Thank You All!

I just wanted to thank all of you who reached out and offered your condolences. It means alot and helps us through the process of mourning our beloved bulldog. I will continue to blog even without Ozzie because I know he would like that and it's important to share information about bulldogs to other bullie parents and prospective future bullie parents.

In bulldog news today, a new generation of the Marine Corps mascot made his debut. It is 9 week old Pfc. Chesty XIV who is replacing Sgt. Chesty XII. He is adorable and is in training to step up to his new role with the proud and the few! Semper fi Chesty my boy!

http://now.msn.com/chesty-new-marine-corps-mascot-is-an-english-bulldog-puppy

The Passing

How do I begin? Our big beautiful boy is gone, the laughs and smiles he brought us are gone too! This week Ozzie was starting to go down hill. Any exertion would be a strain and his breathing became troubled. His appetite had changed. He was not eating his kibble and would practically eat only food I gave him by hand. When I spoke to the vet on the phone she suggested that perhaps a single round of IV chemo may help but that was no sure thing. Tuesday night we struggled to get him out to go potty. My husband had to carry him down the stairs to the garage door to the yard. When he put him down his legs collapsed from under him and he was just gasping for air. I was sure that was it. It took him a while to calm and catch his breath and eventually we get him back in the house though he never went potty.

That night my husband slept with him in the living room. Ozzie did manage to get up on the couch to snuggle with him. The morning brought the situation into light. He would not go out and though he seemed interested in the food he could not eat. We called the vet and unfortunately neither Dr D or Dr Tracey were in. There were other vets all very competent to examine Oz but not the same when you are in panic mode. We brought him in and his breathing was intense. The vet we saw Dr S had a phone consultation with Dr D and based on his condition there were no more treatment options. The only one was euthanasia. We looked at our wonderful boy lying on the floor of the examining room panting, his tongue bluish from the lack of oxygen. Why did this happen so soon, why were we not going to have more time with him?! As the vet explained the procedure we struggled to get our heads to accept that we had reached the end. 
We decided we wanted to be there when they inject the lethal dose of sedative into him to put him down. They first brought him in the back to put a catheter in his arm and give him a dose of Valium like sedative to calm him. Then they brought our beautiful boy back in the examining room with us. We sat around on the floor with him and held our breath as the vet gave the final injection. It happened quickly and quietly. Our big boy was asleep forever. It was the last loving act of mercy in exchange for his suffering and pain.We thanked the vet who had tears in her eyes too and walked away with an empty collar. 

In memory of Ozzie our beloved bullie boy. 7/31/07-02/07/13

We are still walking around our house in disbelief. Where did he go? Why did this have to happen? I cannot bear to put his toys away yet. I know we need to focus on the love and happiness he brought us no matter how short the time was. I know we will adopt and love another dog again, though there will never be another Ozzie. We miss him something awful but know that we will see him again and that he waits for us over the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Simply Sunday and Coming in 5th Makes you Try Harder

Ozzie's week was okay in terms of dealing with his illness. The predinsone has been lowered to10mg a day from 20mg's since his breathing has become so exacerbated from it. I brought the big box fan out and I have it pointed at him most times to keep him cool and comfortable. In this winter weather of freezing temps he spends time laying out on the deck, I guess he likes chilling out, literally. Our vet is still waiting on the oncologist to see what path we should be taking at this point.  I will call her again on Monday morning to see what the status is with that. In the meanwhile we are doing life as usual.

Friday night is pizza night at our house. This is a favorite of Ozzie's who will do anything for a piece of crust! Yes we grovel, beg and howl for some of that tasty stuff.

"Come on! Drop it already!"

Saturday we took a ride to Wholistic Paws and bought some bullie sticks and assorted treats. They were all happily greeted with with jowel smacking delight! It makes me feel happy that Ozzie still appreciates chomping down on a good bullie stick!

"No pictures please, can't you see I am busy here!"

As the Westminister Kennel Club dog show nears (February 11th & 12th) the American Kennel Club has come out with its list of popular breeds for 2012. Guess who made number 5 upsetting the Yorkie to number 6 on the list?! Yes that's right folks the loveable bulldog. Because of their preference for a couch style existance they have apparently become popular in New York City. The Labradour still remains number one but thats okay let those Labs have it! As bulldogs we only try harder to be number one and will suceed one day!

Here's wishing you all a happy Super Bowl Sunday!