Our latest addition to the family... Bruno the English Bulldog!!!

My wife, Julie, and I are animal lovers. Julie's been rescuing dogs and cats for many years now, and since we've been together, we've rescued four animals. Romeo, a stray cat, who didn't get along with our four cats, so he had to go to a no-kill shelter; Maisy, a Pitbull/Lab mix who was a sweet dog and got along famously with our Pit/Boxer mix Buster - who is now home on a farm in Huron, OH; Ginger, a Shepherd/Pinscher mix who came to us a very scared basket case but left us a wonderful dog and went home with a young couple with two young daughters in Amherst, and Chelsea, a Sheltie/something mix who we found and had a skin allergy and no hair on her tail, but turned out to be one of the most wonderful dogs ever, who completely recovered and has just recently been placed with a family in Oberlin, OH.

For our next foster, we had started looking at Bulldogs, but they were VERY hard to find, and we came to realize that, if we could find one, we might want to keep him for good because of their wonderful temperament and compatibility with our lifestyle. They're SO cute... when you see one, they just put a big smile on your face!!! However, they CAN be expensive!!! Puppies go for as much as $2400 and they are also prone to health problems, such as breathing difficulties and infections. Nevertheless, we pressed forward.

Julie was considering several dogs, but had given up the possibility of adopting a Bulldog or fostering a dog this weekend, until last night, when we found an updated entry on Petfinder. As luck would turn out, the local Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter just got in a Bulldog. We couldn't BELIEVE our luck. Here was a beautiful English Bulldog, in good (although not perfect) health, and he was only a few miles away!!! We got up early and headed for the shelter, and were the first ones there... and I am happy to say that we'll be adopting a new little boy Bulldog!!!

Thanks to a random stop at a Carvel store for a coffee, the girl at the counter gave him the perfect name: Bruno. I'll be picking up Bruno from the shelter on Monday, after he's seen the vet and been neutered.

He's the sweetest little love bug!!! He showered me with kisses. He's met Buster and McKenzie (our Sheltie) and they got along pretty well, although we'll have to keep a watchful eye on them. There will probably be some dominance issues that will have to play out, but they got along really well, so much so that he was kissing and licking both of them, too.