With all the mentioning of the briard beads & the briard earrings - I forgot to mention the actual briard dog - apologies to you my dear audience! A briard is a rare breed of dog, with first real records (read: tapestries) being kept of the breed in eighth century France: http://www.briard.com.au/briard%20history.htm
Our briard litter sisters, Misses Iggy & Coco, came to us in 2005, from the last litter bred by our now very dear friend Irena (Trilby Briards) in NSW. They arrived together via plane, bundled up in a crate, two tiny little bear cubs, who were just so sweet & snuggly. Briards have a need to be with their humans at ALL times, preferably on top of you - I don't think they realise (nor do they care) how large they actually are.
The history of the breed in Australia is very interesting as it only commenced in 1974 - if you are interested have a look at: http://www.briard.com.au/briard%20in%20australia.htm for further information. Given this short space of time, the breed has quietly established itself, but thankfully not to the popularity levels of other breeds. Briard litters are never advertised - it's all word of mouth from people in the know, or by people who are interested in the breed tracking down a breeder (also not very common) & placing themselves on a very long waiting list.