Lots of people tend to think that our dog, Stubbs, is as ugly as sin, but we happen to think differently.  We think that Stubbs is pretty darn special!

Stubbs is five years old, a "teenager" by dog standards, but he thinks that he's still a puppy at times.  He can get rather rambunctous when the time calls for it.  It's rather funny to see this portly fella on short legs running full tilt boogie after a ball or chasing a twig whenever we play fetch with him.

We got Stubbs when he was a puppy, just a little runty thing.  He's since grown into a beast that weighs well over 40 pounds.  He is brown and white with beady black eyes and an ever grinning expression on his face.  Seems that he is always smiling; he's the happiest dog we have ever encountered.

Stubbs was a Mother's Day gift to my wife.  At first she wasn't sure what to think of him, but he's since managed to wrap his heart (and all four paws) around her neck; they are the best of buddies.  Tomorrow will be his five year "pupperversary".  So besides taking Kay out for lunch at her favorite restaurant (Cracker Barrel), we will probably also be bringing home a special "doggie bag" for Stubbs.  He loves Cracker Barrel; the meat loaf and steak are his favorites (though we know we aren't supposed to feed our pet "human food", but he still loves it!  We just don't do it much, which suits our veterinarian just fine.)

I have always loved bulldogs, which is why I got my wife Stubbs.  Turns out that it was the best thing I could have ever done (besides marrying her of course).  My wife was going through a very hard time emotionally: we had just lost our youngest son to meningitis when he was two years old; had he lived he would have been seven.  We still miss Dillon horribly.  Besides going out to eat (and celebrating Mother's Day and Stubb's anniversary with us), we will go to the cemetary and visit Dillon at his grave and let him know that we still love him and will always remember him.  We will let him know what's been going on in our lives.

Anyway, Stubbs has been a healing balm for Kay and myself; he's taken a lot of the hurt away, though some of it will probably always remain.  We've also added to our family by adopting two children, one from Illinois (Willow Sky, 2), and the other from China (Dalton Gabriel, 1 1/2).  They both keep Kay and myself very busy (as does Stubbs).  Our life is very frenetic at best; there's hardly a dull moment with two small children (and a hulking, slobbering bulldog) around.

Well, it's time to take our big "lug" of a dog out for his nightly constitutional; we've got to help him lose some of that weight, or else later on down the road, there could be problems.  I will write more later; I hope you liked reading about our "canine family member".  He's something special, let me tell you!