Pierre’s Tale

They say that dogs are man’s best friend, but I never fully understood the saying until I met Pierre.

I grew up in a family with dogs and loved every single one of them, but Pierre was the first dog I bought myself as an adult. He and I went everywhere together – to the pub, friends’ houses and even to work. He was one of the most laidback dogs I’d ever met, and he slotted into my single life perfectly. Then, a couple of years later, I met Dave, and he and Pierre loved each other too.

In 2017 Dave and I got married and a few weeks after the wedding (which Pierre obviously attended), we decided to get another French Bulldog puppy, who we called Henri. Our little family felt complete – but just a few months later Pierre was diagnosed with a neurological condition.

As you may have guessed from his name, Pierre was French Bulldog, a breed which has become incredibly popular, thanks in part to social media, but when he and I met in 2013, the breed was still so rare that when I took him out for walks people would stop me to ask what sort of dog he was. Now everyone knows what a Frenchie looks like, but sadly many don’t know about the heath problems they face because of their breed.

Caption: Henri (back) and Pierre (front)

 Not long after Henri arrived in our home, Pierre started to lose the use of his back legs. At first we thought maybe he had pulled a muscle while playing with the puppy, but a trip to the vets revealed a far more serious issue. Pierre was referred to the Langford Vets Hospital in Bristol, where a CT scan showed he’s been born with a deformed spine. Since birth his vertebrae had been pushing on his spinal chord, and the problem had become so bad that he was having trouble walking.

The diagnosis was hard enough, but I was totally shocked when the vet told us that French Bulldogs are prone to the problem because they’re bred without a tail, which can cause their vertebrae to bunch up. I had no idea this was an issue, despite researching the breed as best I could before I bought Pierre. Thankfully though, the vet was able to operate, and with intensive physiotherapy after the procedure, Pierre seemed to recover well.

It was at this point that I decided to start documenting Pierre’s progress, as I wanted to make a film to highlight the issues Frenchies face. I filmed him having hydrotherapy, and spoke to his physio team about Pierre and the other dogs they were working with. I was shocked to hear they were seeing a brand new case of a French Bulldog with a bad back every fortnight and I was determined to raise awareness of the problem. But my shock soon turned to horror. 

By now Pierre had finished his physio, but out of the blue he started having seizure type episodes where he was clearly in severe pain. Our local vets were unsure what was causing it, so after several trips back and forth trying different medication, he was referred once again to the vets hospital in Bristol. This time a CT scan showed he had Intervertebral Disk Disease, IVDD, a condition where the disks between the vertebrae in the back either bulge or burst.

Because Pierre’s previous operation had used rods to stabilised his back, the vets thought the bulging disk was probably because the spine no longer flexed as much as it should. However,  French Bulldogs are prone to IVDD anyway, because of their short legs and relatively long bodies. Once again, Pierre’s health problems were due to his breeding, even though IVDD was something I had never heard of, despite being a French Bulldog owner.

The decision was taken to operate again, but this time Pierre took longer to recover, so the documentary was put on hold while we concentrated on Pierre’s health. As well as supplements, he needed regular injections at the vets to ensure he was pain free. He now walked with a funny gait, but overall he was happy and enjoying life, although we knew the medication he was taking would ultimately contribute to shorting his life.

In August 2022 Pierre sadly died. The loss was heartbreaking and I stopped working on the documentary.

However, Dave and I did continue to volunteer for Frenchie and Friends Foundation, a French Bulldog charity we had started supporting a few years before. Even if I couldn’t stand to work on the documentary, at least I felt I was doing something to help. Then in November 2023 we fostered Ralf, a two year old French Bulldog, through the charity.

The plan was never to keep him, but Ralf stole our hearts and we decided to adopt him! Henri, who had been more nervous since losing Pierre, seemed back to himself again, and our family once again felt complete. And that meant it felt time to start working on my documentary again, because while Ralf could never replace Pierre, the film did now have a happy ending.

So in January, ‘Pierre’s Tale’ was launched. It’s an honest and frank documentary about the realities of owning a French Bulldog and the health issues they face. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do, because I really hope it will make people think twice about French Bulldogs.

Frenchies are in pain because of their breed, but if people like me stopped buying them, then fewer would be bred, meaning fewer living in agony. And if just one French Bulldog is spared a life of pain because someone watched my film, then I’ll be happy – I don’t want Pierre’s suffering to have been in vain.