In Memory - May 10, 2007 to December 17, 2012

Name

Totally T-Rex

Breed/color

English Bulldog/Red Brindle

Birthdate

May 10, 2007

Height/Weight

17 inches/64 pounds

Personality

T-Rex is a very sweet boy. He loves everyone and he loves to just sit and be petted. Although he is 64 pounds he sometimes likes to think he is a lap dog.

Training

Canine Good Citizen
Delta Society Pet Partner
Bulldog Agility

Awards / Titles

Canine Good Citizen
Delta Society Pet Partner
CEBR Bulldog Agility Title

Favorite Therapy Visit Site:

T-Rex loves visiting with the vets at Hines Hospital and the children at Mooseheart Academy.

Favorite Toy:

Soft stuffless animal toys.

Favorite Treat:

T-Rex has yet to find a treat that he doesn't like.

In Memory:

Totally T-Rex was my once in a lifetime dog. I told him each and every day that he was the “Dog of My Dreams”. From the moment we met, we were permanently bonded to each other. He was smart, funny and beautiful and had the biggest heart – he never met a person he didn’t like and everyone that met him fell in love with him. He was made for Pet Therapy and had a way of understanding just what someone needed. He would stare with soulful eyes and tiny wagging cotton tail until he got your attention and made you connect with him.

My two favorite memories of T were both in Pet Therapy work. The first time I took him to Hines Veteran Hospital, we visited on the spinal cord unit. It was an overwhelmingly sad place. The nurses asked a quadriplegic veteran who was lying in bed, if he wanted a visit with a Pet Therapy dog and he said “no”. As we passed the doorway, he looked at T and said “bring him in here”. He was an ex-marine and said he didn’t know that bulldogs did pet therapy work. Although he couldn’t move he said that he had some feeling in his fingers and asked if he could touch T. As if T knew, he put his paws up on the bed and we placed the marine’s hand on T-Rex’s face. The look of joy on this man’s face as he felt those squishy jowls is one I will never forget.

T was also a regular visitor at Mooseheart Child Village. When we first started going there was a 12 year old girl that was very withdrawn and shy. She would sit in the corner and not talk to anyone. T made it a point to pull me to her when we visited and would just sit quietly next to her and lean on her leg. Eventually she started to look for him at each visit and he and her became best friends and subsequently she became my friend. She was never shy around T and he helped her to come out of her shell. Eventually, she left Mooseheart, but she told me that no matter where she would go in life she would always think of T-Rex as her dog and that she would never forget him.

T was my perfect angel who brought a little heaven with him wherever he went. That is the T I will always remember. My big brindle boy with a heart of gold. He fought a hard battle with cancer and eventually his body gave out, but his spirit never wavered not even for a moment. I will always love him and he now will always be the “Dog In My Dreams”. My heart is broken, but I know that someday I will be reunited with my perfect boy who was just too much of an angel to stay on earth for very long.