Store Bought vs Rescue

I have to admit I was one of those people who did not know the "evils" of puppy mills and pet stores. I grew up in NYC where green grass and trusted breeders were rare. I never questioned where the fancy dogs in their Louis Vuitton carrriers were from. We had a large PETSMART store in my area and that's where I figured everyone went for a pet just like my goldfish. My husband and his family, on the other hand, grew up with pets from breeders and shelters. Combining all the this information, we took our time (3 years) mulling over the idea of getting a dog.

Two websites that were referred to us was Next Day Pet and French Bulldog Rescue Network.
Next Day Pet is an online "mall" of adorable puppies from breeders.
French Bulldog Rescue Network is a non-profit organization that takes in discarded dogs and nurses them back to health to be adopted.

We went back and forth between the cute brand new puppy pictures on NDP and the sad stories on FBRN. Oh, how it pulled on our heart strings! Do we get a rescued dog with possible problems and trauma or do we go for the cute, wrinkly, new puppy that needs training and a hefty price tag?

Being that we would still have to learn how to train a dog and read more about frenchies, we decided to wait and check back with FBRN until a dog came along that we were ready for.

Our Decision

After dog sitting Tego, he convinced us that it was time that we started a family of our own. He brought us so much joy and entertainment in the two weeks he stayed with us that we wanted a little frenchie of our own. For our lifestyle, a frenchie fits us well and we don't mind a dog that needs some extra special attention to their health.

I started by doing some searches on the internet and asking friends and neighbors who have dogs both from breeders, shelters and rescue networks. We asked questions and got opinions about everything. We read up on the needs of a french bulldog before deciding if this is really the type of dog for us given their needs and possible issues - health, behavior, care, temperament, and training.

Why a Frenchie?
-small size
-short hair
-uber cute!
-not overly dependent (can play by himself)
-will lay on couch & watch tv (my all time fav thing to do)
-good temperament
-good with other dogs and small children
-not barkers
-did I mention they are uber cute!?