Bruiser was born at Starlight Kennels near Eau Claire, WI on April 30, 2010. He was a birthday gift from Dad to Mom. Dad just gave mom a card that said “We’re going to pick up our new dog!” We went to pick him up and he was SO tiny! He was only 8 weeks old. When we got home (we lived at Emmalane) he just hid behind the toilet in the half bathroom and wouldn’t come out. He would grow to love us and, begrudgingly, the kids. We always teased that whenever we brought a new baby home he would just sigh and go lay down. He never had much interest in the babies until they were old enough to throw food from their high chairs. Now that he is gone I am doing a lot more sweeping!

Bruiser hated the water. One time when I was pregnant with Cailey we were camping out at our land in the town of Rome. It was unbelievably hot summer and we would try to get him to come in the lake to cool down and he would refuse. We soon found out that if I pretended to drown he would come charging in. His little legs would kick so hard and his butt would still sink under the water from being too long 🙂

He was often confused for a Weimaraner because of his coloring. He was completely shameless when it came to food. He once ate an entire chicken wing (bones and all) in one gulp. He jumped onto chairs and then onto the kitchen table to steal food. One time dad and I were leaving for somewhere and had to turn around and go back home because I forgot something. I went back into the house and he was standing in the middle of the table, barking. He couldn’t get down. I wonder how long he would’ve been up there if I hadn’t gone back home.

He did love sunbathing and heating vents, blankets and even got stuck in the sleeve of mom’s North Face fleece jacket multiple times. It was like a little straight jacket. He loved the heat so much we would tell people he was. Jamaican Weiner Dog. They (sometimes) believed us.

He also REALLY loved presents. He was an excellent gift opener and would hold down one edge of the wrapping paper with his paw and rip the rest off with his teeth. He loved opening his stocking on Christmas too.

He was super barky and would bark at and attack anyone who came into the house. It is a lot quieter now that he is gone. Dad and I still get nervous when someone knocks their hand on the dining room table. We both jump up like “don’t scare Bruiser, he is going to bark”.

The end: We left Bruiser with Grandma Kelli and Grandpa Dave who were going to drive him down to Florida for us. He had been acting a little strange before we left (he wasn’t really caring if people would come in the house, he was sleeping a lot, etc). We took all of the kids to White Stallion Ranch in Arizona and spent a little over a week away before flying to Florida for the winter. Grandma and Grandpa said that he was having trouble walking/slipping around on their kitchen floor and sometimes falling. When we all got to Florida he was indeed having trouble, but only sometimes. Sometimes he would be fine. Once we came home and couldn’t find him and he had gotten stuck behind mom and dad’s bed and couldn’t find his way out. Over about a week of time he started walking with his head tilted more and more. We did a video call with a vet and he said it was likely an ear infection and drops would take care of it. Dad ended up bringing him in and getting some drops. They didn’t help. Dad had to go back to Wisconsin for the business the last week of January and Bruiser got progressively worse and worse. I brought him into the vet and she said it wasn’t an ear infection but was likely something neurological. We got in with a specialist and got a CT scan. We found out that he had a large brain tumor and that is what was affecting his balance. By his last days he couldn’t really walk. When we would bring him out to go potty (I had to carry him) he would just fall over. He couldn’t do anything, eat or drink or anything like that.

That week was one of the hardest weeks of my life. Cailey and Leo both had a very hard time seeing him not well. I was dealing with my own emotions alone without dad and running to and from the vet clinic for tests and taking care of all the kids. I was so exhausted and sad and then at bedtime either Cailey or Leo would lose it and need me to lay with them and comfort them. I was stretched really thin and I remember being heartbroken and really really exhausted. Bruiser had many treats and pup cups that week that I had to hand feed him because he couldn’t eat by himself (he couldn’t understand where his food was because his head was tilted and I can imagine he wasn’t seeing straight.)

I called Chloe (our old nanny) and flew her from Chicago for the weekend when I had to put him down. He passed away on February 2, 2024 (he was almost 14). The vet where he passed was the best, most compassionate place ever. They had a candle on the front desk that they lit when they were putting him down so that people would know to be quiet and respectful. They gave me a Hershey kiss to feed to him (because dogs usually can’t have chocolate) before he went down. I held him in his blanket sitting on a couch in a really clean, comfortable and cozy room and the doctor came right over to me so he didn’t have to move at all. He looked at me and I knew that he knew and he actually looked really really peaceful. I held him as he passed and they left the room to give me a few minutes alone with him. It was really sad but I was really thankful that I got to be there in his last moments and he knew how much he was loved.