i ♥ English bulldogs

"I wish I could give birth to English bulldog babies..."

-Me

Yes, that what a direct quote from ME. I said it. And I meant it! {Kind of.}

I L O V E me some English bulldogs. And the only thing better than an English bulldog, is an English bulldog puppy.

Don't let me confuse you. I am not a dog person. I'm just not. I love people who are! And I love dog stories, and I love seeing how people are with their dogs. {When they're being completely normal, and not super creeptastic.} I'm just not a dog person myself. It most likely has to do with being bitten repeatedly throughout my entire life from a variety of dogs.

Now, I just can't find then cute, and cuddly, or man's best friend. I just see them as bags of fur with sharp nails, and really sharp teeth, and really strong bite forces.

That is, except for English bulldogs.

I've always loved them. On more than one occasion they've made appearances in different sitcoms over the years as the family pet. And I just thought they were awesome. I think the movie Little Nicky is what made me officially WANT a bulldog.

One day, many  years ago, an english bulldog was found wondering our apartments parking lot. The maintenance men didn't know what to do with her, so they locked her in the tennis court until someone claimed her. I waited a few hours, and when she was still there I asked the apartment manager if we could take her in until an owner came forward. We brought her home then and there. We decided to call her "Lola".

Lola was dirty, and stinky, and had nails that were waaaaaay too long. I was hoping that based on her care she didn't have an owner and we'd get to keep her forever! We took her to a groomer and got her all spiffied up. After just 3 glorious days, we fell head over heels in love with her. She was an older gal, and has lost most of her playfulness. She was so awesome. Even when she would playfully...mouth you it didn't hurt. She was so fleshy and gooey it was as though she couldn't even bite! It was the PERFECT doggy match for me.

On the 3rd afternoon we got a phone call from my {now ex} mother-in-law. She had found an ad in the paper looking for a lost bulldog that matched Lola's description. I was heartbroken. My {now ex} husband assured me that we didn't need to call. He felt she obviously wasn't being well taken care of with her long nails, and dirtiness, and that we should just ignore the ad and keep her. I couldn't bring myself to do it though. I knew how much I loved her in just a few short days, and knew her real parents must love her even more.

I {very reluctantly} called the number, hoping maybe it was a mistake, and the dog they were looking for wasn't our Lola! My hopes fell though when we discovered the family lived in the neighborhood directly behind our apartment complex, and had a complete description of our Lola. They came that evening to collect her. They took her, and left us with a $50 reward. {Barely even covered the grooming, but hey, who's counting.}

After those few days I longed and pined for another English bulldog to call my own!

I searched ads, both online and in the paper. I looked in pet stores, and I would leave with an empty heart knowing we could never afford such an expensive breed. We were warned CONSTANTLY by know-it-alls about the health risks and issues that English bulldogs face. {Funny how not one of those know-it-alls ever actually OWNED an English bulldog.}

A few years later, after becoming engage to my now super-amazing-magnificent husband my wish came true! I would be the mama to an English bulldog baby!!! We had found an ad in the paper, and went that night to look at the little ones. I INSTANTLY fell in love with a baby girl who would be ready to come home with me in just a few short weeks. We left giddy with excitement, and I could hardly sleep that night as I thought of what we should name our furbaby.

We got a call the next day that a friend from church that had already picked our dog, and changed her mind, had once again changed her mind and would be taking our dog. Not only that but the only other puppy left, they had decided they would keep. ASSHOLES! I couldn't help it, I cried.

Being the super-amazing-magnificent husband he his he took me directly to the petstore where we met another bulldog puppy. He was older, already a few months, but BOY was he GORGEOUS. A heft bill later, {5x what we were planning to spend.} we left with "Rocky".

{No that's not Rocky. He was about that age though.}

I LOVED Rocky. So much! But Rocky had terrible anxiety. The only place he felt comfortable was his cage. He spent ALL of his time in there! :( I hated it. After Leah came along, letting Rocky run around became difficult. Having 2 kiddos and a new baby, I felt Rocky wasn't getting the love he needed anymore. I knew how much my dad LOVED Rocky and I decided that my dad would be able to give Rocky the love and attention he deserved.

Rocky now lives with my dad. And while I miss him, I love that I can keep up-to-date with how he is. He LOVES the Michigan snow, and I LOVE that he is getting the love and attention. I do miss him terribly though.

I often dream of one day owning another dog. Images of golden retrievers, and chocolate labs sometimes race through my mind. But then the images usually turn to one of my children, or myself being mauled by said golden retriever, or lab. I know in my heart of hearts that the only dog for me will always be an English bulldog.

{This looks sooo much like my Rocky!}

They are not easy dogs to own. But they are SO worth it!

I hope that once our baby days are gone, {and that day is rapidly approaching} that I will be blessed with a little English bulldog to place all my baby love and affection!

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