Tonight I found out information that I’m not quite sure I know how to process. I know that Crunch hasn’t lived with me for the last 3 years, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t my dog. Well, he’s no one’s dog now. I found out this evening that Crunch passed away.

I wanted to write about him, in hopes that it would help me deal with all of the emotions I’m feeling right now.

This picture was taken the first day I brought Crunch home back in 2008. I never planned on getting Crunch, it just kind of worked out that way. I had purchased another English bulldog in December 2007 from a pet store in the mall. The dog I purchased (Chomp) ended up having a hereditary condition called hip dysplasia. Per the terms of her purchase this meant that I would receive a store credit for her purchase price. Considering that amount was around $4000 I figured instead of spending it on a lifetime supply of kibbles that I would get another dog.

Chomp and Crunch were buddies right from the start. They both always slept on my bed with me (that is until Crunch tried to suffocate me in my sleep, but that’s another story). They would both run around and play together. Chomp and Crunch were like two peas in a pod. It didn’t matter how mean my parent’s Boston terrors (terriers) were being to them, they always had each other.

My parents had decided to get a kiddie pool for all of the dogs to play in, since we lived in the desert and it was always hot. Crunch instantly fell in love. He would go out and sit in, or play in, the pool for hours at a time. He loved the water. Even as he got older he still always loved being in or around water, although if you completely submerged him to make him swim he didn’t care for it much.

He loved being in the water so much that it eventually led to him getting a bad skin infection between his toes. That was the day that we had to take the kiddie pool away from him. He was still allowed to sit on the step in the swimming pool, but only for short amounts of time.

Crunch may have been smaller than Chomp when I first got him, but eventually he out grew her. Not only did he outgrow her, but he looked majestic while doing it.

Crunch transformed from my little Crunchy man, into a big giant lover. His head ended up growing to a size that was bigger than mine. Crunch never was the smartest dog, and I often referred to him as my “big dumb lug.” I always compared him to a lion, because he was the Captain (king) of the house.

By 2010 I was married and living with my new husband. He bought a house and me and my dogs came in and took over. We had a pool in the backyard that had a built in “Crunch step.” We all lived in the house together as a little family for about a year when the decision was made to move to California. We knew that we wouldn’t have as big as a living area in California that we were used to. The decision was made to take Chomp with us at first and leave Crunch with my parents until we could come and get him. After we moved things with the Boston terrors got even worse than they had previously been. There were constant fights, and since my parents weren’t home often, it was becoming a big problem. When Dan and I flew home to get my a car we had left behind the plan was to also get Crunch. While we were visiting my sister-in-law and brother offered to take Crunch. While we had reservations about the arrangement, we knew that this would be the best situation for Crunch.

Crunch went to live with my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew in 2012. My nephew was 2 years old at the time, and Crunch quickly became his dog. There were times when Crunch didn’t exactly get along with my nephew, but they were still good buddies. I always looked back and wondered if I had mad the right decision giving Crunch up, but I knew that he was loved where he was at.

Crunch spent the next two years of his life living on an acre of land with a loving family. We always made it a point to see him whenever possible when we came back to visit. The above picture was one of the last times I saw Crunch. I was babysitting him for my brother while him and his family were visiting a friend in a different state. I was also able to see Crunch right before I moved back to California from Arizona. I remember I was walking around my brother’s property looking for cactus to put in a pot and he was following me around the entire time. I know that he had a good life, but I’m really going to miss my buddy boy.