In Memory of Bullwinkle
Bullwrinkles, Buddy Boo, Bully Bear, Bullymonster, Mr. Bull, Bully, B’winks, Little Bubba, Bullyman, Sir)
We remember when Bullwinkle arrived at our house, he and his foster dad had never been to Sacramento so he planned a weekend trip here and dropped Bullwinkle off on his way. When they pulled up out front, we opened the door, Bullwinkle jumped out of the car, ran into the house, jumped over the couches a couple of times, sniffed the entire downstairs and then just sat on the couch and looked at us as if to say “I’m Home”. His foster dad checked in on him on his way home to make sure he found his forever home. And he finally found his forever home, where he was loved and will be remembered forever.
When he moved in, we worked with him to share his toys which alleviated any aggression he had towards children. He learned to shake, high-five, double-high-5, low-crawl (military term for crawling on your belly), sit, stay, and laydown. Bullwinkle was one of the smartest dogs I have ever known. He was happy go lucky, a showoff, a teddy bear, and a real ladies man. He loved red-heads and I still can’t figure that one out, he took that secret to doggie heaven. He sat on anyone’s lap who invited him. He was very proper, gave them the Frenchie look and waited for the invite him onto their lap.
My brother-in-law stated that when he first met Bullwinkle, he thought we were crazy to have adopted him. 6 months later, he stated Bullwinkle was a great dog and couldn’t believe how much he changed. We told him all dogs need is to know who’s in charge, lots of love, good nutrition, exercise, toys to entertain them, good medical care and we made sure he had everything he needed.
Bully was the center of attention in his new home and acquired many nicknames from the human friendships he made. He loved to go for rides, chase rabbits from the front seat of the truck in the evening hours, chase squirrels and balls at the park, go for walks, run on the beach and chase birds, show off all of his toys in his toy bin when we got home from work or an outdoor trip. He would pull them out one at a time and then dump the bin over to get his favorite toy out. When it came to balls he had OCD. Tennis balls destroyed in 60 seconds or less, Yoga balls chased around the downstairs like a bowl in a china shop without the breakables. If he didn’t get overheated, he could have chased them for hours. Our home looked more like a two-year old child lived in it most of the time.
Such a personality and the mention of a car ride and Bullwinkle was ready to go. He had such energy and was right there to greet us when we got home. Then it was time to pull out every toy and play tug o war with poppa.
One aggressive behavior towards people was not fixable. He did not like the vet or vet tech touching his hiney. No poking, temperature taking or glands expressed without at least two people holding him while the third worked on his hiney. I don’t think anyone likes their hiney touched and Bully made sure they knew it.
Bullwinkle had a terrible secret hiding in his chest. He had an inoperable tumor on top of his heart and his heart was failing. After several emergency visits and a cardiac specialist, we had to let Bully go, it wouldn’t be fair to keep him here even though we desperately wanted to. We let him go on November 9th, 2011. Bullwinkle was a wonderful companion, showoff, ladies man, he stole everyone’s heart who got know him. He was our best friend, a wonderful companion and part of the family. We miss him everyday and especially in the evenings, we love the cuddling on the couch, evening walk, and his snorts, snoring and the little guy sleeping in our bed. Adopting him was one of the best things we have done and although he was only with us for a year and a half he will always be with us wherever we go. We are sad that he has gone to a better place but we both know he will be in our hearts forever.
His last few days he had a beach trip and got to chase the seagulls to show them he was still boss of the beach. I wish my little buddy boo the best and will miss him everyday.
Love Momma and Poppa
