April 28, 2003 – This week's portrait features Stacy & Mat Bruneaux's "Jewel" with Judi & Al Arsenault's "Frenchie." Both girls are Chromadane puppies – littermates, in fact – bred by JP Yousha. When I photographed them at the 2002 GDCA National in October, they were just 7 months old. Both are currently exhibiting in the conformation ring; Jewel is already pointed and Frenchie will soon be involved in obedience and therapy work.

Live and learn...
A brief follow-up to the swan story. "Little Big" is still insufferable – his attacks are, if anything, increasing in frequency and ferocity. Following the advice of one of the visitors to this web site, I bought some pepper spray. I was told it is very effective against swans. Well guess what? Little Big seems to like it. A full shot to his face didn't even faze him. A couple of squirts later he smelled like a McIlhenny factory. My eyes watered whenever Lil' Big came within sniffing distance, yet he seemed quite pleased with himself. He was licking the orange pepper juice off his feathers. How could that be?! Well, I ran a search on Google and learned that birds are immune to capsaicin, the protein that makes peppers hot. (See for yourself.) That explains why our swan didn't scream in pain. I guess the upside of this fiasco is that I learned how to keep the raccoons and squirrels out of our bird feeders. Add hot pepper powder to the seed. It works!

Odds and Ends
Best wishes to Dianne Power's 8-year-old Gracie, who just underwent a bone marrow transplant at Tufts. Gracie, who was featured in "Not all Grinches are Green" and "Farmer Dane," was diagnosed last December with canine lymphoma. After several months of chemotherapy, which she tolerated very well, her lymphoma is in remission. If her bone marrow transplant is successful, Gracie can look forward to several more years of good health. Thus far, she is doing great!

Congratulations to Sue and Dana Shaw's little Miss Ducky, who achieved her Championship on April 18. CH Davisdane Definitely a Duckling achieved most of her points in the Bred By Exhibitor class, and she was totally breeder/owner handled by Sue Davis Shaw. (Kudos to Sue!) Ducky last appeared on DaDane in "The Party's Over."

Belated condolences to Paul and Penni Luntsford, who lost their beloved Brutus on March 10 to osteosarcoma. Brutus was a rescue, adopted through the Oregon Great Dane Rescue. His first 18 months of life were harsh and abusive, and then he was abandoned. The Luntsfords heard about Brutus and took him into their home and hearts. They shared five wonderful years together. Nobody could have loved him more. Paul has put together a terrific photo page as a tribute.