Animated Toys
Our Toy Poodles
(Playing ~ "Somewhere Over the Rainbow")

George (with Henri) and Carolyn (with Jacques) .... about four years
after we got our first two poodles and before the second two arrived.

The Lord God made them all.

"And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;
and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof."
~ Genesis 2:19

~~~

"A good man is concerned for the welfare of his animals ..."
~ Proverbs 12:10a (The Living Bible)

~~~

Animals are such agreeable friends.
They ask no questions. They pass no criticisms.
~ George Eliot

~~~

Dear Lord, please make me the person that my dog thinks I am.

Scan of original formal portrait of Jacques and Henri ...
I had just picked them up after they were groomed in Donelson, Tennessee.
I wanted to stop in Castner-Knott's on the way home and, as was my habit,
carried them in with me, one over each shoulder. I happened upon a professional photographer
taking pictures of children and asked if he would take a picture of Jacques and Henri.
This is the result. They behaved beautifully and didn't move once I placed them!

With the exception of the formal picture above,
I took all the pictures of my poodles myself.

Jacques and Henri ..................................................... Julienne and Marie

No one could be more surprised than I that I could feel such emotion, caring and unconditional love for dogs or,
indeed, cats. Until I got my first poodle as an adult, my experience with animals of any type had been very limited.
As a child, we never had a pet at home; I do not remember even wanting one.

Our next door neighbor had a fish pond, and I recall catching tadpoles and even tiny frogs,
just out of the tadpole stage. My sister and brother and I would bring them in the house, surely without
Mother's knowledge, and watch the tiny frogs jump all over the bed.

As very young children, at times, throughout my neighborhood, we would come across a litter of tiny kittens.
I don't remember ever considering taking one home. My only vivid recollection of dogs was not a good one.
I recall one day, when I was sweeping the sidewalk in front of our house, that several dogs suddenly
ran up to me barking and threatening. I was scared to death, trying to fend them off with my broom,
until Mother heard, came to my rescue and somehow ran them off.

In 1966, my husband George and I got a toy poodle, Henri, the first of four. I have always heard that
dog lovers are crazy. Well, let me tell you, poodle lovers are absolutely insane! Such wonderful company,
unconditional love, and pure joy that we received from the first one in 1966 until
the last one died in 1992 would be impossible to describe. Poodles are at once intelligent,
loving and playful; they're also good watch dogs !!

This changed quite a bit when the second two poodles came upon the scene, but with our first two ~
Henri and Jacques ~ we took them everywhere we went. They were very small, and I carried
them into grocery stores and other places with one on each shoulder. They were in many big
hotels when we attended conventions and learned, among other things, how to wait for the elevator
and to sit still until the elevator door opened to get off.

Henri died of a heart block while our wonderful veterinarian of many years, Dr. John W.Evans,
Donelson Animal Hospital (Tennessee), was trying to save him. With all other poodles and all cats,
when the time came that they were suffering and with no hope of being restored to a healthy, pain-free
and happy life, I took them to the vet's office and held them while a shot was being administered
to ease them out of their suffering. It was heart-breaking and extremely difficult, but I could not bear
the thought of their dying all alone. All our pets are buried in our backyard. In relatively recent years,
other great vets, Dr. Jim Hundley and Dr. Allen Craig, Lebanon Animal Hospital (Tennessee),
have also cared for our pets.

I could not begin to tell all their wonderful stories here, so I will simply say that this page
is dedicated to the memory of our precious poodles:

HENRI ~ male, snow white
Championship Pedigree
Born - June 3, 1966; Died - January 27, 1975

Henri was the best dog anyone could ever hope to have ~ loveable, intelligent, steady
as a rock and with a wonderful disposition. He "took care" of Jacques and would calm him down
when Jacques became upset. I was totally heartbroken when he died at only 8 1/2 years of age.

JACQUES ~ male, silver
Born - June 27, 1966; Died - January 26, 1980

Jacques was a nervous dog, but feisty and not afraid of a thing; at least as long as
his protector Henri was there. He was the smallest of our toys and when not at
Henri's side was usually on my lap. He was definitely "my" dog.

JULIENNE ~ female, silver
Born - January 19, 1974; Died - July 17, 1988

Julienne was a real sweetheart and very loving. She had been unwanted
by the lady we purchased her from, but was precious to us. We actually got her
to be a companion for Jacques after Henri died.

MARIE ~ female, silver
(daughter of Jacques and Julienne)
Born - December 16, 1975; Died - February 29, 1992

Marie was not much larger than Jacques. Luckily, she seemed to get the best traits from
both Julienne and Jacques. She was also very dependent on me and was usually on my lap.
In her latter days, with only her and the last (we thought) cat, Chocolate Bar, left, they
were constant companions and took care of each other.

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