Meet Bubba Joe

I decided to write about Bubba Joe even though he is no longer with us. It's hard to write about him because he was that special, died young and we still really miss him. The picture below was done by Larry Merrill.  We called Bubba bat dog because of the way he could hold his ears.

Bubba was born June 26th, 1997 in Anderson, MO.  We adopted him that fall from a breeder who was not real reputable to save his life.  He had never been outside or seen grass and most of his tail was missing.  He also had a heart murmur and digestive issues.  But let me tell you that boy never met a stranger be it two legged or four legged (unless you were a squirrel).  He loved everyone!  And he loved to go visiting in the nursing home where I worked and later the small assisted living where I worked.  Here he is with Anna who had always owned dachshunds and missed them terribly.

 

Bubba started having back issues at a young age and even had to use a custom made cart for awhile to get around but he was still so very happy and soon got to walking again.  But he had to be on medicine to control the pain that should never be used long term.  In early 2004, Bubba became very ill, bleeding from the nose and unwilling to eat.  We fought for 3 weeks to save his life but in the end we learned his liver was failing and decided to send him on to a better place to wait for us.  So on March 26th 2004 just a few months shy of his 7th birthday we said good bye.  It hurts and still does sometimes.  Bubba and Jack were best buddies and I hated to see the pain it caused Jack.  I would not trade one minute of any of those days we had with Bubba.  His ailments may have slowed him down but it could not quench his zest for life.