Bob
A donation was made in memory of Bob by Drs. DeMaris, Bauman, Murphy, Schultz and the staff at Alpine View Veterinary Hospital on Mar 15, 2019.
When I was in the Army, I really wanted to get myself a dog. Because I was in the Army, I felt it wasn't responsible for me to get a dog while I could still deploy or spend weeks in the field. During what would be my last deployment, I started to research what type of dog I wanted. I knew that I didn't want a high energy dog. I wanted a dog that would be ok with sitting with me on the couch. I knew I didn't want a large dog and I didn't want a small dog. I finally decided that I wanted to get an English dog. They weren't huge, but they weren't slow...and they were lazy. I researched all I could on Bulldogs during my deployment, so that I would know how to care for one and what to expect.
In June of 2009, I found my Bulldog. I picked him out of a litter from a place near Dallas, TX. I made sure to research where he was coming from, what his parents looked like and how they were doing health wise. He came from a very healthy bloodline.
He definitely looked like a Bob to me. Bob definitely tried my patience as a puppy. Chewing the windowsills at my apartment. Chewing the waterline to the toilet, causing the bathroom to flood and drip water on the people below me. It made me really think that maybe I just wasn't fit to have a puppy. But we figured each other out and we made it work.
He was my right hand man for many years. We moved back home to Washington State from Texas once I had gotten out of the Army and got a transfer with my new job. He was with me when I got married. He was with me when my wife and I moved into our first house. He was with me when we added a little one to the house. He and I had been through a lot together.
He had a very large personality. There are so many stories that I could share about Bob. Probably enough to write a book. I'll share a few of my favorite Bob stories.
When my wife and I were prepping for our wedding, a friend of ours gave us a large amount of marbles for decorative center pieces. We left him and the marbles out alone one morning. Well, the next morning, I found that Bob had pooped in the house. Annoyed, I went over to clean it up only to see that it seemed to be sparkling. Turns out Bob got into that bag of marbles while we were out. You could push on his stomach and feel the marbles in his belly. After a quick visit to the vet, we were told that we shouldn't worry and that because they were round and small, he should pass them easily. Sure enough, Bob pooped out well over 120 marbles (yes we counted). Needless to say, those marbles were not used in our wedding.
When I moved back to Washington, I made it a road trip as I didn't trust putting a bulldog on a plane for that long of a distance. So Bob traveled with me and we made a stop in Vegas (and Area 51!). He was the most popular dog at the Flamingo for the weekend we were there. When I'd take him down to use the bathroom, I was amazed at how many people knew his name. Apparently word had gotten around about Bob the Bulldog at the casino.
When I had first started dating my wife, she had taken me to a place to get food. We left Bob in the car while we went in there. I guess Bob had decided that the best way to spend his time was to chew her hand brake. We came back out to find a slobbery, mangled handbrake. During one of my work trips, she was watching him for me. Late one night, I got a call from her and she was in tears. Bob had apparently found her hair straightener. He managed to somehow unzip the bag it was in with his meaty mouth, take it out, and destroy it. The bag was fine though. He also somehow locked himself in our closet one time and chewed up a nice pair of shoes. It's a wonder she still married me.
I could go on and on but I feel like I've said way too much already. About 4 months ago, Bob was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. We did all we could to keep him comfy and he was quite the fighter! Sadly, he got to a point where we just couldn't let him try to fight it anymore. Bob was a great dog. He had his naughty streaks, that's for sure, but we still loved him. I'm happy that our son, Paxton, got to know Bob and I loved watching their friendship grow. I'm sad that that friendship got cut short so suddenly, but we will continue to share these stories with him so that Bob will never be forgotten.
He was such a large part of our life. We are still having a hard time adjusting to not hearing his snoring throughout the house, or finding the random strings of slobber on the walls. He is greatly missed, but I am glad that he is no longer in pain.
In June of 2009, I found my Bulldog. I picked him out of a litter from a place near Dallas, TX. I made sure to research where he was coming from, what his parents looked like and how they were doing health wise. He came from a very healthy bloodline.
He definitely looked like a Bob to me. Bob definitely tried my patience as a puppy. Chewing the windowsills at my apartment. Chewing the waterline to the toilet, causing the bathroom to flood and drip water on the people below me. It made me really think that maybe I just wasn't fit to have a puppy. But we figured each other out and we made it work.
He was my right hand man for many years. We moved back home to Washington State from Texas once I had gotten out of the Army and got a transfer with my new job. He was with me when I got married. He was with me when my wife and I moved into our first house. He was with me when we added a little one to the house. He and I had been through a lot together.
He had a very large personality. There are so many stories that I could share about Bob. Probably enough to write a book. I'll share a few of my favorite Bob stories.
When my wife and I were prepping for our wedding, a friend of ours gave us a large amount of marbles for decorative center pieces. We left him and the marbles out alone one morning. Well, the next morning, I found that Bob had pooped in the house. Annoyed, I went over to clean it up only to see that it seemed to be sparkling. Turns out Bob got into that bag of marbles while we were out. You could push on his stomach and feel the marbles in his belly. After a quick visit to the vet, we were told that we shouldn't worry and that because they were round and small, he should pass them easily. Sure enough, Bob pooped out well over 120 marbles (yes we counted). Needless to say, those marbles were not used in our wedding.
When I moved back to Washington, I made it a road trip as I didn't trust putting a bulldog on a plane for that long of a distance. So Bob traveled with me and we made a stop in Vegas (and Area 51!). He was the most popular dog at the Flamingo for the weekend we were there. When I'd take him down to use the bathroom, I was amazed at how many people knew his name. Apparently word had gotten around about Bob the Bulldog at the casino.
When I had first started dating my wife, she had taken me to a place to get food. We left Bob in the car while we went in there. I guess Bob had decided that the best way to spend his time was to chew her hand brake. We came back out to find a slobbery, mangled handbrake. During one of my work trips, she was watching him for me. Late one night, I got a call from her and she was in tears. Bob had apparently found her hair straightener. He managed to somehow unzip the bag it was in with his meaty mouth, take it out, and destroy it. The bag was fine though. He also somehow locked himself in our closet one time and chewed up a nice pair of shoes. It's a wonder she still married me.
I could go on and on but I feel like I've said way too much already. About 4 months ago, Bob was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. We did all we could to keep him comfy and he was quite the fighter! Sadly, he got to a point where we just couldn't let him try to fight it anymore. Bob was a great dog. He had his naughty streaks, that's for sure, but we still loved him. I'm happy that our son, Paxton, got to know Bob and I loved watching their friendship grow. I'm sad that that friendship got cut short so suddenly, but we will continue to share these stories with him so that Bob will never be forgotten.
He was such a large part of our life. We are still having a hard time adjusting to not hearing his snoring throughout the house, or finding the random strings of slobber on the walls. He is greatly missed, but I am glad that he is no longer in pain.
