Last Saturday night, while en-route to see a play in West Hollywood, luck was with me. As I attempted to make a left turn off of Santa Monica Boulevard, my wife, Linda, screamed out, "There's a French Bulldog!" I immediately swerved across two lanes of traffic to the right, to overtake the dog and his master. As I approached, I immediately noticed that the dog had a full scrotal sac! Linda rolled down the window and shouted, "Do you want to mate your dog? I have a picture of his girlfriend!" The somewhat astonished owner came over to the car, admitted that he was looking for a special friend for his dog, but after one look at Fessie's picture, he was smitten.

The traffic behind me had started honking impatiently, so I suggested that we move the conversation around the corner. And it was there, on the east side of the West Hollywood City Hall that I got to meet David and his buddy, Cousteau. You could immediately see that not only was Cousteau a fine physical specimen, but he had a friendly and outgoing personality. He was slightly smaller than Fessie, but was built like a little muscleman. In contrast to other potential suitors we had met, he conducted himself with poise and decorum. His light cream coat was a great counterpoint to Fessie's dark brindle, probably assuring a litter that had a potpourri of colors and markings. David and I exchanged phone numbers with the intent of setting a play date in the near future. Perhaps the most ironic thing about the whole affair, considering the location, were David's parting words, "I can hardly wait to tell my wife."

David and I spoke again on Monday and set up a rendezvous for Sunday afternoon. As fate would have it, Fessie's body chose this time to break out with a case of acne. Fessie was literally going to the prom and there she was with a case of pimples! It didn't seem fair. Luckily for her, her daddy knew what to do and within a couple of days on antibiotics her blemishes had vanished. We could hardly wait for Sunday to come.

Cousteau and his parents, David and Amy, arrived right on time. Fessie and I greeted them at the door and escorted them into our yard where they met the rest of my family as well as our fourteen year old miniature poodle, Jacques. The bulldogs immediately hit it off and started wrestling like a sumo and his sumorette interspersed with playful bobbing and weaving. They even took a water break together and lapped from the same bowl simultaneously! The requisite pictures were taken of the dogs at play as well as posed snapshots of the young couple sitting on the laps of their fathers. David told us that Cousteau came from Arkansas and was from championship stock. Amy had flown there to pick him up after they had seen pictures of him on the Internet. While the dogs played, David mentioned two interesting coincidences. First, he related that his father also had a poodle identical to Jacques that was named for Jacques' namesake, Jacques Cousteau. Secondly, his street address number, 1203 was identical to my street address! Cousteau's visit also produced a change in attitude among my family members who had, in spite of my objections, considered Fessie to be a bit of a chubbette. However, when she stood side by side with Cousteau it was apparent that both dogs had the physiques of body builders.

In short, it was a great first date. More play sessions are being planned, and at the end of the day everyone left knowing that the fix up was a success and that two nice families were coming together.

The Saga continues:  Episode 3