Spike

                                                                        Spike 

It's difficult to know where to begin.  Our grief for Rex is so profound.  He was unique.  He was special and we loved him so very deeply and still do.  I don't think we will ever stop grieving for Rex.  Our home is filled with Rex paintings, drawings, art and photography.  He had such a profound impact on our lives.  And we plan on keeping everything just as it is and think of him every day, in a million little ways.

For a time we thought we never wanted another dog in our lives.  Never wanted to have to face that loss again, thought no other dog could ever compare (and they can't and shouldn't).  So for awhile our house was very quiet, sad and empty.  Even our cat Willy was mournful.  He had never been an only pet and was experiencing grief just as we were.  We thought that feeling would ease, but it didn't.  Every day, we went through the motions.  We have been experiencing other sad events in our lives as well, a terminally ill family member being among the worst.  And then I believe fate and Rex intervened.

Ever since Rex became popular on social media, I have developed friendships with people who love and save dogs and other animals.  Though many of these friendships have been online, by email or text, they are real friendships and I value them.  A wonderful lady named Dana Carrara who fosters bull terriers for several rescues and also advocates for dogs in need everywhere posted a picture on her Facebook account of a four month old bull terrier puppy who was an owner surrender.  I texted her right away, because the picture she posted nearly made me cry.  This little pup had Rex's nose.  Not just similar, or reminiscent of Rex's nose.  But his exact nose.  The heart shape and the spot just above it.

I texted Dana and asked her what his story was.  It is also quite amazing.

A wonderful Bull Terrier Rescue organization in Palm Desert, California named California Paws Rescue had sent a volunteer to the shelter that morning to pull another bull terrier they had been made aware of.  As the volunteer was in the parking lot of the shelter, a man got out of his car with a bull terrier puppy.  She immediately took notice of this and watched the man as he made several phone calls, desperately trying to find a family member or friend to take him in.  He had no luck.  The volunteer approached him and began talking to him.  He gave some vague reasons for having to give him up as owners surrendering their dogs often do.  He didn't have enough room in his home, there were issues with the landlord, etc. and he loved the dog, but simply could not keep him.

The volunteer explained to him that she was there picking up another bull terrier and she volunteered for a bull terrier rescue organization and that he would be in much better hands with them than simply handed over to the shelter and he agreed.  

They weren't expecting to pick up two bull terriers that day, and due to his young age, did not really want to take him to the rescue where the older and more boisterous dogs are cared for, so the volunteer took him home with her to foster him.

I showed the picture of this puppy (who they were calling Gelato, as all rescues are given a rescue name) to my husband and he said "Let's do this".  Things went very quickly after that.  Dana called Lori, who runs California Paws and told her that he needed to come to us.  Lori called me and after a few moments, realized that we knew each other, since she was familiar with Rex and we had helped them with some of their social media outreach.  We had a great conversation and she decided that we would be the perfect family for this pup.

By that afternoon, he was getting his vet check, vaccination updates and health certificate and arrangements were being made to have him transported to us from California.

He spent a long three and a half days in a pet transport van while we anxiously awaited his arrival.  I won't lie, we were both nervous, hoping we were ready.  But we knew that we needed to adopt a puppy if we wanted to have harmony in our home with a dog and our senior cat and we also knew we wanted to rescue if possible, and that nose...

When he arrived, he was frightened and pretty dirty from the experience.  But he immediately warmed up to us and attached himself to us.  After an hour of getting to know each other, he had a bath, a meal and lots of affection.  He has only been with us since Saturday and follows us both everywhere we go from room to room.  He loves cuddles and his new toys.  He's learning what stairs are.

As time goes by he will come out of his shell a bit more, as he already is beginning to.  He is fairly calm and well mannered for a young pup and meets new people calmly and politely.  We are looking forward to getting to know this boy who we have named Spike.  We already love him.   I do know that he is bringing us lightness and joy in his silly puppy ways, which is something we sorely need right now.  He and Willy have not been introduced yet, we are following the instructions of trainers who say a slow, gradual introduction is best.

Please support California Paws Rescue, they work they do saving the lives of Bull Terriers is so necessary.  Lori and her team sacrifice so much to save these dogs.  They have many dogs in need of loving homes and if you know anyone who loves this breed, please have them check out their website 

Californiapawsrescue.org

and as always for every rescue organization, donations are always needed and appreciated.

Rex will always be in our hearts and minds and part of our social media posts.  His memory will be kept alive there and in his legacy, our charity RexTheTVTerrier.org

I believe you can never have too much love.  So I hope you all can embrace and love Spike as well.