This Dog Owner Profile is a part of our series featuring local dog owners in San Antonio. Want to be featured? Apply here!
Name: Aquila Mendez-Valdez
Occupation: PR/Marketing Agency Owner
Dog’s Name & Breed: Frenchie, Bichon Frise
Q&A:
1. How did Frenchie become a part of your life?
Frenchie was actually a wedding present from one of my husband’s college basketball teammates. He was a groomsman in our wedding, and playing in his first year in the NBA, so he said he wanted to get us something nobody else would. I think he succeeded! He worked with my sister to find out what kind of dog we would want, she picked Frenchie up from the breeder, and we were surprised with this little fluffball the night before we got married. I remember going on my honeymoon and being simultaneously really excited and also really sad to leave the new addition to our little family!
2. What’s your dog’s most unique characteristic?
Frenchie has this hilarious quirk that she doesn’t like to be left out of conversations. If we have friends or family over and we’re all talking at the dinner table, she will start barking and whining until I pick her up and she’s on the same level as everyone else in the conversation. A little chismosa, she is!
3. What’s your favorite dog product?
We give Frenchie CBD treats when her allergies flare up and it helps her calm down and stop scratching. That’s a lifesaver for us!
4. What’s been your biggest challenge as a dog owner?
Since Frenchie was our first baby, it was really hard to juggle prioritizing her after we had kids. I felt so bad that she got knocked down the totem pole a few notches, but she loves our girls so much and has always been patient and protective of them. I grew up on a farm, so our dogs were always outdoors, never inside the house, so I’m glad my daughters are growing up with a dog they can snuggle whenever they want.
5. Tell us about your favorite dog-friendly location to visit in San Antonio.
Frenchie and I go on really long walks around our neighborhood in Leon Springs every morning I can manage it with my schedule. Before we had kids we would take her to Hardberger Park’s Dog Park a bunch, but as she gets older she’s pretty content to take a long stroll with me and then sleep the rest of the day.
Hungry to learn more about other pet owners? Check out these other Pet Owner Profiles:
Author: Jenny Jurica
Jenny is a married mother of two humans, one rescued Weimaraner, and four (yes, four) rescued cats. She is a native Texan who is a columnist/contributor for several publications and enjoys spending her free time curled up on the couch with a dog and a couple of cats. Much like the poet Sylvia Plath, Jenny often finds that she, “likes people too much or not at all,” but has never met an animal that she didn’t instantly adore (except for maybe the Komodo dragon at the zoo).
