Like
babies, puppies are not always planned...
not in our case anyway.
It was 
a
visit to Southern California and a detour to a Malibu restaurant that
led us to Broughlin. After lunch, the entire
scene seemed safe enough-just rabbits and guinea pigs were displayed
outside the pet store, which was located next door to the cafe. 
A tentative peek inside yielded fish tanks and pet supplies-the coast
was crystal clear, or so we thought...well, we wandered in and love
was around the corner. 
Since we were to be overnight guests that evening at a friend's home
in the area, we decided that perhaps we really couldn't show up at
the front door with an eight-week old English Bulldog puppy, (even
though she adores dogs) we would have to hope that the bundle of joy
would wait for us.
When we arrived at our friend's home, we did mention our visit to
the pet shop. We were happy to hear that the shop had an excellent
reputation, that their specialty was English Bulldogs, but not exactly
thrilled to hear that new arrivals normally didn't last more than
twenty-four hours.
We had been dog-less for two years or so, since the passing of Maxfield
and Arthur-our Basset Hounds extraordinaire! We yearned for
that familiar companionship, yet due to a sometimes hectic travel
schedule, we wanted to provide the best life possible for a potential
new member of the family.
We returned to the pet shop the next morning before the doors had
even been unlocked. With noses pressed to the glass, while craning
our necks, we did see a Bulldog puppy-it just wasn't the same dog
that we had seen the day before. When the doors finally opened, we
were relieved to find that "our boy" had been relocated
to what must have been the kennel for the "day old" Bulldogs
and another puppy, fresh off of a flight to Los Angeles International
Airport, had taken his place. 
Through the glass window of Broughlin's kennel, we were greeted with
a demanding bark. We asked to see him and were led to the "puppy
area" where a box of toys took center stage. We were promptly
ignored. The little guy did his best to climb onto and into the box
of toys and he did pretty well-he was then and is still, a very determined
Bulldog!
Broughlin came home with us that day, he was a little champion during
the five-hour drive home-and was even fairly well-behaved during a quick
visit along the way, except for the theft of a tiny stuffed teddy
bear from one of the cats that belonged to our hosts.
Who would think a pooch with this 
face could take anything that wasn't his?
Broughlin adores toys and he and his first
friend 
Daisy,
the Golden Retriever, love to steal each others'...it's just one of
many games they
play.
Broughlin has many canine friends-Carmel is a very dog friendly
town, to say the least. Here he is with his buddy 
Tank-an English Bulldog puppy his exact
age. We have decided that English Bulldogs are like snowflakes-every
one is different! We think Tank looks like
Alfred Hitchcock.
Broughlin also loves the ladies-he has a special fondness for Gladys
-an
English Bulldog who occasionally visits from Southern California.
Here, Gladys enjoys a relaxing bubble bath.
Broughlin has made many new friends for Carmel Doll Shop, too.
Here, he gets some love from Rachel, 
an old, young friend visiting from Denver...she is his Fairy Dog Mother-it's
official.
Halloween wouldn't be the same without dressing up in costumes 
...the
Bro-Devil is a good sport!
Here is a picture of the big boy, 
at almost a year old, relaxing
at home....
The 2005 Christmas Season found Broughlin full of holiday spirit and posing
for our official Carmel Doll Shop greeting card!
Happy 2005!
...and Happy 2006!
...and Happy 2007!
...and Happy 2008!
...and Happy 2009!
•••••••••••••••••
2007 is the year that Broughlin went on his first cross-country adventure...
by automobile! Please click the image below to see some photographs taken along his route, across the country and back...over six thousand miles in all!
•••••••••••••••••
Broughlin loves visitors – that's why he is a daily part of the Carmel
Walking Tour. He likes to do his "sit"-"down"-"shake"-"high-five"
routine for the admiring crowd! Plus, he knows all of his commands in Spanish – he is a bilingual Bulldog!
By now, posing with tourists from all
over the globe is commonplace for our young star. But, we guarantee
a very warm welcome from Bro when you visit Carmel Doll Shop...
|
Bro
as Birthday Boy in 2006.
One year old! |
and that is a promise!
