Arnie, Vashti, Milly, & Blizz

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Arnie, Vashti, Milly, & Blizz Welcome to the life of Arnie. I’m here to tell bad dad jokes and spread evidence based awareness about breathing problems in French bulldogs.

16/05/2025

So after all this time we still never settled on a middle name for Franklin. It came to me yesterday when dwelling on the loss of dearest Arnie and the pain his poor mom is feeling right now. Arnie and Heather are legends in the BOAS world. For raising awareness, supporting others and setting an example for others on how to overcome mountains. Without Heather and her dear Arnie, Franklin would never have had the support we needed to save his life.

So in honor of dearest Arnie please take a moment to think about his legacy and a way you might be able to advocate for change. Advocate for change in breeding dogs that suffer with breathing issues their entire lives.

Franklin Arnold seems like perfection for me. I know its such a small thing maybe even silly but everytime I say his name itll remind me of Arnie and Heather.

Thank you Arnie ! And of course thank you Heather for your unwavering support. My heart goes out to you and the unimaginable loss you must be feeling.

Yesterday, Arnie made his way to heaven, at home surrounded by his human dad, me, and his grandma and grandpa. 💔 He is n...
01/05/2025

Yesterday, Arnie made his way to heaven, at home surrounded by his human dad, me, and his grandma and grandpa. 💔 He is now buried back with the bishes, Milly and Vashti, where a rose will soon be planted on his grave.

On Sunday he no longer became interested in food and his mouth began to smell rancid. His eyes were bright but he was tired. I could have waited a bit longer but we risked it becoming a crisis that ended in the ER. It was the most horrible decision I've ever had to make - calling for an euthanasia appointment. I agonized over it. My whole being begged me to cancel. I literally spend every minute with him for the 6 days before he died. I held his head and stroked his incredibly silky, smooth velvet fur - he was so soft. I breathed in all his smells to try and capture them in my memory forever. I watched as the hours, even minutes ticked by. I wept. I howled. I begged. I whispered words of adoration.

He screamed when he got the initial injection and tried to run away. I hate myself for that. It was supposed to be painless and not traumatic but reality is rough. Then his body slowly melted into a sedated state. I held his head so he could breathe until the end. I sobbed in his ear that I am so sorry. I didn't want to do this to him. I told him how much I miss him. I told him how my life will never be the same. I begged him to wait for me if there is a heaven. I thanked him for being the best person that ever entered my life. I never once had to wonder if Arnie loved me. I just knew he did. I apologized profusely for him having to be trapped in that deformed, sh*tty body that barely functioned and for all the medical procedures and surgeries he went through over the years. His final total in vet bills alone is approximately $87,000 - not including special foods, medications, or travel. I don't regret a single penny. I do regret everything Arnie endured to come to the amount. All because of this "cute" smooshed face. But he was a trooper. He showed the will to live so we kept on. My biggest regret is allowing him to get obese but thankful he lost the weight.

I barely spent a single day away from Arnie in all of our time together. Usually four hours was my max, then I’d get anxious and need to go home to be with him. Now ... I am beyond devastated. There is no Arnie at home. I feel shattered. My very soul aches. I type this as I'm sitting on Arnie's grave wishing I could be inside there him. Arnie came into my life when I most needed him. Then he taught me many important, hard lessons, mostly at his expense. I will continue to speak out about the horrors of brachycephalism as well as continue with legislative reform efforts to ban breeding extremely dogs, like him, who quietly suffer from lifelong pain and air hunger.

I'm thankful that Arnie was loved by so many. I'm thankful for the decade of Arnie that graced my life. I'm thankful for all the friends Arnie introduced me to. I'm heartbroken beyond belief. Rest easy my little man. Please forgive me. I didn't want you to suffer. I love you. Arnie, I love you.

I haven't wanted to type this out because somehow putting it on social media makes it more real, as if it weren't real e...
25/04/2025

I haven't wanted to type this out because somehow putting it on social media makes it more real, as if it weren't real enough.

Arnie has cancer. It's a large subdermal mass in his bottom jaw. He likely has fibrosarcoma, but we don't know for certain because we have not been able to do a biopsy or CT. I've known for about a month. I found out on April Fools Day of all days. His dentist discovered it during an oral exam. 😞 We explored the idea of aggressive surgery & treatment at UC Davis in California. A small group of UC Davis specialists (oral surgeon, oncologist, & radiologist) along with Arnie's dentist here in Vegas discussed his case as he's not an easy patient given everything else - mainly he’s a frenchie. In the end we decided that would not be in Arnie's best interest to try for surgery and chemo & instead opted for palliative care. This was not a financial decision. This was me trying to do what I hoped would be best for him. They basically would have needed to remove a large portion of his jaw, and that’s assuming he survived each stage of anesthesias as he would have needed to go under more than once. Some may recall that Arnie has arrested on two separate occasions under anesthesia in the past because he has a heart condition called sick sinus syndrome.

It seems the cancer is more aggressive than we hoped. The mass, which is as hard as a marble, is beginning to push up under his tongue and block his airway. Yesterday at his recheck, his dentist said it had grown 25% since the previous check two weeks prior. This morning, I swear it felt like doubled in size from even yesterday.

The irony of me having this account to talk about the big trip to Germany to fix his breathing only for his breathing to be what takes him out in the end. I mean, it’s the cancer but the tumor is blocking his ability to get in air.

Today, I tried to make his euthanasia appointment for Sunday morning. I called the at-home place, talked to them but just broke down bawling and couldn’t go through with it. I don't want Arnie to deteriorate so far he is back to trying to sleep sitting or gasping for breaths, or stops eating, but dammit. Arnie is the love of my life. My soul feels completely intertwined with his. My entire being feels shattered. Hourly I am reduced to gut wrenching sobs. Oh, sweet Arnie how do I even go on without you? 💔 Anyone who knows me knows how I live for him and have done so for 10 years. I know making that appointment is the right thing by Arnie but fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

As far as what to do with Arnie after he dies. I’m putting this out to the universe in case anyone has an idea. At one time, I planned to articulate his skeleton, I already have a talented person who does this who agreed to take Arnie, and then donate it back to the university in Germany to display. However, Arnie’s surgeon has since retired and I no longer have contacts there. If I were to do this, does anyone know of somewhere, museum, university, that would take his skeleton along with his dog show photos and use it as an example of how we’ve taken these dogs bodies too far? For why it’s cruel to breed dogs like him and to show how deformed they are under the “cute” wrinkles. I would love for his legacy to carry on, so that his struggles weren’t in vain. So that he’s never forgotten. He’s too special. Otherwise, I guess he’s going under a rose bush in my backyard with Milly and Vashti.

Guys, I’m officially under 26 pounds! Down from 31 pounds when I started my weight loss journey last March. It’s been sl...
14/01/2025

Guys, I’m officially under 26 pounds! Down from 31 pounds when I started my weight loss journey last March. It’s been slow but steady. Only ONE more pound to go to reach my target weight - although I might try to loose 2 or 3 more pounds. I feel so much better with the excess weight off. I’ve been playing more, beating up stuffies, and going for longer walks than I have in years even though I am 11 years old now!

03/01/2025

I’m more of a city guy. Happy 2025!

20/12/2024

I can be speedy when I want 🏎️

18/12/2024

Hi. Hi, Guys.

08/12/2024

😋

07/12/2024

This is not funny. This is more like 0/10. The poor bulldog has severe breathing issues. She is literally trying to sleep and not suffocate. When bulldogs with severe brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome lay down, their airway collapses and they can’t breathe. It’s severe, severe, severe sleep apnea. It’s actually very sad and disturbing to see so many people laughing at this.

02/12/2024

Move over David Hasselhoff …

Dog menu at the hotel where I’m staying. Dog dinner costs as much as the people food!
01/12/2024

Dog menu at the hotel where I’m staying. Dog dinner costs as much as the people food!

Dogs eating in restaurants? Heck yeah Huntington Beach!
27/11/2024

Dogs eating in restaurants? Heck yeah Huntington Beach!

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