Bertram The Frenchie

Bertram the Frenchie, age 11 and two weeks, has crossed the rainbow bridge. He had a very nice final afternoon on a perfect sunny spring day, getting outside to porch sit in his new galaxy harness, snuggling his humans and giving lots of kisses, and most importantly voraciously eating some of his very favorite food: chicken! and cheese (some of his Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar Shreds.) Known by many different names, including Bertram, Bubba, Bubba Bean, Sweet Bean, Sweet Potato, Sunpatch Boi, and Baby Bean, to name a few, Bertram was a very happy pup who really brought joy to everyone's world. Named after his human great-grandfather, with whom he shared some personality traits, it ended up being a coincidental delight that he also shared a name with a well-loved butler character (played by Kevin Chamberlin) from the Disney TV show Jessie, much to the delight of pretty much everyone under the age of 25. He was loved by so many, and loved us all right back. In his vibrant life, Bertram was particularly fond of his daily walkies and his MANY many* friends around the neighborhood and around the world! He never turned down a good treat – okay, sometimes he did, let's face it, he had high standards! – but particularly liked visiting his many shop friends on Walnut and Austin, including at Henry Bears, Dogish, AnkFit, the former Craft Beer Cellar, and the Rockland Trust Bank. He loved the outdoors, and was happiest when grass rolling in the fields, saying hi to kiddos at the high school, sitting outside of Starbucks or on the front porch to greet the neighborhood, traipsing through the woods, on the trails at Wellesley, wading in Bulloughs pond (or the opportune deep puddle), snacking on lemony weeds, running on the beach in Rye, seeing all of his friends at the dog park, and directing us to all of his favorite buddies houses: canine, feline, and human. Bertram was not a morning dog, but instead preferred getting cozy in one of his many beds and in front of a heater, or snuggling up directly so that his snoozles could appropriately hit the Zoom microphone. He enjoyed lounging in the "leg canoe". He loved having visitors over so he could let them pat him for as long as they wanted. He never missed a good warmth opportunity, and in his later years, was fond of letting you know that it was sun patch (or fire bed) time, and "we really should *all* be in the other room right now." Unsurprisingly, on that note, Bertram had a very strong point of view about pretty much everything. (A family trait!) Bertram was not a toy obsessed dog, although he did have a few favorites as a puppy, including his pig, and his hedgehogs, and was a big fan of a bully stick. Not one to destroy a toy or rip anything to shreds, he had one notable exception early in life where he went to town on an LL Bean Wicked Good Slipper. Just couldn't control himself! But would you blame him? He very much enjoyed practicing his tricks skills, including sitting, shake, and spin, and was a skilled communicator, particularly by tapping a person (or the refrigerator) with his paw to let people know his ardent desires. One of his earliest tricks was as an escape artist: managing at mere months old to parkour over a gate, or unlatch a double latched crate! Fortunately he was never one to wander away, as he much preferred the company of his people to traveling solo. (And would always make sure his whole traveling party was together - no pup left behind!) One of his most important jobs was surveying the neighborhood from his ottoman at the window, and was known to many at night as the bat-dog, where his silhouette was formidable and the comfort to many. He was a very big fan of the small humans in his life. Waving to him daily was part of our small human neighbor's nightly bed time routine, and he loved going over to play with his littlest buddies. He was also a fan of FaceTime with his littlest friends all over the world. He deeply loved his family, and was the love of our lives. Like so many of our loved ones, Bertram lived life until the fullest until the very end, where he was diagnosed suddenly with fast-moving cancer on his last day. Dogs make us better people, and while he had a truly great run at life, it never feels like enough. Bertram is joining his many friends over the rainbow bridge, including his human grandfather, Matt, for some spareribs and many skritches in the great beyond. In lieu of traditional condolences, Bertram would have very much liked you to go out and treat yourself to a little ice cream or snackie, so please do that in his honor!

I swear I left the house today with a dog, how did I end up back here with this baby seal?

A PSA on #NationalPetDay: @bertramfrenchie is cute, has a lot to say, and is on Twitter and Instagram: Instagram.com/bertramthefren…