This page is all about my love Roxy, a mix of American and French Bulldog, Boxer, Field Spaniel and Staffordshire Terrier who came into my life on 17 March, 2008 as a three-month-old puppy. She was rescued from wandering around the rural area south of Raleigh by my friend Bryan whose 9-month-old purebred German Shepherd Sebastian has become her best friend too. We seem to be forming a happy family!

Roxy and Sebastian love to play indoors and outside and, despite her small size, Roxy is an incessant instigator and really gives Sebastian a good workout!

Roxy is growing up! At 8 months she is already over 45 pounds and is still the high-energy, loving and friendly pup that I am raising her to be. She loves playing at the doggy park, chewing my left-over bones and cuddling on the couch.

Roxy just turned 1 on 17 January 2009. Although I do not know the exact date of her birth, she was given to me on 17 March 2008 at which time our vet said that she appeared to be around 3 months old. I counted back 3 months and voila! The pix below show her at the annual blessing of the animals on the feast of St. Francis held at the Cathedral by Fr. Jonathan. Also, she is pictured having fun in a rare, heavy snowfall here in Raleigh with neighbor dogs Fenway and Athena.

Roxy’s weight has stabilized at 54.7 pounds. As she will be 2 in January, I doubt very much that she will have a final growth spurt, although anything is possible. Pictured here are some of her favorite poses: chewing on a bone, stretched out on my home office floor while I work, and in a rare introspective moment.

Roxy is well on her way to being 3 years old and has calmed down and matured immensely while maintaining her spunky nature. She is here pictured with her elder brother Sebastian, then being reticent in her hot pink "baby girl" cage, and finally hanging out under my bed, a favorite hiding place of hers!

Roxy and I moved to Kalamazoo, MI in August of 2011 and she turned 4 this past January, 2012. I hosted a birthday party for both she and her "boyfriend" Sam, an 80-lb. boxer owned by my landlady Angela who also made the gluttonous cookie pictured here. They both live on the second floor of our house. Although Roxy misses her brother Sebastian, she is adapting well to the cold climate of Kalamazoo and likes her new friends very much. Her Gramma Fielding got her the fun, hot pink sweater for the chilly weather and it really helps me find her in the snowy whiteness as well! Finally, she has taken over a chair in our living room and claimed it for her own.

This past winter 2012 was very mild for the region. This made it very nice for Roxy, a thoroughly Southern girl, to ease into her new climate. She loves the snow! Here she is pictured playing in the fresh, sparkling snow the morning after a winter storm blew through Kalamazoo with her upstairs neighbors Abby and Sam. My thanks to Angela for taking these beautiful pictures!

Summer has arrived in Kalamazoo and Roxy is enjoying the warm weather that is much more familiar to her instincts. Here she is pictured lounging in the shade with a ball and hiding in a shady nook on a bed of cool mud next to the garage. Unfortunately, her buddy Sam had to be unexpectedly put down; she now has a new 10-week-old neighbor to play with, a German Shepherd much like her brother Sebastian ... but this little lady doesn't yet have a name!

The fall cool-down arrived quickly and Roxy and I are now getting ready for the long winter. Here's one more picture from this past summer of Roxy, her newly-named neighbor, Indy, a stick and a big pot of really gorgeous Basil. Roxy's silly smile is contagious and, finally, she snuggles on the couch beneath blankets and pillows as the cold, dark winter creeps into the region.

Roxy just turned 5 in January 2013. The winter had been very mild --warm even-- until then. Since the new year began, we had a nice stretch of 2 weeks of almost uninterrupted precipitation making it at first bewildering, then a little stressful, then finally fun once her neighboring friend Indy came out to play.