VIDALIA — Christmas came early for the Donald family as they adopted their newest family member.

When the dart landed on Cadet Street in Vidalia Friday, Stephen Donald was just returning from the vet with a new Christmas gift for him and his wife, Jessica — a very rare breed of French bulldog, he said.

The eight-week-old bundle of soft wrinkly fur and baby blue eyes came to her home last week, Donald said.

Shields came from a breeder in Burleson, TX, located south of Fort Worth.

“This is mine and my wife’s Christmas present,” Donald said. “We went for about a seven-hour ride … about four hundred miles to get him, but we really wanted him.”

His mom named him (DBB’s) Lilacs Le Diversife’ Shields Lavelle — or Shields for short, Donald said, which is a French name based on his rare genetic makeup and color.

Shield’s is considered to be a rare breed of “quad-gene” bulldog that is lilac, blue, chocolate and fawn colored, Donald said. Still a puppy, Sheilds loves to eat, sleep, but is also a “big time” barker, he said.

“He’s very rare,” Donald said, adding that both he and his wife had been looking for this specific breed for more than a year, but few breeders were willing to part with one.

“We’d talked about adopting him and knew that the good Lord would bless us with the right baby.”

Donald said he and his wife of three years, both from Monterey, are avid dog lovers. Donald once raised Labradors, he said, but Jessica loved bulldogs in particular and her love rubbed off on him.

Shields was adopted into a family with a new playmate, Donald said, a mostly white bulldog with a dark-colored mask named Precious.

Donald said Shields and his older sister get along splendidly and together they make one big, happy and furry family.