The Hektorious One

Yet another month, yet another couple of inches. Here are Hektor's new measurements after only one month of growth:

As of March 1, 2009, four weeks since his last measuring:
- Neck: 16.25" behind the ears (+1.5"), 16.75" on the lower neck above the shoulders (+2.5")
- From nose to tail along his back, 26" (+2.5")
- Withers: 15" (stayed the same)
- Chest circumference, 23" (+1")

We didn't get his weight this time, and were unsuccessful at trying to measure the width of his face, since he tried to eat his measuring apparatus every time we held it up to his face. Suffice to say, he is hefty to hold, and his head is growing nicely, but still considerably slower than the rest of his freakishly large body. Seeing other Frenchies in the neighborhood, seemingly large ones a few months ago are now dwarfed by our monster. Hektor is longer, taller, but not yet thicker than almost all of the other Frenchies in the area. What have we gotten ourselves into?!

That's his sheep pelt bed. I found the pelt, which was a gift from an aunt in New Zealand, in my childhood home, so now it's his makeshift bed around the apartment. He loves it, and sometimes feels so strongly about it that he must eat some of the fuzz. In this photo, he clawed and pulled at the pelt until a ridge formed, and then he used that has his pillow.

Hektor is an experienced walker now. He knows to wait for me at a crosswalk, and rarely tries to drag me anymore. When crazy dogs bark at him and scramble to get at him on their leashes, he just stands there and looks at them, but neither shies away frightened, nor barks back to match their aggressiveness. He seems well-balanced and happy, and he trusts that I will protect him when any dog or person threatens him. We are companions, and little extensions of one another. Ian and I try to leave him alone at least once a day to get him accustomed to abandonment. Aside from a yip now and then, he is fine in a crate.

He's sleeping on the pelt at my feet right now. Soon, we'll go for another little sprint in the new snow, and he'll hopefully be sawing logs again in no time.