We were saddened to learn this morning of Gertie’s crossing the Rainbow Bridge. From Gertie’s adopter: I have very sad news to report. In early April Gertie was in kidney failure. We continued with special kidney food and put fluids under her skin. However, this past week was pure hell. She went to the vet on Thursday because she stopped eating. She was also starting to get lost, so, she got an antibiotic and a shot to stimulate her eating, but it didn’t really work. We were all but force-feeding her, and then she stopped getting up to go potty so we made the heart wrenching decision to put her down this morning. Her blood pressure had dropped and her tongue was losing color and we were not going to have her last days as torture. We fed her Mac n cheese, some mashed potatoes to which she only took a couple bites. It freaking killed us. I must say this was the 2nd time I’ve ever seen my husband cry! It was horrible! But Gertie had a great ride: spoiled, loved, slept with us every single night! Watched TV on the couch and had a great brother and sisters! She’s at the Rainbow Bridge now feeling great, arthritis free! It Sucks! Just totally sucks!!
Gertie is in the Rescue house (again).
Hi, I am Gertie, a 8 ½ year old female. I moved in with my new foster family about a week ago. My foster family is new so I have to show them the ropes! My new fur sister is Gabby, yeah, we are the Gabby-Gertie show. She is younger but at 58 pounds, outweighs me by 20. We get along well. I call her my little sister.
I was adopted from LSBCR in May of 2015 by a military family with a young child and other pets but the family had to move to Japan. Yesterday at the vet, we learned that I am in pretty good shape for a senior. My shots are now up to date and I am free from most health risks. My foster family worries about everything but I am doing great. I am well nourished, loved, secure, and in good health. I am not as spry as I once was and a little hard of hearing, a lot like people seniors. To get my attention, please come into my view or touch me. I crave your touch. I cannot jump up into your lap or onto the furniture but if you pick me up, I will snuggle next to you so we can exchange love, my favorite pastime. I am housebroken and well behaved. My bladder is a bit weak but if you let me out frequently during the day, you will not be disappointed.
My new adoptive family can have kids and other pets. Ideally, I need someone at home with me all day, such as folks who work from home. My goal is to make my new fur-ever family happy and loved. All I need is you.
3/26/17 Update: Hey y’all, here is the latest on Miss Gertie-girly. Check out her pix below. She is not a hard worker, not just another pretty face!
Note to the adoptive families: You are in for a treat when you welcome Gertie to your home and hearts
· If you are a young family with children, Gertie gets on well with kids and other pets and teaches everyone about love and devotion
· If you are empty nesters, the joy of Gertie’s presence will fill your hearts with peace and serenity
· If you are of the post-young generation, you will bond to this sweet vintage Bullie who wants only to spend her days with you in loyal companionship
· If you work at home and need an office helper, Gertie is your girl
Miss Gertie-girly thrives in a safe, secure, and well cared for environment. Affection makes on her sweet disposition shine. Her mission is to give and get love. Her coat has regained its bright white sheen and softness, a big change from when she arrived. Stroking her is such a pleasure. She is a trim 38 pounder, easy to pick up for snuggling and cuddling. She is taking a glucosamine supplement for joint ailments, much like her foster dad. She does not walk comfortably and never runs so she cannot chase balls and toys, much like her foster dad. Her laid-back temperament has an engaging charm. She is a calming machine around her human and canine housemates. She naps often so if you nap, invite her for extra comfort. Here I am after an exhausting inspection of the herbs and fruits my foster parents are planting. They have my approval to proceed. I especially like scrumptious strawberries. Note that I like the comfort of a pad below my sleek physique.
4/4/17 Update: I have such good luck. Being a vintage Bulldog, I am accustomed to biding my time, so I wait patiently for my perfect furever family to adopt me. Until then, I am a content sweetheart spreading love full time. I turn 9 next month, but that is less than 2 in dog beers – little canine humor. Most days, I lounge leisurely throughout the house. After wake-up business, I have an appetizer along with fur sister Gabby. Yeah, foster dad gives us each about an ounce of protein. I have enjoyed delectable morsels of ham, chicken, salmon, turkey, steak, duck, even lobster, shrimp, and crab … and it is all so good. I am a blessed Gertie-girlie with no allergic reactions to any food. Check out the appetizers video. I am the cute trim beauty on the left.
Foster dad feeds Gabby and me Blue Buffalo for our two daily meals because he worries about digestive troubles that took his Lola away. He still talks about Lola, the same way he will talk about me after I settle in with my new furever family. I am taking a supplement to ease joint discomfort and my gait is becoming smoother. I still limp a little, all the better to entice you to pick me up onto your chair or sofa. At less than 40 pounds, I am not a strain to lift either. You will be amazed how responsive I am to your love. As a vintage Bulldog, all misbehavior is in my past. I do not chew on furniture or shoes, and I do all my business outside. All I ask is to go out frequently. If you forget, I know how to knock on the door to remind you.
4/9/17 Update: Miss Gertie-girlie here. Last week, I earned an early birthday gift, a new luxurious bed. Fur sister Gabby and I have foam mats in the kitchen and others for outside use. She sleeps in dad’s bed and has a luxurious large bed in dad’s office. I have a comfy thick pad for a bed, but whenever Gabby is not looking, I sneak onto her bed. Dad has tried shooing me off, even and standing it up, but I knocked it down. Being a vintage Bulldog, I have wisdom and guile. My foster parents got my message (these humans can be tough to train) and concluded that I should have a luxurious bed too, and voila. Here are pictures of my day and night beds, as well as inside and outside pads, and other accoutrements. Hey, I am a full-fledged family member!
Note to potential adoptive families: If you are looking for a calm, well-behaved and loving canine gift for your family this Easter season, I am your Gertie-girlie
4/17/17 Update: Miss Gertie-girlie here. After one month in my new foster digs, I am comfortable and living large. We vintage Bulldogs make few demands and so appreciate how all y’all take such loving care of us. Speaking of loving care, look how my foster family cherishes me – I have my own leash/seat belt! Not just a leash/seat belt, but one designed by Martha Stewart with haute couture. Bet you did not know that I understand French. Foster Dad speaks to me in French. I just humor him.
Apparently, foster Dad has been enamored of Miss Martha since the 1980s because he loves to cook. I do not know if Miss Martha influenced foster Dad’s culinary choices, but this morning, Pudgy (my affectionate name for fur sister Gabby) and I shared shrimp scampi for our appetizer – yummy! I am now a Martha Stewart fan too! I am so ecstatic about my seat belt because I love to ride in the car. I own the back seat because Pudgy has dibs on shotgun. Well, I have more range in back, don’t I Pudgy? Oh yeah, this RAV4 is foster Mom’s car so she insisted on the AKC liner. Whenever foster Dad walks toward the garage door, I get excited. When he opens the door, I make a break for it ‘cuz I know he is fixin’ to take me and Pudgy for a ride. Even though I am slower than I once was, I can still beat Pudgy to the garage. Foster Dad saddles me up first, then plump fur sister. He gently lifts me into and out of the back seat. Wow, how loved and lucky am I? To my prospective adoptive family: I am as sweet and affectionate as we Bulldogs come. I am not active or playful as my puppy days. Rather, I am a snuggle-up companion. My heartfelt wish is to spend my remaining days in your loving home, hearts and hands.
4/27/17 Update: Miss Gertie-girlie here. What a surprise! My documents show I was born on 19 May 2009. Ergo, I turn 8, not 9 like foster dad, an engineer, has been “rumoring.” Engineers are good at math, so reading must be his problem. No matter, he is so good at fostering, that I can overlook such minor details. Overnight, I went from being an old mare to a spring chicken. I am even younger than foster dad in dog years. In other news, foster dad is now squiring me and Pudgy around in his 1999 Subaru, recently returned from the shop. That car is 10 years older than I am. Foster mom has her car back and Foster dad has his Bulldog limousine. Limousine. I like to ride in style.
Get this – Toby Keith is visiting next weekend. I do not know what the deal is with that, but if he plans to bring the entire band, they can sleep on the lawn. I ain’t givin’ up none of my beds to no musicians. I will let them have a foam pad or two but no butts on my beds except for mine. Fur sister Gabby, aka “Tub-a-Guts” is in solidarity with me on this deal. Speaking of a band, what do you call a drummer with no girlfriend? Homeless! Oh wait, I just learned that Toby Keith is another foster Bulldog who is visiting for the weekend. I will let you know how that goes. Tub-a-guts is the diva of dogdom, Queen of Flower Mound, and a 60-pound bruiser. She dominates all males so I will inform 30-pound Toby of who is top dog.
Doggone it, my gait is improving with the joint supplements I am taking. I am a happy and content companion who is easy to manage. All you need are a few beds and pads around the house. That way, I can follow you from room to room and nap comfortably beside you before following you to the next room. I am not crazy about walking but love riding in the car. I love being squired around and having Dad show us off.
5/1/17 Update: This past week has been calm and restful, my style of living large. The adoptive family that wants a serene almost 8 year old senior so that we can love on each other all day long is my dream. We Bullies flourish with a routine. We tell time by getting up before sunrise with foster Dad, doing our business, dining, riding in the car, and observing our foster parent’s habits. I am happy here but know that I can make an adoptive family happy, just like Nigel, a 9 year old, just did! Bulldogs are the love bugs of the canine world. Well, maybe Pugs give us competition.
6/18/17 Update:
I am eagerly searching for my furever family, but am enjoying life in the meantime. I am a laid back, vintage Bulldog who just wants a comfortable, loving home. I will return your love with my own. The Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue group is full of great folks…. literally lifesavers.
Whew, what a busy week. With Foster Dad’s birthday and skin sister Brie’s birthday on the same date as Father’s Day, we did a lot of celebrating! We Bulldogs spend much of the day restoring our energy by sleeping between meals, but we can party like it’s 1999. See for yourselves in this video of the three of us (with foster boy Roscoe and alumna Gabby) wolfing down cake and ice cream while wearing our birthday party hats. I do not know how old Foster Dad is in dog years, but he knows how to throw a puppy party.
7/30/17 Update: Miss Gertie-girlie reporting…Here is a photo of me knocking at the back door to go out for my business. Foster Dad wants to get me on video, but I am a Bulldog, not an on-cue actress. In more than four months in my foster home, I have gained 2-3 pounds, to an ideal weight of 41-42 pounds. Notice in the photo that no only am I a beautiful platinum blond, but check out my blue eyes. I bet you have never met a Bulldog beauty like “moi.” My coat is soft cuz virgin coconut oil is served with my meals.
My stay with this loving foster family has made me more secure, happier, and ready for my furever home. After you adopt me, please stay in touch with my Foster Mom and Dad so they know that I am forever appreciative of their love. To put it in musical terms, God Bless the Broken Road that lead me straight to you. Are you looking for me?
8/12/17 Update: Look at me! I climbed up onto my beds so I can get some rest while my room is cleaned. Clearly, I am built for comfort, not speed. I heard that a possibly destructive tropical storm churning toward the Atlantic Coast was named for me. Do I look destructive to you? The only thing I chew on is in my bowl and I never tear up anything. Life is good here, but I am ready for my furever home. I am a sophisticated, suave, and sexy senior. Sorry, I forgot to say modest too. I am waiting for your family to adopt me.
9/15/17 Update: Miss Gertie-girlie reporting from an undisclosed location this week… Actually, I am stretched out on my foam mat in the kitchen. As any vintage Bullie knows, it is wise to be close to the good food that foster family eats, just in case! Foster dad is not gettin’ my update done promptly so I must take matters into my own paws. With the recent drop in temperatures, foster Dad has taken me and fur sister out in the Bulldog limousine. OK, it is just an old Subaru from last century but it sports AKC seat covers, waterproof no less. I guess he is afraid of rain getting onto the seats. I love to go for rides. Foster dad straps me into a seat belt, no kidding. The Martha Stewart line of dog harnesses and leashes has a feature allowing for safe seat belt restraints. He learned this from another LSBCR volunteer. Thanks Alison. Here I am, the one that you love (Oh, how Air Supply) at the left, just chillin’.
Finally, this is I answering Dad’s request to go outside. “Do I have to? I am so comfortable on my luxurious bed?””
9/18/17 Update: PSST Something BIG is apaw. I was fitted with travel glasses that disguise my identity as you see here. Notice that one lens shines rainbow in the sun and the other is opaque in the shade. Am I traveling somewhere soon? I am a gorgeous blue-eyed platinum blond that any biped would love so concealing my beauty is understandable, but wait, there is more…I am hard of hearing so cannot understand all that foster Mom and Dad are saying. Fortunately, fur sister Gabby is fluent in human speak and explained everything she heard to me.
The rumor is that a family in Houston is adopting me next weekend. As a vintage Bullie, I am thrilled at the thought of living my senior years in a home with the same love as my foster’s. It makes me wiggle with anticipation, well, maybe sashay is a more accurate verb. Foster Mom and Dad, as well as foster fur sister Gabby and skin sister Brie have been so wonderful. I never experienced such love, great food, medical care and security as I have chez Menard. As Dolly Parton wrote, “I will always love you”.
Farewell to my loving foster family and all my love to Rescue for all you do for us Bullies.
