Bob the Boxer

Bob the Boxer!

In the winter of 2008, Brian was managing a pet store and I was serving tables at Red Robin. We had not been together for too terribly long, but our pack consisted of myself & Brian, Maddie (2-year-old lab), Kitty Kitty, Lucy & Kind (3 female cats).

Me, being the insecure, codependent girl that I was, followed Brian to the pet store. I woke up bright & early to work in the kennel. When I began, there was a boxer just over 4 months old & the most adorable, dopey dog I had ever seen.

While I have always been super uncomfortable starting new jobs, it wasn’t like that there. My insecurities with other people made working with dogs very satisfying. I absolutely LOVE them! Big dogs, small dogs, girl dogs, and old dogs alike, I love their company and affection. If I remember correctly, I think I had this happy, lovable & excited boxer named Bob before I had even started my first day of work!

I cleaned 18 puppy cages 5 mornings a week. Feeding, bathing, giving medicine, and extra TLC to puppy after puppy. They came, we loved them, and they were adopted.

Except for Bob.

Customers would take Bob out & play with him, they acted like they were going to take Bob home with them. Behind the scenes, the sales associates & management came back to give me a glance (or tease me, depending on who it was), but ultimately, Bob stayed. Nobody took him home. It was sad, and I hated to leave him at that pet store.

Eventually, Brian (and the owner, Juan) allowed me to bring Bob home at night. Oh, I just could not get out of Red Robin fast enough! I would work so hard to close the restaurant, and then drive 3 minutes to the pet store for Brian & Bob!

We all see where this is going…

Bob was getting ready to be “sent back” as he aged out of the kennel. There was no way that we were going to let that happen. I had been hooked from the beginning, but it didn’t take Brian long to fall in love with his buddy Bob. I don’t know what happens after a dog ages out of the kennel, but I knew that just wasn’t going to happen.

Brian & I brought Bob home, permanently, when he was 9-month-old. Even as a puppy, Bob had the longest tongue I have ever seen! It would hang inches out of his mouth as he would run these long, wobbly legs and a tongue that hung to his knees! The wind would get caught in his cheeks, his back legs would run faster & run over his front legs, and he would roll all around the grass. Oh, it was fun to watch!!!

Bob was a popular dude. From the day I met this dog, he had a bit of a following. This started as a puppy at the pet store and followed him across the country to Arizona! One of our funny memories with our boxers, Bob & Jenny, was shortly after we made the cross country move and started our little lives here. Brian & I are workers! Personally, I found a lot of my value through working & earning money. Obviously, Brian & I could not work these crazy hours leaving the dogs home alone all day. We began to take the pack to doggie daycare! HAHA! I have always wanted to be a soccer mom, and at this time, I was the idea of a “dog mom”! It was great. Until I got a call at work & the boxers were getting suspended from doggie daycare! What?!?! We came to learn that Bob didn’t like Jenny to play with friends without him, but he would get too excited. Bob would bounce right over into a group of dogs (Jenny & her new friends) without “social etiquette exciting everyone so much that they would have to sound the blow horn. Doggie Daycare staff recommended we bring Jenny a few times alone, then Bob alone for a few days, before they come back together! Aye, Aye, Aye!!!

The other thing Bob was very well known for was his carbohydrate addiction! This, too, started when he was a puppy!

Brian & I had just moved into our first home in Indiana. I was full of sparkles, glitter, and stars, so bright-eyed about our future. When I say we had “just” moved into our first home, I mean that day! Our best couple friends had been helping us move all day long, so we did what most people do & ordered a couple of pizzas to be delivered. After they were delivered, we put them on the counter & continued to unload the truck.

“BOB! NO!” I hear Brian shout a few minutes later. Bob & Maddie each enjoyed a pepperoni pizza that Bob & his long legs had pulled off the counter!

Of course, the addiction moved with the dog. Several years later, Mom had come out to Arizona. I don’t remember if this was a fun & family trip, or Mom coming out as a caregiver, but I remember the day Bob got her bagel while she was in the bathroom!

The last thing that Brian, the girls, and I would have to do prior to leaving the house was making sure the trash was all out & ANY BREAD products were tightly stored away!

We have several pictures to remind us of the times we forgot to put bagels, or loaf of bread away! Like most dogs, Bob was not picky & enjoyed most human foods, but giving a dog a biscuit was not a play on words with this fella.

Bob the Boxer! Bob was such a great dog, he was a love bug & was a huge blessing to our pack for over 12 years!