Palisadians Find Marcel in Paris

By HELENA RUFFIN Special to the Palisadian-Post Shortly before my partner and I left on our annual trip to Paris, we read Brook Dougherty’s delightful article ‘Dog Days of Paris’ in the September 16 Palisadian-Post. Since she included a general description of the boutique where she met Marcel (the black-and-white French bulldog), we thought we’d take the article and go in search of this magnificent animal. ”I love the French. We knew that all we had to do was to walk in a few boutiques, show them the picture of Marcel, and inevitably, someone would know where to direct us. ”The first store Rose Greene and I visited on Rue St. Paul, I introduced myself and asked (in my own brand of pidgin-French) if the shopkeeper was familiar with this dog. She politely replied, in fluent, beautiful English, of course, ‘I am embarrassed to say but I don’t like animals, so I don’t pay attention to them. It is terrible to be French and not like animals. So forgive me if I can’t help you. You may want to check a few doors down. They have two dogs in there.’ ”So we left, giggling, and Rose ran on ahead while I meandered, trying to look like a shopper, not on mission. No luck in the next few stores. Then I looked up, and there was Rose, standing in front of a lovely gift shop, ‘Thym The’ d’Ailleurs…’. There indeed was Marcel in the arms of his owner, Christian. ”I showed Christian the article and his face lit up with joy and amazement when he saw Marcel’s picture in the Post. Very proudly he said, ‘Marcel has his picture in a paper in America!’ Marcel clearly knew something special was going on as he licked, barked and greeted us. ”He really was the special dog Brook Dougherty described. We left Christian and Marcel the article from the Post, and went on our way. Another bridge secured in Franco-American relations. ”(As a professional amateur photographer, Palisadian Helena Ruffin has been photographing animals, people, food markets and architecture of France for over 15 years. Selections of her collection can be viewed and purchased on-line at http://ruffprints.smugmug.com, or in person by appointment only. Contact: helena.ruffin@gte.net or 399-1200.)