A couple weeks ago we decided to complete an application to adopt another bulldog through the same rescue place SoCal Bulldog Rescue where we adopted our boy Biggie.

For those of you new to my blog, back in 2009, just six months after my husband and I got married, we rescued our Olde English Bulldog and named him Biggie. At the time they estimated he was around a year or two. Biggie was equal parts stubborn, mischievous and lovable and we loved him dearly. We were blessed to have him in our lives for 11 years, until last year at the end of July we had to make the hard decision to lay him to rest. He had a huge cancerous mass on his stomach and given his age, which at the time was about 12 years old, surgery wasn’t recommended. I think the hardest part was telling our girls and seeing them burst into tears. They had known him all their life up until then.

We knew saying goodbye to Biggie would be bittersweet because we would miss him so much, and it would also be nice to have that calm and quiet again – and a couch to sit on. He had pretty much destroyed our couches. These last 7 months have been an adjustment. We have all missed Biggie, even while at the same time it was nice not to worry about leaving stuff around or doors open and the adjustment of making sure he’s fed and walked on schedule. I don’t think there was a single month that went by that the girls didn’t ask us if we would consider getting another dog. They dropped tons of hints – mostly very direct remarks. Ha!

So we filled out the application, and then we had the phone interview with Skip who is one of their main volunteers there. Because of Covid they aren’t conducting home visits so instead we sent in a couple short videos of our living room, patio and front of our house.

And then a couple days ago we got an email asking us if we would be available this Saturday and telling us about Chops. A young boy owner surrendered due to changes in the family and also because he needed a knee surgery and the family wouldn’t be able to afford it. SoCal Bulldog Rescue took him in and he got his surgery. Skip felt he would be a wonderful match for our home and said we could foster him with the possibility of adoption, if the fit turned out well for our family. In the meantime though by fostering him he’s have a home where he could recover from his surgery.

His name is Chops and he’s 5 years old. ❤️

We spent some time with him and he did so well with the girls and us that we decided to bring him home. The girls were besides themselves with happiness. I felt happy but also uncertain, and it was nice to know my husband felt the same way.

It felt a bit surreal to be arriving home with this sweet boy. You guys, I can’t even tell you how really cute and friendly he is. They gave us his medicine and tips to follow for him and in 8 weeks he will get his final check up from the vet and as long as all looks well, he would go off the foster list and into the adoption list. As his foster home, we would have first choice in adopting him.

During our date night in, my husband and I shared how we felt and how today has been a big day full of mixed emotions. I felt a slight headache and my husband said it was probably tension because he felt it too. He said it brought on so many feelings, one of them being missing Biggie. I felt it too. It brought back memories and I cried. But also, it makes me so happy to have Chops in our home, even if that also brings on feelings of responsibility and change. He really is so handsome and has a very friendly and sweet demeanor.

Here’s a family photo they got of us before we left with him.

As I’m typing this up I can hear his snoring from the kitchen and it just feels comfortable. Owning a dog sure brings on responsibilities and figuring things out, but despite that we both agree it truly is nice to have a dog at home. 🐾