My Son Moved To L.A. I Got A Bulldog

When my Golden Retriever, Jake, died after 14 wonderful years together I never thought I'd get another dog. But then my son graduated from High School, moved to California and the house was incredibly quiet.  Too quiet.

So the Tuesday before Thanksgiving two years ago, I opened CraigsList and started looking at dogs.  I saw an ad for Olde English Bulldogs.  I thought those were the short, barrel-shaped dogs.  A quick "research" on google about Bulldogs told me that they are "couch potatoes."  A little exercise goes a long way with them. 

That's the PERFECT dog for me! 

I called the breeder.  He said he had one pup left so I went over that night to see it.

I was going to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving to visit my son so I knew I couldn't get the dog that night.  I was going to look at the dog.  If I liked it I was going to ask them to keep it until I got back from L.A.

I walk up to their front door and their are two dogs looking through the fence.  They weren't the short, barrel-shaped dogs.  They were taller.  But they did have the barrel-chests.  "They must have more than one breed," I thought.  I rang the door bell and was invited in.  The woman brought out this little ball. 

Since my last dog was a Golden I was used to long hair dogs. I don't think I'd even ever pet a short haired dog.  I thought it was going to be course.  But her fur was sooo soft.  I was falling in love.

Then a boy, about 7 years old, came in and picked up the pup.  The puppies short, stubby legs were barely long enough but he had her hanging from his bent arm as he turned in circles; faster and faster and laughing.  The woman said nothing while I expected the puppy to go flying.  "I'll take her!" I cried.  I had to save her from that horrible child. 

No crate. No dog food. No toys. 7:00pm and I'm leaving for California in 24 hours!

I had a cardboard box in my car. I placed the puppy in the cardboard box, put the box next to me and I drove to the nearest PetSmart.  $300 later I was on my way home with the coolest puppy and lots of dog stuff. 

Once home I called the airline to inquire as to the extra cost to travel with a dog. $100 each way to place her under the seat in front of me.  "Done.  Here's my Visa number."

I fed the puppy, took her out before it was time to turn in and took her to bed with me.  I expected not to sleep that night but that wasn't the case. We both slept through the night, with her cuddled up in my armpit.

First thing the next morning I called the vet and begged to be squeezed into the schedule that day before we headed to the airport.  They accomodated us. That taken care of, we headed for the airport.