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As Good as It Gets (1997)

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Dog Breed Information Center� - Dogs & Puppies - Dog Breeders Griffon Belgian Griffons Bruxellois� Griffon Belge (Brussels Griffon) (Petit Brabancon) (Belgian Griffon)

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Yvonne and I had just rented the movie "As Good as it Gets" on Pay-Per-View one day, and I believe it was on a Friday evening June 6, 1998. By Wednesday June 10, 1998, all we could think of was VERDELL, the Brussels Griffon dog in the movie, so we went to the Winnipeg Humane Society to adopt a dog.

I've had a pet dog my entire life. Yvonne grew up with cats and at the time, we actually had a Hedgehog (Heidi) as a pet - very low maintenance.

Well, we went to the Humane Society - but there were no small dogs available. There were a few of the larger and older abandoned dogs available, but logic dictated that we couldn't have a large dog ... we were living in an apartment, both working full time, walls were paper thin etc. Yvonne was tearful thinking about all the poor dogs in cages that needed homes .... I had sent her into another room to calm her down.

Well, she calmed down - in the Cat room. She picked up a cat and never let him go. She picked the cat, so I got to name him. I called him ... ZEUS ... so I could easily say "Here Zeussie Pussy Cat .." (I like to rhyme when I talk to my pets, and usually they all end with "ee" sound)

And that's how we got our cat Zeus.

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Here's how we decided to get Maxxie, our First-Born Papillon dog, which we bought from a breeder February 28, 1999. We were watching the Westminster Kennel Club Best in Show, which ran February 8-9, 1999.

Did you watch it? Kirby the Papillon won Best in Show. Here's a picture:

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The Westminster Kennel Club | Best In Show Winners

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The Westminster Kennel Club | Best In Show Records

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Yup. That's how we chose our dog breed. While we were actually at the breeders place, trying to pick one Papillon out of a whole bunch of Papillons, Yvonne had decided that her dog will be either Max or Maxine - so, I got to choose. We were on one side of the barn and all the dogs were on the other side of the barn and I yelled or rather, spoke pronouncely "Here Max .. Come!" ... And, the fastest dog that came immediately to us was .. our Maxxie.

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Then we got married. HARTandYVONNE.com on August 31, 2002. We were out on our honeymoon at the Falcon Lake Resort and out for a walk. We came across this lovely couple with two dogs, of the same breed, obviously of different ages and not from the same litter. We were convinced that this was the best thing for Maxxie .. to have another Papillon Brother or Sister. At the end of our vacation, on our way home actually, we stopped at a breeder in St. Malo area. It was my turn to pick the name although, I believe it was a joint effort over the years ... It only made sense that if we ever got a female dog, we should name her 'Sophie' .. because Maxxie and Sophie sounds good together. While we were at the breeders, we picked the puppy that looked close in colors to Maxxie. Well, I think that's what we did ~~

And that's basically how we decided to get our Papilon dog #2 ... Sophie.

Take care.
HART