A Farewell to Butch

It's late 2017. Danielle and I have just moved into an apartment together after 7 months of dating. I had also recently begun my venture of Soya Physical Therapy. My life was going through some major shifts. The next one I was dragging my feet on was adopting a dog. Danielle would show me a few dogs on Petfinder almost daily, and damn near every time I said no. But at the end of January 2018, Home for Good Dogs listed a litter of dogs that were born in a shelter down South, and were being brought up to be placed in foster homes. The "B Litter" were advertised as mastiff mixes. We were interested in the two males of the litter, Butch and Bruno. We messaged Home for Good Dogs stating our interest in Butch and Bruno, went through the application process, had our references called, etc and they said we could meet Butch and if he seemed like a good fit we could take him home. Early February I walked out of their office building with a 12 week old puppy on a leash and was unaware that a puppy doesn't just naturally know how to walk on a leash. It's things like this that I had forgotten about since the only puppy I had previously was our family's lab, Cocoa, and I was only 9 when she came home to us.

I placed Butch in a dog bed that I bought at the Home for Good Dogs office placed it on the passenger seat and drove to PetsMart. Butch rode in the child seat of the shopping cart taking in all sights of the toys, animals, people. I remember petting his already oversized head, bringing my face close and getting a kiss from this pup. I already knew we found a good one. I didn't yet know that we found the best one.

The early months were fun and frustrating. Butch was a quick learner with commands and tricks. He breezed through puppy kindergarten at St. Huberts, though he and a large lab puppy named Murphy were kept separate from the rest of the dogs since they liked to wrestle far more than the rest of the pups. He was incredibly happy to please by showing you all his tricks. Unfortunately, it took a good six months for him to pee outside without fail. But throughout the puppy phase, he never once destroyed things that weren't his toys. However, he did absolutely destroy his toys, always leaving pieces scattered about the floor within minutes of being given the latest indestructible toy. I brought him to the gym with me often in the early days. Patients/clients and gymgoers were always happy to see him there.

At about 75 lbs in his first 9 months, Butch stopped growing and we realized he was certainly not a mastiff mix. A Wisdom Panel doggie DNA test informed us he was 50% American Staffordshire Terrier, 12.5% boxer, 12.5% bulldog, 12.5% chow chow, and 12.5% "breed groups (guard, sporting, Asian)". He had a unique look with his large head, underbite and slightly frowny face, and muscular body covered in mostly tan hair. His intimidating look was immediately offset with his kind demeanor and a touch of goofiness. He made friends, both human and dog, easily.

Butch loved playing with other dogs so much, that after a few months of Danielle showing me more adoptable dogs in the fall of 2019 we came home with Bronson. Butch loved having a playmate the first day Bronson came home. However, once he realized Bronson was staying and sharing our attention, he wasn't quite so happy for a little bit. Overtime, Bronson's love grew on Butch, though Butch always loved playing big brother to Bronson throughout his whole life. One of Butch's favorite past-times was stealing a toy from Bronson and running off with it.

We spent a happy 6.5 years with Butch and Bronson together. Many walks, tug of war, cuddles with each other, with us, with friends. Our friends and family loved Butch (and Bronson obviously) and always remarked on how sweet this oversized lapdog is. While he loved his walks and playtime, he loved his lazy cuddles and watching out the window or front door and barking at everyone who walked by. You'd spot Butch in the window barking at you the moment your car door closed, truly a vigilant watch dog.

In May of 2026 we learned Butch was living in end-stage kidney failure. Butch was a dog who lived to eat, and in late March he was becoming fussy with eating. After we returned from a vacation in mid-May, we took him to the vet to see if something was amiss. We knew his sister Gracie had died after living with kidney disease as had the mother of the B Litter. Unfortunately Butch was in the same boat, his BUN was 112 (the upper end of normal range is 27). The vets were astonished that he was acting as normal as he was as most dogs this far advanced would have deteriorated quite a bit. After a few weeks of subcutaneous fluids, home cooked food, some of the prescription kidney diet food, Butch's body began to fail him. His appetite completely disappeared and he began having persistent diarrhea, then bloody diarrhea, and some vomitting. Despite this, Butch never lost his happy demeanor. Even at his emergency vet visit on his final day, he'd scrunch up his face for his signature smile for the staff when they approached. The emergency vet had even said, "he's doing this for you. He loves you and the life you've given him. If you asked him to, he'd go on until it stopped on its own. And it will within a few days or weeks." Danielle and I took him on a last walk with Bronson and even played in the yard one last time. He still ran for toys, he still almost pulled my arm out of my socket playing tug, and he even stole Bronson's toy and had Bronson chase him for a bit. I loved seeing him still keeping on like his body wasn't failing him.  We didn't want him to keep suffering just for us. It was a hard decision to say goodbye to him in our home and I write this farewell with tears in my eyes.

Thank you, Butch. You really were the best dog I could have asked for. You were so loving, smart, playful, protective when needed, and a source of happiness in some of life's toughest moments. You've been around through so much of my time with Danielle. You were the sole witness to our engagement in our apartment, you were her accompaniement at our wedding. You could have lived 18 years and I'd want 18 years and one day. My life is dimmer without you. Danielle, Bronson, our friends and families, and I miss you terribly. Rest easy big dog.