Gibson

Gibson, the 2-year-old French Bulldog, met me at the door with his loving hoomans, Steph and Dwayne. We introduced ourselves and the family showed me around their homey townhouse. The tour included 3 beautifully decorated floors and a nursery that’s being prepped for the arrival of their first human child.

Once we took a look around, we sat in the den to chat about all things Gibson. As we talked, Gibson was so sweet and warmed up to me right away. His nubby little tail went crazy. He couldn’t stop licking me and asking for attention!

Gibson in 4 words:
Funny, Cuddly, Spaz, Smart

How did you pick the name Gibson?
Dwayne loves to play the guitar, so we named him after his favourite one.

How did the 3 of you become a family?
We always wanted a Frenchie, but we already had a Bernese Mountain dog named Fennek who was Steph’s world. He meant everything to her and she even got him tattooed on her arm.

We ended up staying with family for a little while to save for our house, and they had a little dog that Fennek got along with. We saw them bond and figured it was a good sign that we could get another dog, so we started looking for a Frenchie. When we found a breeder, it was pretty much a “let’s go check them out” on a whim situation, while secretly knowing we would end up taking a puppy home. And we did.

We love Gibson, but we were wrong about Fennek. He wasn’t as happy as we thought he’d be. We think Fennek knew the other little dog wasn’t ours so he wasn’t jealous. However, when Gibson joined the family it cramped his only-child lifestyle.

Unfortunately, Fennek was taken from us earlier than we expected. He had been sick since he was 2 and had developed cancer all over his body. He passed away shortly after getting Gibson and it was the hardest thing to go through. For a while Steph struggled with feelings of guilt over getting Gibson so close to Fennek’s passing. It took some time, but Gibson and Steph now have an incredible bond all their own. He follows her everywhere, will stand right beside her while she cooks, and sits in between us to watch TV at night. Fennek will always be in our hearts, and now Gibson is too. He might be small, but he fills the whole house with happiness.

If your dog was a celebrity, who would they be?
He’s definitely Danny DeVito who thinks he’s Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What are some of Gibson’s quirks?
He’s always doing funny things, he’s a quirky guy, but a lot of them are hard to explain. One thing is he loves to sunbath. Even if he’s really hot, he’ll still find the one sunny patch on our floor, lay down and love it. He also licks everything, has a lazy eye sometimes, and his one paw is crooked from breaking his leg as a pup.

What’s a normal day like for you 3?
We both work, so we don’t get to spend as much time as we’d like. But, whenever we’re home Gibson is involved in everything we do. He’s so funny; he’ll be so happy when we come home that he just stands there shaking with excitement until we call him.

We usually go on long morning and evening walks, have endless cuddles on the couch and in bed, and the rest of the time wherever Steph is, Gibson is right there with her. Especially while she makes dinner. He loves to just sit at her feet and watching her. Makes sense, food and human companionship = a dogs dream.

If Gibson could tell me something about his humans, what do you think he would he say?
Honestly, he’d tell you we really love him. He seems really happy with us and we give him all the love we can.