culture / Reblogged / TBT

TBT^2: Happy Birthday, Murphy!

The Portly Politico19 Comments

This past Saturday my sassy old bull terrier, Murphy, celebrated her eleventh birthday (humorously enough, she and my recent ex-girlfriend share the same birthday).

The old girl is doing well enough.  I adopted Murphy when had just turned eight, and I can tell she is slowing down as the years progress.  She still has a bout of the “zoomies” in the evenings before bedtime, but that usually wears her out.  Mostly, she spends her days lounging like a diva and begging for scraps from me, her all-too-manipulable owner.  As I write this post, she’s relaxing on the floor near me, and I can tell she is considering whether or not she wants to get up and go out—which, when she hears the clackety-clacking of my keyboard, she usually wants to do!

According to the American Kennel Club, the life expectancy for a bull terrier is between twelve and thirteen years, though I have known of bull terriers that live longer (interestingly enough, the miniature bull terrier has a similar life expectancy).  Other than slowing down a bit, I don’t think Murphy is going anywhere anytime soon, but she is nearing the end of the breed’s average life expectancy.

Here’s hoping the old girl has at least a few more birthdays in her.  She’s a good, albeit sassy, dog, and I’m thankful to have this chubby, stinky old diva in my life.

With that, here is 15 June 2023’s “TBT: Happy Birthday, Murphy!”

My sweet, bossy, chunky, lazy dog, Murphy, turns ten today!  She is a bull terrier, a notoriously stubborn yet loyal breed.  Here’s a picture of her from a few days ago:

Murphy 2023

I adopted Murphy in 2021 from the Bull Terrier Rescue Mission after her original owner turned her over to a North Carolina animal shelter.  What a terrible thing to be abandoned after eight years!

But his callous decision was Murph’s gain—I hope!—and mine.  We immediately took to each other, and while she loves many people, she’s always most excited when she sees me.

She is a good dog, and I consider myself fortunate to have her as my first.  Other than her innate orneriness, extreme stubbornness, and tireless neediness, she’s perfect.  Those might all sounds like criticisms, but they’re just part of what make her so special.

I love you, Murphy!

With that, here is 15 June 2022’s “Happy Birthday, Murphy!“:

Today my dog Murphy turns nine-years old.  According to the records I have from The Bull Terrier Rescue Mission, she was born 15 June 2013, which is a pretty easy date to remember.

Last summer I suddenly, inexplicably went a bit dog crazy.  I was not looking for a bull terrier at all, but stumbled upon one on at Petfinder.  I spoke with a representative from BTRM, and we realized that that particular dog would not be a good fit for me due to his advanced age and delicate health issues.

She put my information into their database and said it might be a few months before a dog came available in my area.  One week later, while moving a then-girlfriend to Athens, Georgia, I got a call from BTRM asking me to foster an older girl who was good with children and other dogs.

About ten days later, I had Murphy.

She was a mess at the time—a bad rash, creaky joints, uncut toenails—but to me, she was perfect.  I knew the day I picked her up in North Carolina that she was my dog, and I was her human.

Two months later, I formally adopted Murphy.  A few months after that she had her six-month checkup, and the veterinarian said she looked like a completely different dog.

She’s a bit chunky around the middle (so am I!), but I love her.

Murphy - Birthday Bone

Happy Birthday, Murphy!

19 thoughts on “TBT^2: Happy Birthday, Murphy!”

  3. Treats galore and major pampering! But wouldn’t that be like every other day?! 😂

    Give her a cuddle from me and Tina. 😄🍾

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    • Hahaha, yes. She is a sassy, pampered diva.

      Will do! We had a bit of a scare yesterday; the old girl couldn’t lift herself up from her hind legs. She’d been to the vet for her annual visit and to get various vaccinations on Tuesday, so I expected some sluggishness, but her legs seemed almost useless. She could walk if I helped her up, but otherwise had very little strength in her legs.

      After a couple of calls to the vet, they gave her some pain medication and some Endsorb for diarrhea (she’d had an explosively upset stomach Tuesday night, and I came home from open mic to a Jackson Pollack poop painting on my den rug). I wasn’t worried so much about the upset stomach, figuring that was from all of the medicines and vaccinations she’d received at the vet, but not being able to use her back legs really concerned me.

      Long story short, she is fine! She is up and moving at her usual pace, which is already pretty slow—ha!—and is able to get up the two steps into my house again. Her appetite seems to be coming back, too, and even a bit of her occasional, old lady playfulness.

      False alarm—thank goodness! I was reading online about what the sudden loss of back leg strength can mean in dogs, and I was horrified. When the vet didn’t panic, I knew I felt better, haha. Also, my musician friend Sarah came over last night to work on some tunes for a gig we’re doing in August. She is a vet tech, and told me that it’s not uncommon for older dogs to struggle with their back legs when they have an upset stomach. It seems the two were linked. That also made me feel a lot better.

      Anyway, that was way more than I intended to write, haha. Give my regards to Tina. God Bless, mate!

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      • It’s never good to look for online diagnosis – all you get are the worst possible scenarios.

        I’m glad she’s better. She needs to be for the extra pampering! 😂

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        • Amen! And even though I know that, I couldn’t resist.

          Haha, she is doing really well this morning. She’s been getting up and down the stairs (just two!) into my house fine, and she just had a healthy 💩—ha!

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