They Love Me, They Really Love Me!

We left Paris for the day and took a river cruise up the Seine, through the city and the industrial suburbs, then up the Marne at the confluence of the two rivers.  We went through  two locks on our way to an island called St. Catherine where we stopped and had lunch.   Mom, her friends and I were the only English-speaking people on board and because the French all love dogs so much, she got into many conversations with my adoring public.  Again, many people wanted to know my breed.  Mom has given up trying to tell the whole story of my dubious background and has just shortened the answer to "shih tzu."  Maybe they ask because I have more nose than most shih tzu, or maybe because my eyes aren't as large as most, or maybe shih tzu are rare in France, although we have seen several.  Anyway, everyone wanted to pet me, and most were well-mannered enough to ask Mom and then ask me by letting me sniff their hands first.  One lady wanted to hold my paw, but I don't even want Mom to touch my paws, so I let her know very clearly that this was not acceptable.  No, I didn't bite or growl - I'm too well-bred for that - but I did very quickly withdraw my paw.