In 2001, a bad break up led to me getting myself a puppy.  A Miniature Pinscher who I named Vincent. He is named after retired NHL player Vincent Damphousse, former Captian of the Montreal Canadiens, and San Jose Sharks.  Vinnie, is my heart.  He is a very weather savvy dog.  He sits with me and watches the storms roll through Phoenix.  He knows, through my training him, that a flash of lightning is usually followed by a big noise, thunder.  He looks at me when he see’s the flash, and I count it down for him.  He is a super smart dog.  There are two things Vincent absolutely hates.  The power going out, and the oven.  When the power goes out, the fire alarms sometimes chirp, this sends him into a shaking fit, its quite silly.  Vinnie hates the oven because a year ago the heating element in my old oven exploded and made all kinds of horrible snapping and popping sounds.  My new oven is digital, so when he hears the beep of me setting it, he runs out the doggie door and shakes. Other than that Vinnie has balls of steel!  He loves being photographed, he always looks so regal.

Vincent sunning himself on my bed, he loves to stare out the window.

 In 2003, before I moved into my brand new house, I decided I needed another Miniature Pinscher.  New house, new dog.  I found a breeder and drove out to see what she had.  As I was driving up the dirt road to her house, I saw this little stinker puppy stalking it’s litter mates in the tall grass of the front yard.  I stopped my car and watched him work close enough to pounce, he lept like a rabbit a foot in the air and scared the bejesus out of the others.  “I want THAT ONE!”  I yelled as I got out of  my car.  He was so little, but full of piss and vinegar.  Half hour later he was all mine.  I had made a deal with myself that I would name him after my hero of the first round of NHL playoffs that year.  A series I was following very close, was the Anaheim Ducks VS the Detroit Red Wings.  I have disliked the Wings for many years, as a rivalry with my best friend Brian.  I was thrilled when a little known goaltender at the time shut the Wings down in 4 games, a sweep!  Jean-Sebastien Giguere is his name, and he’s French Canadian, just like Vinnie’s Dad.  Jean-Sebastien doesn’t roll off the tongue well when angered, so I changed the name to Jean-Pierre Giguere.

J.P as he is now called is a fun loving, silly little dog with a serious licking fetish.  He will lick any flesh you have showing.  He is sensitive and can be a bit of a “bitch” when he feels he isn’t getting his way.  J.P loves belly rubs and gutting stuffed toys, flossing his teeth with the strings of carnage.    My little stinker sleeps through most storms, completely uninterested in any part of it.  I will take a dog who doesn’t care over one who flips out when weather strikes.  J.P’s good photos are few and far between, he always blinks or makes dumb faces. Here is one out of three good pictures I found suitable for the blog.

Jean-Pierre with an “Old Man” cactus in the backyard.