Sherri and I drove to Medford to pick up Maya on one fine, warm day in early July 2023. Medford is quite a hike from Lakeside, and we also had to go to the Eugene airport to pick up some luggage for our son – he was visiting from Rochester, NY and his luggage got lost in transit. All told, it was something like eight house of driving.
Maya had been raised in a crate, and never had been outside in her brief life. She was about 9 weeks old, and was obviously overwhelmed by the experience. We were strangers to her. As we were leaving, the previous owner assured us that she had just relieved herself shortly ago. Two minutes down the road, she peed in Sherri’s lap. This is our first experience with the breed, and it was the beginning of our education in Frenchie unmentionables – when they’re puppies they pee and poop A LOT. Here’s a picture of her shortly after that, looking relieved:

We named her on the long drive back. I was driving, and Sherri pulled up a long page of dog names on her phone. We probably rolled about a hundred names off our tongues to see how they felt, and ‘Maya’ just seemed the best to us. Somehow, it had that ineffable feeling of just ‘fitting’ somehow.
Maya bonded to Sherri almost immediately. It took her several days to even approach me – I’m bigger, louder, and probably in general scarier. Although to this day Maya and I have a wonderful relationship, she is still bonded to Sherri first and foremost.
Once home, we settled her in Sherri’s office in a newly bought crate. Here she is, getting her living space sorted out:
We really love this dog, and have many more stories to share!