A what?????????????

That is what my Grandma said almost a year ago when I told her we were getting an English Bulldog named Snort. Anything red or related to Georgia football is banned in our family so she was a little shocked. To tell you about Snort I have to tell you about his dad Al. You see Snort was never ours, we just had the honor of taking care of him for a friend. Al and I met online through an organization we both volunteered in. He lived in Pennsylvania and would post pictures of Snort. Al and I started emailing because I became very interested in adopting a Bulldog. Al was very honest and told me about their health issues. So I decided I better hold of. I had no way of knowing what would happen just in a few months...

As a baby Snort was bought by a Soldier up North but he had to move and took him to an animal shelter. That particular day Al was there and ending up with him. Pretty fitting since Al did so much for our Veterans and Soldiers. Al and Snort were together 12 years and loved each other very much. Last June Al and two other friends drove down for a service for a good friend who passed away. Al didn't look good..at all. He promised he would go to the doctor when he got home which he did. He was admitted to the hospital Fourth of July weekend of 2010. He passed July 24th 2010. I am very thankful I can say Al was my friend but really sad it was for such a short period of time. The last time we talked on the phone when he was at the hospital I promised him Snort would be okay. Snort was at the Vet's office during all this and being spoiled rotten by the girls there. Really I hoped someone up there would get Snort. I was worried about the drive and the heat down here. But no one could take him..at 85 lbs and 12 years old he did require someplace special. A very good friend of Al's brought Snort to Virginia to meet my in laws. He stayed a night at a hotel and the next day was on his way to Georgia...

I will always remember seeing him get out of the truck in our driveway. He came with his own ramp to help get him in and out. I know he must of been confused and missing his Dad very much. We brought him inside to mixed reviews. Angel didn't really mind him but Missy was not happy. I think she was a little scared of him. We took him in the backyard to explore..he was so big our 3 horses ran from him. Of course being the goofball he is, our Tennessee Walker ran away backwards to keep an eye on him. (Our backyard and part of the pasture are next to each other) We fell in love with him immediately.

Neither my husband or myself have ever had a dog that big in the house. My husband and Father in law built him a huge ramp so he could off on the back porch easily. And it took some time to get everyone used to each other although Missy never got used to him. She gave him so much crap and he would just look at her like "what is your problem?". Grandma, the same lady who is still mad because her Tennesse Football team wore black jersey two years ago ( "White and Orange are our colors..not black..black is Georgia's color) also fell in love with him. She said it wasn't his fault he was a Bulldog. She would call and the first thing she would ask about was him..not me or my husband but Snort. Snort was so curious and had to put his big face on everything. He snored really loud, louder than any human and that is saying a lot because my Stepdad is ridicoulous. He also had bad gas at times. You never got a warning..it would just hit you. He cleared out the Vet's office one day. He LOVED firewood. He would drag it out of the fireplace as my husband put it in there and we would have to wrestle it from him. When we brought the Christmas tree home he curled up around it and took a nap, he thought we brought it home just for him. Snort and my husband were big buddies. They went to guy's nights at a friends house. He loved that. There were two big dogs there and one of Snort's favorite past times was getting underneath them and then using his big head to flip them over.

Snort slept on the couch and many nights I slept on there with him. He loved to cuddle. When he started feeling pretty bad early this year and couldn't get ont he couch we bought an air mattress. We spent many nights on that..me, him and Lola. Lola absolutely loved the big guy(we found her two weeks after getting Snort). In Febuary Snort started going downhill pretty fast. We knew our time was limited with him but it didn't help take away the sadness. On a Friday he refused to eat and that's when we knew it was time. He was in a lot of pain and was at the point he couldn't really walk. So we let Lola give him kisses and took him to the ER vet. That was one of the hardest days ever. We said goodbye and he crossed over the rainbow bridge to join his dad.

It's been 6 months and we still miss him everyday. My husband lost his buddy. The only other male in the house is our cat and well they don't get a long. Angel and Lola were sad for awhile..Missy acted like nothing happened. Angel was probably the worst though, we think because she has seen dogs leave so many times when she was in foster care. One day we will rescue a Bulldog..just not for awhile.

Miss you Al.
Miss you Snort.