Who am I?

My name is Avril. My mommy tells me I am a PBGV, a Petite (small) Basset (low), Griffon (scruffy and long-haired) Vendeen (from the Vendee region of France). Mommy says I am a long-haired basset hound from France. I am not sure exactly what that is, but I do know I am a dog. A happy dog. I am happy to be with my family and travel with them, especially when I return home to France.

What do I look like you ask? I am white and fluffy with a black nose and brown long floppy ears and a nice tail that I wag a lot. I can even more the tip of my tail a little bit when I get a little excited. I have spots on my belly and my skin and even in my mouth. I am not big but when I go to the dog park I am the one of the big dogs in the small dog park. I have a long body and short legs so I can't run very fast, but I can chase rabbits.

I was born in France in April 2005, so my name is Avril, French for April. I was born on a farm in a tiny town in France called Pinet. I had a mother and father, three brothers and a sister. I was little, almost three months old when everything changed in one day.

Two people, a man and a woman, came to visit and look at me. My owner, Dennis, was talking to them, and then came to get me and my sister so they could look at us. Dennis picked up my sister and handed her to the lady, then tried to pick me up. I was scared so I ran away to hide, but Dennis came to find me and carried me to the lady.

She picked me up and I could tell she really liked me. She had a nice voice and was petting me. I heard the people talking with Dennis. Then the lady and the man took me in a car. I had never been in a car before, but the lady held me on her lap and was talking to me. I could not understand what she was saying but she sounded nice and happy.

We drove to the doctor's office which I definitely did not like. The doctor looked at me, and gave me a shot to make me go to sleep. When I woke up my ear hurt from marks the doctor put in it, and everyone was working on papers that had to do with me. the lady and the man took me back to the car. Everyone seemed happy and excited. I saw the man shake hands with Dennis and the doctor.

The lady and the man took me into the car and put me in the back seat and drove away. I was not feeling good. I was excited and upset, and had all the medicine in me from the doctor. So after a while I got sick in the back seat.

The car stopped and the lady and the man were upset but cleaned me up, and cleaned up the car, and the car started again. We drove a long time.

When the car stopped again, we were at a big white building with lots of cars and people. I heard the lady and the man call it a hotel. I had never been to a hotel before.

They took me in a large box that moved. We got out into a long hallway and the lady was carrying me to a door. Behind the door were two big rooms with two children, one a boy and one a girl. They were so excited to see me. I was tired and wanted to sleep.

The lady told the children my name was Avril because I was born in April. She told them that since I was French, April in French is Avril. So, I am Avril, I am French and I am a dog.

This is my French dog story.