Bouvier mobbed in downtown Fernandina

While visiting his friend Zena, at La Torries, she hand out dog treats, Espen Van Valkin (Espy) attracted a large crowd in downtown Fernandina last night.  He posed for a couple of pictures.

Met a lady who had 2 Bouvs

As she tells it, one was smart, the other not so smart (my edit, there are no dumb bouvs).  They had one chair the bouvs were allowed to sleep in.  If the not so smart bouv was in the chair, the smart bouv would run to the door, barking.  The not so smart bouv would then get out of the chair to run to the door, while the smart bouv took over the chair.

Dad, you went off in the car once this morning without me, NOT AGAIN!!

Met a lady who had raised three generations of Bouvs

On the way to the beach we heard "It a Bouv!".  One of the guest at Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, (next door to the beach cottage) had raised three generations of Bouvs, Grandfather, Father, and Son.  She had shown the first two generations, she said she just didn't have the energy to show the Son.  She had done "Herding Instinct" with one, and was amazed at his instinctive herding skills.

Mom and Dad are talking about letting me do the Herding Instinct Test at this years ABDFC Speciality Event, but Dad is worried that I will not recall.

Met A Lifeguard Today

Walking on the beach today I met a Lifeguard.

Grandpa Miller (Alex Miller) organized and trained the beach lifeguards back in the 1930's.

I am a Big Boy

Mom, I need to go out.

What I would look like without hair cut

Great Action Shot of a Bouv

Would you argue with this Bouv?

Mom (Bunny)

Wednesday - Hamburgers at Mickey D's

Hamburger, nice walk downtown, what a great day.  It was a little slow downtown, only had four pictures taken.

Got home, time for a little nap with Blitz before going to the dog park.

You will notice that I am upholding the Bouv tradition, Dad can't leave the room without waking me.

Met two Bouv owners on the beach today

Nice walk/wade on the beach this morning.

This afternoon, timeout instead of dog park. On the way to the truck, off lead, saw a squirrel and broke. I just can't always control my prey drive, as long as I was in trouble I took a short walk. Dad wasn't all that happy and went all Alpha on me.

Green Turtle Tavern with my friends last night

After the dog park, we went to the Green Turtle Tavern downtown, with my friends; Rodney, Sullivan, Friday, Skipper & Brandy.  We met a Japanese Chin and a Catahoula mix.  It's great to have dog friendly places to visit.

Rodney's Mom brought a bag of treats - yummy.

Trivia - The Green Turtle Tavern was Tony Sousa's family home, Tony is a friend of Mom and Dad, Fernandina is a small town.

Some other dog friendly places are:

Happy Tomato, Brett's, Pepper's and  Arte Pizza

Dad's beach rental is also dog friendly, see previous post "Cooling it at the Beach Cottage".

My Name

Espen van Valkin (Registered Name) Espy (Call Name).

Espen from Valkin Kennels.  Valkin Kennels is located in Pine Mountain, Ga.
Check out Bunny's Puppies (my litter, was the previous litter Jan 2010).


The meaning of the name Espen is God Bear
The origin of the name Espen is Scandinavian


Mom & Dad wanted a reference to Bear in my name because I looked like a bear cub, and my predecessor Bailey (the Bouv) had been accused of being a bear many times. 


I sometimes get accused of being a bear, but with my Florida cut, not so often.  See following post for more on Bouv's and Bears.

Bouv Article from Modern Dog

I'm not the only one that gets "its a bear".

The introductory paragraph:

In the early evening, I'm walking along a trail with my Bouvier des Flandres, Griffin. He is ahead, moving smoothly and quickly with his habitual mile-eating trot. The trail curves, and briefly he disappears from sight. Suddenly I hear a high-pitched shriek. A jogger appears around the corner, clutching his chest melodramatically. "Oh, my god!" he gasps, "I thought it was a bear!" Griffin, unperturbed by the man's reaction, waits calmly while the man recovers his dignity, but positions himself solidly between the two of us.

People frequently have this "Bear!" reaction to Bouviers and it never ceases to amuse me. How many bears have you seen trotting purposefully along on well-peopled trails? It is true that Bouviers have a distinctive, rolling, bear-like gait. It is also true that Bouviers, like bears, tend to carry their heads low to the ground, and they are also shaggy, and black, and large. But they aren't that large.

The link to the article is: http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/breeds/bouvier-des-flandres

Movie and Books about Bouv

There is a movie about a Bouv, A Dog of Flanders, there are two versions, 1999 & 1959.  The story line is:  Poor but happy, young Nello and his grandfather live alone, delivering milk as a livelihood, in the outskirts of Antwerp, a city in Flanders (the Flemish or Dutch-speaking part of modern-day Belgium). They discover a beaten dog (a Bouvier, a large sturdy dog native to Flanders) and adopt it and nurse it back to health, naming it Patrasche, the middle name of Nello's mother Mary, who died when Nello was very young. Nello's mother was a talented artist, and like his mother, he delights in drawing, and his friend Aloise is his model and greatest fan and supporter. (from IMDB).  Both versions are available on Netflix and from Amazon.


Bouv's are also featured in W.E.B Griffin's novels, the Presidential Agent Series.