Belle

Belle is from Josie's last litter and is the closest thing to her mother I have: a clear red fawn with a black mask, a level topline and nostrils you can see into from across the room. She is athletic for a Frenchie. She will trot the full loop around the block on a March morning without her breathing changing, which is the ordinary, unglamorous test I care about most, and she will play with a ball for as long as anyone lets her. On paper she graded 0 on her respiratory function exam, with normal patellas, heart and eyes, OFA Fair hips, clean spine films and a clear DNA panel across CMR1, HUU, DM and JHC. Her first litter, four puppies by Remy, was born in March by planned C-section. She was a fussy, attentive mother who counted her puppies every time she got back in the box. She has the rest of this year off.