Do you ever just have this feeling that keeps bothering you, and you cannot seem to shake it away? It is like a constant tug as if something is trying to push you to make a certain decision or go in a certain direction. That's the feeling I had when I saw Luna's picture pop up on my Facebook feed last November. Since late 2016, I knew that I wanted to own a French Bulldog at some point in my life. I had become completely smitten with their one-of-a-kind quirky personalities and their adorable looks. I went down a deep rabbit hole of looking up any information that I could get my hands on about the breed. I was following French Bulldog Instagram pages, looking up YouTube videos about the breed's trainability, I even started to research breeders that lived somewhat close to me. I spent the past three years researching them like crazy. I knew that if I would decide to get a French Bulldog someday, I wanted to be responsible and take care of them properly. French Bulldogs are prone to many health problems. It was a cause of concern, but it made me want to be even more fully prepared if I ever decided to follow my dream of owning one in the future.

Another cause for concern that I had, in the beginning, was the fact that I desperately wanted to rescue a French Bulldog. The first dog my family, ever had growing up was a beautiful boxer boy named Koehler. My Mom had a boxer growing up and really wanted my brother and me to have the same experience. They found him as a puppy from a local breeder. He was an absolute sweetheart. However, he was challenging to train and came with numerous amounts of problems. He was a chewer, a habit that parents could never break of him. He was also full of energy almost all the time, all the way up to a few months before he passed away. It almost felt like the hyperactive puppy stage never left him. As much as we loved Koehler with all of our hearts, he was a tough dog to have as a first-time dog owner. 

It took a little while for my family to come to terms with Koehler's passing. It was tough and emotional, a story to tell at a later date. After some months had passed, my family was getting ready to go on a trip for a cousin's wedding. That very same week, our local news station had a litter of puppies that they were showcasing, who were currently at one of our local shelters. I had that "feeling" that we were talking about initially that one of the puppies was meant to be a part of our family. I begged my Mom and Dad to go and take a look at them. At the time, I don't think either of my parents were ready to take on another dog, let alone a puppy. They knew how much work Koehler was, and they still were not ready emotionally for another dog. My Mom told me that we would take a look at the puppies if any were left once we came home from our trip. I believe that both she and my Dad were fully believing that none of the puppies would still be at the shelter when we returned.

Well, you bet the minute after the plane landed, once we arrived back home, I was online searching to see if any of them were still available. Surprisingly enough, there were two puppies still left. As my Mom promised, one day, my Mom, my brother, and I picked up my Dad on his lunch break and headed down to the shelter. That day we came home with Sophie, our little pit-mix. Sophie was the opposite of Koehler in many ways. She did not cry the first couple of nights; she only destroyed one shoe and has never touched or destroyed anything ever since and had very few accidents in the house. Again, as much as we loved Koehler, Sophie was almost like a dream puppy and has been that way ever since.

Since we have had such an amazing experience with Sophie, I knew that I wanted only to adopt and rescue my dogs. This became a problem once I realized how much I wanted a French Bulldog. Due to their high popularity, French Bulldogs usually do not end up in the shelters, and if they do, they are almost instantly snatched up. I did my research and found a few rescue agencies, specifically for French Bulldogs. Due to the potential health risks, many Frenchies need to be relocated because their families cannot afford the medical bills. However, it is almost impossible to get a French Bulldog through these agencies. Well, I shouldn't necessarily say impossible, but it is challenging. I saw multiple testimonies from families who have tried to rescue French Bulldogs through the agencies for years and have never been considered. One dog may be up for adoption, and a hundred people may apply to rescue that very same dog. The odds of rescuing a French Bulldog from these agencies, in my opinion, felt very slim. I realized that if I ever wanted to own a French Bulldog, I would probably have to get one through a breeder.

I currently live in Central Florida and immediately started to research breeders in the area. If I had to get a French Bulldog from a breeder, I wanted to make sure I was going with someone very reliable, trustworthy, and who followed safe breeding practices. I followed a few on their Instagram and Facebook accounts and just sat on that information for a while. I knew when the time was right; an opportunity would come my way.

Fast forward to November 2019. One of the breeders that I was following on Facebook was posting pictures of their current litter. I saw Luna's picture pop up a few times and thought, "wow, she's pretty dang cute." As the days and weeks flew by, Luna ended up being the last of the litter. The breeder kept posting pictures of her, but no one seemed very interested in the little girl; that's when that feeling once again started to nag at me. I found myself looking at her picture multiple times throughout the day. I even had a dream or two about the puppy a couple of nights. I knew in my heart I had to meet this dog at least. My fiancé reluctantly agreed at the time. He loves dogs, but I do not think he was necessarily ready for one at the time. But he knew I would not stop bugging him until we went to see her. A week before Thanksgiving, we drove roughly two hours away to see Luna, who was named Daisy at the time, and we instantly fell in love with her. I am thrilled to say that Luna became a member of our family that day, and our world has been forever changed.