March 16, 2006 - March 4, 2015
Otis was our first baby. We got him almost 9 years ago as a puppy. A year after Chris and I got married, we decided we were ready for a puppy. We researched and researched dogs. Chris had always wanted an English Bulldog. I wasn't too sure about that breed, but when Chris showed me a litter of puppies he had found, I was in love! Chris let me pick the puppy out of that litter and I chose Otis :) I chose Otis because he was the only one that had black "eyeliner" around his eyes. Also, the breeder told us that he was a twin...shared the same sac with his sister, Jill....Otis' name at the time was Jack :) Otis flew on a Southwest Airplane all the way from Kentucky. I was sooooo excited that day. I was at school when Chris called to tell me he had Otis. I raced home to see him and was instantly in deep, deep love with him. I went home on my lunch break and couldn't bear the thought of leaving him by himself for the rest of the day, so I just brought him to school with me! My kids LOVED him. This started the trend of me bringing Otis to school as a reward for my kids. Over the years, each classroom of kids that I had loved Otis. I would let the kids take turns taking him out to go potty. I would let the kids hold his leash and walk him down the halls. My principal would always come down to see him when she heard he was there for the day. He was just always so sweet with my kids.
When we first got Otis, I took the responsibility very seriously. I worked hard with him with obedience training. That training paid off, because he was always soooooo good and sweet...well, except for the times when he chewed up the corners of our furniture and shredded my Grandma's antique chair that I had....but other than that, he was perfect!! I tried to get him certified in Canine Good Citizen training, but he didn't pass the test. He had to remain sitting when a stranger came up to him and could only go to the stranger when I gave the command. He just could not master that.....he would go up to anyone to get loved on :) As a puppy, he would cry at night. Chris and I said we absolutely would never let our dogs sleep in bed with us. We tried to be strong, but after several sleepless nights because of a crying puppy, we put him in bed with us. As soon as we did that, we were all fast asleep and so began the habit of Otis sleeping in bed with us for almost 9 years :)
One of my most favorite memories of Otis is when my friend, Heather, invited several people and their dogs over to have a "swim party." She had a baby pool for her German Shepherd, George. I dressed Otis in doggy swim shorts and a tank top....Chris just rolled his eyes when I showed him the outfit :) I brought Frosty Paws for all the doggies (doggy ice cream). He was a year old at this time, I believe. Anyway, the party was a disaster! Otis ran all around and in and out of the pool, drinking the water and just running around crazy. At one point, he ran right up to the baby pool where the other dogs were and then squatted and pooped the biggest pile of doggy poop I had ever seen! Then when I passed out the doggy ice cream to all the dogs, Otis stole every dog's ice cream and ate them all.....and then threw up in Heather's kitchen! We all laughed about it, but when I brought Otis home, I told Chris the party was a disaster and that he didn't make any friends that day :) I think it was around age 2 that Otis was diagnosed with epilepsy. We got his seizures under control with medications, but he had to take several pills four times a day. It was a lot for me to remember, but I did it. He would still have seizures off and on during his life, but they got to be fewer and fewer. Four years ago, we decided to add another dog to our family. We adopted Daisy from another family in Dallas when she was 6 months old. They got her on a whim and then decided she was too much for their family because they had several kids and another baby on the way. We felt like Otis would like a playmate during the day while I was teaching. Daisy took to Otis right away. They really became friends and her energy helped Otis to play more....and sleep more, too :)
When Otis was almost 6, we welcomed Pearce into our family. Otis and Daisy loved Pearce and Pearce loved his two doggies. I never ever worried about Otis being rough with Pearce. Pearce could crawl, lay, and sit on Otis, and Otis would just let him. When Pearce quit napping last month and started having "quiet" time in his room, he wanted Otis and "Sissy" to stay in his room with him. Sissy could never quite master that, and always barked to come out, but Otis always stayed with Pearce :)
As Otis got older, he stopped running around and playing like he used to. He still loved to go outside, but he would just sit on the porch steps or lay down on them and just sleep in the sun. During his last year, Otis started sleeping more and more and wanting to stay in our bedroom on our bed, or in the closet. He had a special place he loved in our closet. It was right in the corner. I think he just liked having peace and quiet in there :) Chris and I knew he was getting older and probably was getting closer to the end of his life, but we just didn't think about that too much. I always told Chris that he was going to be the bulldog that lived forever :) We were very diligent about his health with his epilepsy and doing blood work each year to make sure the medicine wasn't hurting him.
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Wednesday morning, I noticed that Otis seemed lethargic. He was always kind of lazy, but this was different. Whenever I told him to go outside to potty, he would usually get right up and go outside. But that morning, he didn't. I had to make him go. I noticed when he came up the stairs to come inside, he was extremely slow and that it took a lot of effort for him to get up the stairs. There was something that just seemed off with him. I was anxious for Chris to get home to look at him. When Chris came home that night, he looked Otis over and told me I needed to make an appointment to take him to the vet the next morning. Then Chris looked at his gums and we saw that they were almost white. I ran to look at Daisy's gums and they were bright pink. Chris said I needed to take him to the emergency vet right then. Chris thought it was probably his heart. At this time, Pearce was still up because GG was here, so I decided to take him by myself and if Chris needed to come, he could. As I was driving to the the Animal Hospital, I knew this wasn't good, but absolutely never thought the worse. When we got there, I walked Otis inside and right away, the vet techs noticed his breathing. They went ahead and took him back while I filled out paperwork. Then I went to the exam room and waited....Otis was in the back with the vet. After about 10 minutes, the vet walked in. He took a deep breath and started talking. I immediately noticed how serious he was and that's when I started getting nervous. He first told me that Otis' heart was smaller than usual, but that it was ok. Then he said he did an ultrasound and saw lots of fluid in his belly. He then said he found a mass on his spleen....and as soon as he said that, I just lost it. He said the mass had ruptured and when he took a sample of the fluid, he saw that it was all blood. Otis was bleeding internally from the ruptured tumor. My first thought was, "That's it, this is the end." My parents' dog, Cookie, had to be put to sleep because of this exact same thing, so I knew right then what the outcome was going to be. The vet said he didn't think Otis would make it through the night and that the kindest thing to do would be to put him to sleep. I knew the answer, but I asked when, and he said "now." I just could not believe it. I asked the vet to bring Otis in and he said they would get his IV ready and then bring him in. I called Chris crying and told him and he said he was on his way. Then I called my parents and just cried and cried to them. They were so sorry we were having to go through this. Finally, Otis was brought in. They laid him down on a blanket and in the 20 minutes were were there, he seemed so much weaker. He just laid there and didn't try to get up or anything. I just loved on him and cried and told him how much I loved him and that I was so sorry. Chris finally made it and we just cried together while loving on Otis. We told the vet we were ready and he brought in the medicine. He said it would be a matter of seconds before Otis just goes to sleep. I put my face right in front of Otis' and just loved on him. Chris was on the other side of Otis. The vet put the syringe in his IV and started pushing the medicine in. Just like the vet said, within a few seconds, Otis' eyes started getting heavy and then I saw his eyes open a little wider and then they started closing again. Chris closed his eyes all the way. During those few seconds, Chris and I kept telling Otis how much we loved him. The vet checked his heart and then said he was gone. He left the room to let us have more time with Otis. Chris and I kept crying and loving on Otis. I just was still in disbelief. He really looked like he always did when he slept. Chris took off his collar and then we gave him one last hug and kiss. The next few days were just excruciating. I've never felt pain like that before. My heart just ached. I'm so happy we were with Otis when he died, but I'm also so mad that it was so sudden. I feel guilty that his last day wasn't more special or meaningful. I wish I had known the night before was going to be my last night to sleep with Otis. He had always slept between Chris' legs. It made Chris so hot, but he never made Otis move. During the last few months, for some reason, Otis switched to sleeping between my legs. I loved it because I always got cold :) I joked with Chris that Otis loves me more now :) I miss Otis sleeping with me. I've tried to make myself feel better by saying well now I won't have to remember to give him his pills 4 times a day, I won't have to go to Costco every month to get his medicine, I won't have to wipe up the drooling mess he always left when he saw us eating, I won't have to pick up as much dog poop. But the truth is, I miss giving Otis his medicine 4 times a day. I miss buying special "Otis" cheese to put his pills in. I miss the drips of slobber he would leave by the kitchen table when we ate. I miss the special jingling sound his collar made when he shook his head. I miss cuddling with him in the mornings. We have a bucket with the dog bones. Otis would never get a bone out by himself. He would always bark for me to get one for him. I miss getting up to go get him a bone. I. Miss. Otis. I. Miss. Otis. I miss him so much!!! I miss going into my bathroom and seeing him in his special corner. I just miss him. I do know he is in Heaven. I also know he is with Cookie. They were so good together. Otis always loved to chew on Cookie's bones. He knew where she kept them and would always go get one when we were in Dallas visiting. I know they are together playing now, which really does make me feel better for both of them. But honestly, they should both still be here. This is the price you pay for having a pet. It totally sucks, but Otis gave us almost 9 years of unconditional love which I am so thankful for. Otis, you will always be loved and you will always be missed. We will see you again.
I love this picture. This was taken just a few days before he died. Sissy and Otis enjoying a nice, sunny day together. I am so thankful that we have Sissy. She can be kind of crazy at times, and has her own little quirks, but she is such a good little girl and I'm going to put a lot more effort into her now and not sweat the small stuff with her. I can tell she misses Otis. She always waited for him to go potty with her. A lot of the times, when Otis barked for a bone, she would go over and knock over the container to spill the bones out for him :)
