Intake photo : rear view , showing feces embedded in hair.

Intake photo : side view ; his tail has been shorn but nothing else.

The next day I spent about 3 hours cutting matted hair off his legs, belly, chest, neck. I got almost everything except his topside and sides of his torso. At that point we were both tired. He was very trusting and cooperative through the process. He did interrupt me at intervals by trying to kiss my face. He is a sweet affectionate dog.

Below is a photo of him after those three hours.

Side view of Mijoux after 3 hours of shearing. He still needs a lot more work.

I was also able to contact the vet clinic whose phone number was on the Rabies tag. All I was able to learn was the spelling of his name and tht he is current on vaccinations (the dates he is due for re-vaccinationare 3/24/08 for Rabies and 11/13/09 for DAP). Also his age in the vet's records is now 10 1/2. I may be able to get full records (without client information) later on from them, but that may not include much additional information.

I'd been told that Mijoux knows his commands in French and I was able to verify that he does seem to understand "assis" (sit) and "couche" (down) and perhaps "au pied" (come and heel , literally "to the feet" of the handler). I've also been told that "Mijoux" is the name of a ski resort in France, but I will bet that Mijoux does not know how to ski nor how to snowboard.

The next day it took only another 2 hours to finish the job. I got a bit closer to the skin than I'd wanted to in a few spots and left him a bit ragged in others, but now he was comfortable and now I could start bringing him into the house. To my great relief , his skin seems normally healthy. He could so easily have had horrible ear infections, skin rotting away, or even maggots. A matted coat holds a great deal of heat and moisture next to the skin and that is a recipe for big big trouble.

Here he is shorn and happy and in my front yard. It's not a very good photo. It's hard to get good photos of dogs who want to follow you around unless the dog has a good Stand-Stay command or unless you have an assistant.

Mijoux fully shorn and comfortable.

Mijoux is a very affectionate and sweet dog. He is very well behaved in the house. He gets along beautifully with all the other dogs. He walks well on leash with a halter. He is very eager to please. He obviously was a well loved and trained dog at some earlier time in his life and his two years in the kennel has not changed that. He should fit into any loving and responsible home very well.

I do not have any idea however how he views cats since I don't have any. And I have not yet gotten to take him to the dog park (where I expect him to be peaceful with dogs but to be more interested in getting petting from people than in playing actively with dogs). And I have not yet gotten to take him for a walk in town. May be on Saturday we can do Farmer's Market and then go to PetCo to see how he reacts to caged cats being offered for adoption by the SPCA.

Yes, he is house-broken. It took him a bit longer to be confident using my dog door than it takes some dogs, but now he uses it very well. Yes he is neutered, which must have happened before he entered the kennel as they did not even know if he was or not.

I need to get him into my vet so we can update his Rabies and do a heartworm test. He seems healthy except for being somewhat overweight (and that I know how to cure). He is very fluid in his movements, ie no sign of arthritis or other mobility problems. He seems much younger than his reported 10 and 1/2 years. If "50 is the new 40" for humans , perhaps "10 is the new 7" for Mijoux. At any rate he should still have some good years left to share with an appreciative adopter.

At this point he has been here only a week. While I certainly hope he will be adopted and be treasured in his own home, he would be welcome to stay here for the rest of his life.

UPDATE 3/04/08 :

Mijoux is a pleasure to live with. He is an absolutely civilized housedog. He is equally civilized in public. We went to Farmers Market on Saturday and it was more of a riot than usual, but he took the chaos in calmly. We also went to the dog park, where he mostly stood around. I have not yet had chance to test his reaction to cats, but he seemed to ignore two caged cats on display at the Farmers Market.

Yesterday he went to the vet and was examined and seen to be in excellent health. His heartworm test was negative , so now he is on monthly prevention. His Rabies vaccination was updated. (DAP is not due till 11/09.) My vet was able to get his records from his previous vet, which shows one ownership from puppyhood until 11/06 and shows regular care during that period with no serious problems. He had a few incidents of ear irritation or yeast infections, so he may be a bit prone to those.

For more information or the chance to meet Mijoux, please phone me at (530) 756-2997 between 10am and 4 pm California time. I would prefer a home in Northern California, but might consider homes further away.

UPDATE 3/22/08 : Mijoux has been ADOPTED.

His adopter is an older man, a widower whose previous Bouvier was greatly cherished and died some years back. He has been yearning for a Bouv again. Mijoux is a perfect fit as he is so gentle and affectionate and can enjoy slow paced walks. A young dog would not have been a good fit. Mijoux's adopter will be assisted by a middle-aged woman and her husband and daughter , all of whom have become close friends with the adopter . They will provide some longer walks and some extra training, and they will also be Mijoux's safety net if he should outlive his adopter. They all live about a 3 hour drive from me and I am invited to visit any time. It's on the California coast, so cool temperatures year round. How lovely for a Bouvier. But being a cherished companion is lovelier still.

Update 7/02/2010 : Mijoux's final chapter

Because Mijoux's former owner re-appeared last week, having been hospitalized off and on over the previous several years, and asked about him, I e-mailed to the delightful woman who had brought Mijoux's adopter to me, explaining that while I would not give out her contact information nor that for the adopter to the former owner, I would like to be able to set his mind at rest concerning the dog's fate. She very graciously wrote back to tell me that the dog and the adopter had both , not surprisingly (in view of their ages) passed away , but that they had greatly enriched each other's lives. She described a few of the details of their life together and told me how much the adopter had appreciated the companionship of this fine old gentleman dog. Fortunately for all of us, the former owner took a good attitude about this news : he was sad that his dog was dead and that he wouldn't get to see him again, but he was grateful to all of us that the dog got to live out the last part of his life in a loving home rather than in a kennel run.