Bonjour Holly et Wilson!

I love all things French. The food, the music, the culture, the language …… But most of all I love Holly and Wilson, my little grand doggies of the French Bulldog ilk. When Holly was adopted by her human parents, Hannah and Dave, they were besotted. Holly was adorable. Everyone loved that tiny brindle coloured French bulldog with the big brown ‘love me’ eyes. But no one more than my daughter Hannah.

The first life threatening event

Holly ran up a huge bill at the vet’s in the first year of her life. She ate a tennis ball. Originally the tennis ball was attached to the end of a piece of string. Holly loved springing up and down trying to chomp at the ball when someone was kind enough to dangle it madly in front of her. One day when the parents arrived home after a quick trip to the pet shop, Holly had become really sick. She was lying down breathing erratically, heaving and a bit on the shaky side. There was a piece of string lying beside her on the floor. The vet found the tennis ball inside Holly’s gut. Holly was admitted to the Veterinary Hospital as an inpatient for an intestinal obstruction. Five days later the parents brought her home. Holly was ready to eat her next challenge.

One little Frenchie simply wasn’t enough …

One little Frenchie simply wasn’t enough trouble so they decided to go for double trouble. Wilson (aka Wils) joined the clan twelve months later. As they had the same canine parents, he was actually Holly’s little brother. Hannah wasn’t really that wrapped in Wils with his short white coat, his one blue eye, one brown eye and his big and small black freckles. Despite his strange but very cute looks, he has such a crazy personality. But his supersized tongue that hangs outside his mouth to the left side really sets him apart. That makes Wils look not very smart. Despite that, when people get to know the Frenchies, Wils quickly becomes the favourite.

The siblings

Holly and Wilson adore each other. Holly is the perfect big sister and is so protective of her little brother. She is also the perfect mistress. She looks at Dave with longing eyes waiting for a chin rub. Holly loves nothing more than snuggling up to Dave on the couch while he tries to enjoy a wine and catch up on the Bachelor. Pity help anyone who comes near especially the other woman, the wife, Hannah. The obsession for Dave has increased over time along with the green-eyed monster. But there is a winner in this tragic family drama. Wils. Hannah began to see a long time ago that Wils isn’t so bad after all.

The makeover

Sometimes Holly and Wils get up to a bit of mischief together. After going out for dinner one night, Holly and Wils greeted the humans at the front door with looks of accomplishment on their faces. It was snowing inside. Two empty potato sacks had replaced two giant sized plush brown cushions. Wils still had a bit of fluffy white stuffing hanging off the end of his enormous tongue. After that, Holly and Wils had to stay outside like real dogs in their kennel when the humans went out or went to bed. Unless the temperature dropped to below 11 degrees, then they were allowed to camp in the laundry overnight. Those rules haven’t changed over time.

A much more sedentary lifestyle

These days Holly and Wils are getting on a bit and lead a much more sedentary lifestyle. Wils still likes to eat the odd piece of wood, plastic, cloth or glass lying around. Furniture legs, plastic containers, his food bowl, his bed, wooden and plastic toys. He ate through my eye glasses that I accidentally left outside one day. He didn’t go much on the frames although they were plastic. Luckily his gut can digest everything.

Am I next?

Wils is your sensitive type and shows some insecurities at times. One Christmas Day, you could see the look of terror in his eyes as he was watching the suckling pig on the spit going around with the flames roasting its little body. It wasn’t hard to see what Wils was thinking as he looked at the humans one by one with suspicion. Asking for answers. ‘Am I next?’ Poor Wilson.

Holly’s had the lot

Holly prefers to eat only food that is served up to her nowadays. Despite that, she still has a lot of trips to the vet. Bad hips, skin infections, eye problems, Holly’s had the lot. The treatment for an ongoing ear infection has turned her beautiful once erect tall ears into floppy drop ears. Her major flaw is that she snores. Very loudly and high pitched. Awful sound. Apparently the loudest snore ever recorded was around 120 decibels. I reckon Holly would be around that level. But she can’t help that.

Moving down the ranks

After Holly and Wilson had been around for a few years, my daughter told me that I was going to be a grandmother. I kept a lid on my excitement because I was anxious and concerned. Would I love my first grandchild as much as I love my grand doggies? But from the moment my first grandchild was born, the feeling of love almost surpassed the love I felt when my own children were born. And nothing has surpassed that. But I still love Holly and Wils. They have just moved down the ranks.