Pupdate: Sarge

Our beloved Sarge has passed away, and yet again I'm left broken hearted.  I know I haven't posted since Stella's passing but will try and do better.  We did add a bundle of joy to our family since then, and we've been so fortunate to have Sarge show the new little guy the way of the bulldog world.  More on Captain on a later post.

Sarge & Stella were litter mates, so they came to us at the same time.  And life with 2 puppies was absolutely insane for the first few weeks.  Since then, I've said you must be crazy to get 2 at a time...haha!

Sarge was so fortunate to be a healthy guy for the majority of his life.  We had a few scratched eyes (just like Stella and the need to go through the bush rather than around it), a partial tear in his knee, some ear infections, an interdigital cyst, but that was really it. We noticed in February 2022 that he was panting for no apparent reason which lead to the testing and scans which found his heart base mass and cardiomyopathy.  

He started medications to help shrink the tumor and overall he was very responsive.  We weren't really sure how long he would be able to live with such conditions, but he continued to be our little miracle.  When Stella passed in July 2022, I was afraid he'd die of a broken heart.  But we got him a little Frenchie brother that seemed to revive him and raise his spirits.  

We continued on with visits to the cardiologist and oncologist every 8 weeks or so.  Then started adding in the neurologist as he developed nystagmus (his eyes would bounce).  He was on LOTS of medications plus some supplements - he even had more daily meds than me as a CF patient!  We'd tweek things based on what he needed - he would get an upset belly from time to time, so we'd take a break from the Palladia until he was back to normal.  

He had his last check up in November 2023 and had a great report!  He was enjoying the cooler weather in December and enjoyed when we made a fire in the outdoor fire pit.  We went up to our cabin in West Virginia to spend New Years and stay the week.  He had the best week!  He played ball in the front yard with Captain, sat happily in the yard while there were snow flurries and most of all loved roasting by the fire.  And that is where he decided to slip peacefully away from us.

While I am shattered not having my old man, I could not have asked for him to have a better way to go.  It was on his terms, so very peacefully snug as a bug in his bed, at his favorite place.

Rest easy my sweet old man.  

Sarge was our first boy EVER.  Neither Will nor I grew up with male pets - other than my childhood gerbil.  Our dogs and cats were always female, so we were taking our chances seeing what a male was like vs female.  And boy did we hit the jackpot.  Thanks to Sarge, he opened the doors to us adopting T-Bone which was another phenomenal male, and now our Captain.  I'm pretty adamant that males are the best!  At least in the bulldog breeds (no offense to the females, I loved my girls too).

When I saw the newborn pictures of the litter, I immediately was drawn to Sarge's big white head and said I must have him!  That cute big white head didn't stay pure white, he got little polka-dots as we called them, and his cute little ears were spotted too! My favorite feature on him. 

He pulled a Houdini as a puppy once and broke out of his kennel - we still have no idea how he did it.  But his sweet self just sat next to Stella's waiting on us to come home.  

Sarge was always the gentle one of the 2, very patient with his bossy sister.  As a young guy, he would always steal my crocs I kept at the back door to go out with them.  It ended up with me having 1 shoe on and chasing him around the yard to get the other! He thought it was great fun.  

Sarge loved the outdoors!  He loved to lay and roll in the grass, whether it was hot or cold.  However, his time was limited in the summer due to the extreme heat in SC and the ease of which bulldogs overheat.  But he loved to lay and roast in the sun and usually protested when I'd make him go inside to the air conditioning.  He could last longer outside in cooler weather, and that made him a happy boy.  His last week of life, he sat outside every day for a few minutes as the snow just fell around him.  Again, mean mom made him come inside sooner than he wanted.  And he loved to hang out on the porch at camp and overlook his kingdom.

 

He loved water...was always an angel when getting a bath, and enjoyed his time in the swimming pool and at the river.  Again, it usually resulted in him pouting when we would make him get out of the water to get dried off.  He wasn't the strongest swimmer but he liked wading in the shallow water.  

 

Another favorite past time for Sarge was riding on the gator at camp.  He usually got to sit shotgun, especially this past year as I'd sit in back with Captain (cause he can't sit still) and Sarge would chill up front with his dad.

Sarge became the slowest bulldog.  I'd have to give myself an extra 10 minutes when I needed to leave the house to ensure I could get him outside to potty and back in the house (sometimes that wasn't enough time).  He just shuffled along at his own happy snails pace.  I sure miss hearing him walking around the house - he never seemed to pick up his feet, he'd just drag his nails on the wood floors.  

Last but not least, I can't leave off this guys love of beer.  Back when he could hear better, he was in the yard and Will came out cracking open a beer can, and Sarge came running! We laughed so hard.  He was always waiting to get the last drop out of Will's beer, or whoever had some! He'd stare at you and even hit you sometimes to make sure you knew he wanted some.  It's definitely not the same having a beer without our Sarge around.  

My sweet Sargie Pargie, Bubby, old man, slug-o, Sargeant Jackson (and many other random names) - we miss you terribly and will always remember your kind soul.  

RIP Sargeant Jackson

7/6/2011 - 1/4/2024