As I write this on this Thanksgiving Day 2022, I am thankful for having dogs in my life for the past nine years. As you may know, if you follow us, that our beloved Homer passed away November 15th after a long decline from degenerative myelopathy; he faced that with grace, and we miss him terribly. His passing was very sad but expected. We did not expect to lose our JJ the bulldog a few days later on the 18th. This was heartbreaking.
Our JJ had a life of ups and downs, and we loved her dearly despite her baggage, stubborn personality, and sometimes bad behavior. We had many bumps in the road over the nine years we were together. But as age came upon her, she was declining, in a different way than Homer. Homer lost his mobility; JJ was losing her mind.
JJ was a lover and a fighter. She was a very affectionate dog to humans; however, she would start fights with dogs. She was fearless that way. We knew this and life revolved around keeping the fighter at bay.
In addition to doggie dementia (not diagnosed, just assumed), her hearing and eyesight were diminishing. Her personality changed about a year ago and she started to act badly. I don’t want to go into the details, but we were on guard and making changes at home to help her feel safe.
She picked a fight with Little Guy totally unprovoked from several feet away (second fight – first one was months prior with no injuries). This second fight left Little Guy injured (he's okay). We decided that we had to put JJ down. She clearly had issues that we were not going to fix. I can’t express how heartbreaking this is. It is so hard when you love your pup, but you know that you must end their life.
Despite the terrible and gut-wrenching ending, the time we had with our two rescue dogs was fun, entertaining, and hard and challenging at times. In the photos below we share the good times we had with our dogs and celebrate the bonds they create with humans.
We want to thank family and friends for welcoming Homer, JJ, and Little Guy (still with us) into your hearts and homes.
Click on a photo to open the photo in full-size.