Our Bella Luna
by Algrina Tonelli

A true experience of
the Tonelli Family
(Rick, Algrina, Anthea and Ryan)

Copyright 2007 Algrina Tonelli - All Rights Reserved 
(not to be copied without permission of the author)

It's been over a year, but it seems like yesterday that we picked up our beautiful Bichon Frise, whom we named Luna.

Regardless of the time and effort we put into researching various breeders, we consider ourselves very fortunate to have found a breeder who has educated and given us the proper tools to understand the breed, as well as care for Luna properly.

The process from the beginning to end was not an easy one.  After a family relative recommended the breed to us, we were able to find many breeders of the Bichon Frise along with their contact information in the  Dogs in Canada Annual magazine.

Our breeder of choice was the sixth one which we contacted and we were delighted that she asked more questions of us than we did of her.  Her inquiry proved that she was working in the best interests of her puppies along with the great deal of responsbility she encompassed.

Being dog owners prior to this, we already understood that our selection would be lifelong.

It wasn't until we actually received the call from our breeder that we could visit her kennel, that we realized just how serious she was about where and with whom she placed her puppies.  With all of us in tow for the first visit, the experience could be compared to an adoption.  We were delighted with the manner in which the process was conducted and were thankful to be in the hands of someone  we felt was a guru of the Bichon breed.

Our family is enriched by this delightfully playful, charismatic puppy who fit right into our routine from the moment we brought her home.  She is everything we wanted - small, non-shedding, quiet, very happy, playful, easy to train, obedient, mild mannered and wonderful with the young and the old.  We can't say enough about her, except that she is so much fun to have around.

Veterinary visits are pretty standard.  Fortunately, we were able to find a veterinarian who was in full agreement with our breeder's recommendations of "dos and don'ts".  Grooming is absolutely necessary and should be considered an automatic expense of at least $50 every six weeks when taking this breed into consideration.

Luna was easy to train and adapted quickly to our routine, and although she loves the children, her favorite is definitely the man of the house, my husband.  She has his daily schedule recorded down to the minute, and waits at the door for  his return home from work each evening.

We express endless thanks towards our breeder for allowing us the pleasure of knowing and understanding this breed.  We follow her instruction binder religiously and feel comfort in knowing we are equipped with such helpful information.  It certainly has served us well, covering information like the Canadian Standard for the Bichon Frise, a Profile of the Bichon Frise, Recommended books to read on the breed, Training, an explanation of "trust", tips for creating a Bichon puppy you can live with, grooming, Bichon health, Medication/Vaccination, Food, Emergency numbers, health forms, etc.

Knowing that we can count on our breeder after the purchase, is as important as the introduction.  Our advice to anyone seeking this or any pet is that you can never do too much research; and being comfortable with the selection of your breeder should be as important as the selection of the breed.

In closing, there is not enough to be said about owning a purebred Bichon Frise. 
To know them is to love them!

Rick, Algrina, Anthea and Ryan Tonelli
August 2006