My wife and I adopted Piper from Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue on November 23, 2008. All the way home from Dallas to Midland I continued to ask the question of whether we had done the right thing adopting this 5 ½ year old female bulldog who had been so abused by her prior owner. When Piper put her paw on my hand which was on the armrest I knew that the answer to my question was most definitely “yes”. Piper had it very hard before we adopted her. She could barely walk and would have to lie down at least every 15 feet when she did. So, our twice daily ritual, me picking her up and carrying her to the back yard so she could take care of business. I eventually began calling this ritual the “bullydog parade” as I would often sing to her while I held her. Piper would take her time and come back in through the doggy door when she was good and ready. Finally, when she was ready for bed she’d come over to my lounge chair and stare at me. I knew it was time for me to get up, pick her up and place her ever so gently in the chair for her nightly sleep. You see, Piper never liked beds just my lounge chair.
I write all of the above so you would know just how sweet and precious my little Piper truly was. She passed away late last night or early this morning after I placed her in my lounge chair one last time. My heart is broken and aching – my best friend and my little bullydog princess has gone and crossed over Rainbow Bridge leaving me, my wife, and my other rescue bulldog Dimitri to mourn her passing. I often remember speaking with my mom—she never really liked dogs. My mom would tell me just how lucky Piper was to have someone who loved her and took such good care of her. With all due respect to my mom, she was wrong, for you see I was the lucky one. I could never give Piper as much love as she gave me and my family. She was always the first one to greet me when I came home from work. As soon as Piper saw it was me she would roll over on her back and wiggle inviting me to rub her little tummy, a proposition I never refused. I was her person and we both knew it. Nonetheless, she often reminded me—she would frequently come over to where I was seated and put her chin and at least one paw on my foot to let me know that I was hers.
I want to thank Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue for letting us adopt Piper. She truly was a little angel and was a blessing to us each and every day of the almost 4 years she was part of our family. She was always loved by us and we will never, ever forget her, her kind and beautiful little face, and her wonderful smile. She was most certainly one of God’s greatest creations and I will always love her.
Stephen S.
Midland, Texas