My old bull terrier, Murphy, turned a whopping twelve-years old this past Sunday.  The average life expectancy for bull terriers is between eleven and thirteen years, but Murphy shows few signs of slowing down.  Granted, she’s always been pretty slow, but she still gets the zoomies before bed and loves her rawhides (now she eats “rawhide-free” pork chomps, which are safer and better for her stomach).

Murphy has relaxed more as she’s gotten older, but she gets anxious around other dogs.  I’m going to inquire about putting her on canine Prozac—Dr. Fiancée assures me it exists for dogs, and that Murphy would benefit from it—just so she can relax a bit more when she’s in unfamiliar environments.  Like most modern Americans, and especially American women, Murphy may soon be taking an SSRI.

Regardless, Murphy is relaxed when it’s us hanging out.  She spends more time sleeping now than she used to, and enjoys sticking to the bedroom, especially since I tossed the rug in the den (she doesn’t like the wood flooring on her nails and paws).  But she is still a sweet, albeit sassy, old girl, and I love her dearly.

With that, here is “TBT^2: Happy Birthday, Murphy!“:

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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!”

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