Truman 
Breed: Olde English Bulldog
Sex: Male
Age: 6 years old
Weight: 51 lbs.
8/7/2018 Update: It is with great sadness that we have to share the news that our dear sweet Truman passed yesterday. We know everyone’s first reaction is one of sadness and grief; however in our opinion, Truman’s story is one with a happy ending. Truman touched many lives is a very short time. From the volunteers that helped transport him from Louisiana to Dallas, to those that donated money for his care and most importantly his foster family that opened their home and hearts to an older heartworm positive Bulldog that was dumped as a stray but still had so much love left, it was amazing. If it were not for each of those volunteers and Rescue, Truman would have died all alone in a strange, unfamiliar environment. Instead Truman spent his last months knowing more love than he had in a long time. He passed away quickly and quietly. It appears that he had a seizure. Seeing this his foster family immediately rushed him to the clinic, but it was too late as Truman had two more seizures and passed in the car on the way. He was not alone, but in the arms of his human foster sister. I know loosing a Bulldog is a horrible thing but Dr. Seuss said it best “Don’t cry because it is over, Smile because it happened.” So please remember to keep Truman’s foster parents in your thoughts and prayers and smile because he was truly a great Bulldog, and may he enjoy his days running and playing at the rainbow bridge.
7/29/2018 Update: Hey everyone,
7/22/2018 Update:
7/9/2018 Update:
5/16/2018 Update: Great news for Truman. He has had his second Heart Worm shot and is doing outstanding. He is resting comfortably and looking good. Even better news is that he has gained another 10 pounds since his first HW shot. This means he has gained a total of 20 pounds since he has arrived at No Borders Bull Dogs. He was 51 pounds on day one and now he’s around 70 pounds. That’s pretty darn good for a 6 year (estimated) old Bullie with his past. He keeps on coming out of his shell a little bit every day. He will wag his little nub of a tail when he sees you. One thing about Truman is that he does not seem to need all that much human attention. Since he was on the street before NBBR and we have no idea about what his life was like before, it seems like he never got too attached to other humans and this may very well be his first time in a caring environment. When we first got him, any touch he received, he would jump, squirm or react in a scared way like he was going to get hit. This still happens, but nowhere near as extreme as at first. We move slowly around him, so he does not get startled and we let him see our hands before we pet him slowly. We are not at all afraid that he would do something, but we do not want to set up an environment of fear with us, he is old and has been beat up, and it’s working. I say this because he is very reserved. He does not lick your face, he does not jump up, and his showing of love is as simple as coming over to greet you for a few seconds, wag his nub and then he is on his way to lay down and snore (or fart). He’s very mellow and keeps to himself aside from what we call happy seizures where and lays belly up and flops around on his back while we pet him, there have been a couple of those this week and he looks like a little puppy whenever it happens. He’s begun walking up to our daughter to be pet right before bed and started sleeping on the giant dog bed next to her rather than on the hardwood where he stays cool. He’s also become a lot more comfortable with everyday noises such as pots clanking together and the vacuum running. When we did the photo shoot, I told him I wanted to get some good action shots. He said “OK” and opened his eyes for the pictures (NOT!!)
5/4/2018 Update: Truman is home. He did spend the night at the vet for his second round of HW. They said he’s a champ and they all love him there. When I picked him up they said that he was doing Karaoke with one of the nurses there. Not sure what that means, but it sounded like fun. Several of the nurses came out and said the “Truman is my boy.” So he’s making friends. Great news on his weight, he has gained another 9 pounds. He arrived to us at 51 pounds and he is now 69 pounds. Outstanding!
4/21/2018 Update: Truman’s Foster Dad here. Truman is doing very well. He continues to gain weight and feel better. He used to have extremely loud and heavy labored breathing due to his heart worms and now that is a rare thing to see and hear. He has one more Heart Worm treatment next week and he should be clear after that. Truman is a very calm older dog, not very interested in exercise, but likes to be around people as much as possible. If you end up ignoring him, he will let you know by giving you a few “old man” barks. He is interested in other dogs, but just lets pretty much anything go. We have dogs on 2 sides of our house and he loves to be out there discussing whatever it is that dogs discuss. Our 2 chihuahua’s will come up and sniff his face and gather around him and he could care less. Sometimes he gets really rambunctious and rolls on his back for a few minutes and wiggles around. Whoa there big boy, calm down! It’s pretty funny to see.
Truman’s best scenario is with a family, maybe a stay at home mom with young kids. Truman is a larger Bulldog, but really does not need to do too much. He likes to sleep most of the day and letting him out in the yard is really all he wants. Due to his being older, he is very laid back.
We’ll talk to you next week.
4/1/2018 Update:
Truman’s FM&D here. Truman is doing very well, all things considered. He had his first Heart Worm treatment last week and handled it like a champ. He is on very low exercise to make sure that there are no complications. He is crate bound for much of the day, but if he is out, he just lays around like he is on retirement. Great news on his weight. He has gained about 12 pounds since his arrival to NBBR, which is awesome that he is bouncing back so strongly. He arrived at NBBR at 50 lbs. and is now 62 lbs. He is stronger and quicker too. His head dose not droop much anymore, and his eyes have life to them. It’s like he’s coming out of his depression. He has an extremely hearty appetite and would eat constantly if it was up to him. His little tail nub wags now when you come up to him which is a great sign and a marked improvement from when we got him.
Truman is a very calm laid-back guy that is just looking to get along. We have 2 little dogs and he gets along with them just fine. Although, we also foster Bert also, and these 2 guys are not seeing eye to eye. Well, actually, maybe they are seeing too much eye to eye because they are not getting along and are separated all the time now. What does this mean? If you have smaller dogs or no dogs, Truman is your man. He’s got a bark to him that would ward off any would-be intruder pretty quickly. But if you have another Bullie or a larger dog, Truman may not be your man. Truman is great with kids and receiving hugs. He will raise his paw to you to get attention and just wants to be loved. He will let you know when he is hungry and needs to go out or wants attention. Although most of the time he is happy just lying on the floor chilling out by your side. We have had several accidents in the crate, so he is still working on house training. Since he was homeless, we don’t know his history and there is a little more work with him than some other dogs. Truman’s perfect scenario would be a stay at home mom that is looking for company and protection during the day. Having a backyard to let him out once in a while in is all he needs. He is not usually up for walks since he is always out of breath due to his condition. Although, this guy can let loose on the gas attacks. You’ve been warned. Actually, they have subsided as time has gone on and is probably due to his better diet.
Due to Truman’s condition of being malnourished, we have him on a grain-free diet of sweet potato and salmon dog food. He also gets peanut butter, organic coconut oil, a special weight gaining protein powder and 2 eggs for breakfast to fatten him up. If he’s a good boy, he’ll get some banana too. Ok, who are we kidding, if we have banana, he gets some of that anyway.
3/27/2018 Update: Truman had his 1st HW treatment today. They said it took it all like a champ and rested very well all day. He is back home and had a special dinner for his troubles since he did not get a real breakfast, but a bunch of snacks during the day. Great news, he has gained 9 pounds since we got him into rescue. He was 51 pounds at first at vet visit and is now 60 pounds. He could probably use another 20 to make him look right. He’s a BIG guy!
3/18/2018 Update: It has been a great 2 weeks so far with Truman. We’ve had some hiccups here and there, but all in all he’s been awesome considering what he has been through. We really have no idea of his past so we will not dwell on it, only his future. He came to us in very rough shape and we were worried about taking in a second foster, especially since he was homeless, not to mention that we are new to this fostering thing. Well, this guy does have some manners already and is very polite. He takes treats very gently, and just wants to take it easy. He does have heart worms so we are extremely limiting his activities. He constantly has labored breathing if he is moving too much, but he is on medication for everything and doing much better from the day we picked him up. When we got him, you could see his ribs and easily grab his waist with 2 fingers. Well, good news, he is slowly gaining weight and it’s getting harder to see his ribs. He eats extremely well and has a very hardy appetite. He will eat nearly anything you put in front of him. He’s on a grain-free food with a little peanut butter, organic coconut oil and some beef bone broth for extra protein and flavor. He is also getting a special weight gain protein that he loves. He gets eggs added to his meal on weekends and does not complain one bit. Heck, he’s eating better than I am. His foster brother is Bert and they have had their moments regarding who the king is around here. I think they finally figured out it’s me because the issues are getting fewer and fewer between them, although we still keep them separated most of the time.
Truman is crate trained, but needs some coaxing to head in that direction when it’s time to go in. Sometimes we think he’s deaf, but then we realize, he’s a bulldog, (you know what I’m talking about.) When we come home he walks up and nudges us and probably the most special and best part, he is starting to wag his little nub of a tail. When we first got him, his head was always down and would not look at us, that is changing bit by bit. It’s all in the trust factor. When we are around him, we move slowly to not scare him because it seems like there were issues from the past, but there’s not a mean bone in his body. He gets along great with our 2 Chihuahua’s, so it’s kind of zoo around here. Once we figure out more of who he really is, we’ll start getting creative with these stories. Right now, he reminds me of the Big Lebowski, The Dude. Move slow and get make it through the day. It may also be because of his affinity for White Russians. Just kidding, he’s a straight Gin kind of guy.
3/11/2018 Update: Please welcome Truman to No Borders Bulldog Rescue. Truman is a 6 year old male Olde English Bulldog that weighs 51 lbs.
Truman joins the NBBR family as a stray. Truman was found as a stray running the streets in a very busy part of town. He was taken in by a Good Samaritan that tried to reunite Truman with his family. She posted him on numerous sites and contacted local shelters with no luck in finding his forever family. As days passed, she worried she would not be able to find his family and that he may have been dumped. She also was inundated with people wanting Truman. When she started talking to these people she was overwhelmed with the thought of finding Truman the right home. She wanted nothing but the best for him and wanted him to go to an approved family that would know how to take proper care of Truman. So, she decided to call NBBR and have us help Truman find his forever home.
Like all Bulldogs new to the NBBR family, Truman went to the clinic to get a complete check-up and see what kind of care he would need. We knew he needed to be neutered, brought up to date on his vaccines, be tested for Heartworm, intestinal parasites, and all the other “regular” Bulldog things. Truman went to a new clinic and there was a small mix-up. He went to surgery before the other labs were done. Normally, we prefer to know the Heartworm status of our Bulldog before we put them under anesthesia. But, all worked out, and Truman was able to be neutered without any issues. However, when his labs came back later that day, we received the news we were afraid of…. Truman was Heartworm positive. In addition to being Heartworm positive he also had intestinal parasites and some minor skin infections. Truman was sent home with a “bag o’ medicine” and a plan to start his Heartworm treatment early next week. We are waiting a few days to allow Truman to build up some strength from his surgery.
After his surgery, Truman joined his new foster family where he is resting comfortably and getting acquainted with his foster siblings. Truman has 3 foster brothers, two smaller dogs and another Bulldog. While Truman is a very laid back guy, his foster brother (the Bulldog) decided he needed to show off and let Truman know who was the boss. There was a small “discussion” over a toy. Truman did stand his ground but the excitement was very short lived. After a quick lesson with both Truman and his foster brother by Foster Mom and Dad, all was good and they were back to being buddies. The description Truman’s Good Samaritan sent us was that he “is an old Bulldog hippie”, nothing really phases him and he just goes with the flow.
Currently Truman is chillin’ with his foster family and working on gaining some much needed weight. He will begin his Heartworm treatment next week. This will require strict crate rest for 30 days and then another round of treatment followed by another 30 days of crate rest. Once that is complete, Truman should be ready to start his journey to find his new forever family. Stay tuned as we learn more about Mr. Truman and exactly what type of family would be best for him.
