A faded, vintage color photograph shows a young woman standing outdoors in a yard, holding two small puppies—one in each arm. She has short, light-colored hair and wears a plaid shirt. The puppies appear to be mixed-breed with white and brown markings, their legs dangling as she supports them. Trees and a wooden fence are visible in the background, and the image has the grain and color shift typical of an older print.
Colette Secher holds two Smooth Fox Terriers. Secher, 74, a famed French bulldog breeder and Laytonville, Calif., resident, was found dead in her vehicle by first responders in a Laytonville field after it went off a rural road on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (Secher family via Bay City News)

MENDOCINO CO., 1/15/26 — Friends and family are preparing to honor renowned French bulldog breeder Colette Secher at a memorial service this weekend following her death last month.

According to Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Quincy Cromer, a preliminary autopsy report indicates Secher, a Laytonville resident who was found dead in her vehicle in a field near her home on Dec. 27, likely died of a heart attack. She was 74.

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Sydney Fishman is a UC Berkeley California Local News Fellow and lives full time in Ukiah. Reach her at [email protected] or through her Signal username @sydannfish.67.