. They are still the dogs I like best, but I wouldn't get one for myself until I have more land and time to take a dog like that hiking and fishing. For now, I'm a cat person in my apartment :)

[Dave]

I used to have a Boston Terrier. I have a thousand pictures of his butt, not a single one of his face. Funny how some dogs are with cameras.

We like to think we pick our pets. I believe it's usually the other way around.

[Maria]

Norma, my Sam, who is also a Bichon, must be twins with your Vincent. He's the other smartest dog on the face of the earth! When I had surgery last year, Sam sat at the front door for 4 days, waiting for me to come home. Didn't want to eat, didn't want to play, didn't even want to go out... just sat there waiting. He's awesome. The only difference is that Sam likes his picture taken.
Sam was supposed to be my son's dog. DS picked him out and named him, too. But just like your daughter, DS never quite bonded to him as I'd hoped. So, Sammy is Mama's Boy!
Enjoy every day with Vincent!
XOXOXOX
Maria

[no-blog-rachel]

Awww. But my rescued-from-abuse hound-mix Shirley was the best dog ever. Proof? Well for one, she'd pee on command. Which as you know, can be very convenient when it's 20 below.

So I hope you're up for having Vincent share the Best title with my girl Shirley. :)

[Sil]

Awww. He's a pretty guy. And a lucky guy to have such a great momma.

[Kathleen]

I love Vincent too. :)

[Birdsong]

What a great tribute! I have been dogless almost two years, since MY boy disappeared, hard to replace right away, but you have me seriously considering this breed with this wonderful description of your guy. Good luck with the health issues and thanks for the links.

[Eunice]

lots of smoochie-coos to vincent! i hope your momma gives you a (small) treat every time this post gets a comment. :)

i understand about growing up to be a 'dog whisperer' -- one can glean a lot of information just by observing and being with dogs -- i didn't grow up with dogs but once i acquired a boyfriend with a dog (who eventually became _my_ dog, too) and started working with dogs at a local animal shelter (3 years now) I'm quickly making up for the lack of dogs in my early life! i've met so many different dogs, all of different personalities and breeds, but i do know what all of them have in common, though. they all want LOVE. how they want it, well, that's where most of them differ, whether it be a bellyrub, butt scratches, noogies, treats (in all forms and shapes and textures), training, exercise, and so on...

[Christine]

My Bichon, Chloe, is also not a fan of the camera. She really didn't like my old camera which was a gold-toned point & shoot. My big fancypants black camera is sometimes ok though.

Now I feel terrible for the shots she has been given over the years. Hmmmm... something to think about before our next round of appointments in the near future.

Your Vincent is quite adorable!

[Laurie]

Great V! Of course. He is such a good friend.

What we don't know about human medicine? We know even less about dog medicine!

[Laura]

I knew this would be your V. So sweet to adore your dog so much. :)

[christine]

What a lovely "V" post - I'll send good thoughts for Vincent's liver. I agree with you about the vaccines......I have begun to say "no."

[Monica]

I got to your blog from your comment on Yarnstorm and what a surprise to see a lovely picture of your fluffball Vincent. It so reminded me of my own Sasha and Chloe...they had a long and happy life and I missed them everyday. Life is easier without them -- but much lonelier. My husband would love to have another Bichon and I don't think I can resist for much longer. I wish I could figure out what makes these doggies so special.

[Kim]

Pets add so much to our lives, don't they? Let's hear it for Vincent!