My husband and I owned a delightful mixed breed dog for 17 years during which time we both worked. Chablis essentially trained herself and could be counted upon to stand guard out the patio window to greet us both upon arriving home from work. When we lost Chablis the grief was awesome.

I set about finding the perfect breed of dog to attempt to replace her. I wanted a toy dog of refinement and sophistication. Having found a computer program that outlined the characteristics of toy dogs, I did a double take when I found Papillons. That was the breed for me.

During his protracted and ultimately fatal illness, my husband gifted me a registered Papillon that was yet to be born. So much time passed between that gift and ultimately receiving her, I almost gave up on getting Isolde ("Izzy"). Thank God, I didn’t. She was the absolute love of my life, my shadow and constant companion. All six pounds went with me from one end of house and back step-by-step, gazing forlornly when she couldn’t go with me, and standing vigil at the back patio door until I returned. A raucous hopping barking greeting was always a gift of great pleasure.

Early in our life together, I reacquainted with my best friend from college with whom I had completely lost contact for 38 years. He and I shared the joys of Izzy together. When she was almost 13 years old, over the Thanksgiving holidays she became gravely ill and died just as we were able to ascertain the nature of her illness. He and I were grief stricken through Christmas at which time he insisted that we do something to allay our grief, such as attempt to replace our lovely little Isolde. Initially we both felt it disloyal to her to make the effort and finally realized that it was a tribute to her love that we try to find another pet.

We searched the United States over, looking for a registered, well-bred Papillon for our home. The difficulty in locating our current love is what has brought me to breeding Papillons. Ultimately, we located Giselle (Nightfire’s Crystal Chic) in Germany in January of 2022. Clearly, we had literally searched the world over and found just the dog, happily from a highly regarded breeder in Europe, Yvonne Weber.

We flew to Berlin in the dead of winter, in the freezing cold and snow to pick up our little Giselle. I would have never dreamed it possible, but she has become every bit the love of my life that had gone missing. Bred to the highest possible standards, Giselle is at the same time ultimate sophisticate, Grand Champion, amateur squirrel hunter, and a wonderful companion to both of us.

Papillons in general, and my dogs in particular, are the utmost in well-bred show winning blood lines and the most loving and family friendly pets imaginable.