One Year With Bobby

                        from here, he observe his enemies

This past year went by so quickly that it's hard to register how much I've changed since we adopted Borilcho into our home. Not long after we adopted him, he became the catalyst for our pack to strengthen and become even more like a functional family. Now, looking back, I cannot recall a time without Bobby, nor do I want to go back before he appeared. During 2022, my partner and I talked about wanting to adopt a dog by the end of the year, playing with the idea of welcoming another family member. Somewhere around August, a friend of ours found Bobby on the highway in Bulgaria. She then took him, and soon after, we were introduced to Bobby with the sweetest video imaginable. As soon as I took one look into his eyes, I knew he was my dog; I just knew it. We had to wait some time for him to be able to travel, to receive the necessary vaccines, and to be legally free to travel through countries in Europe so he could come to us. So our friend took care of him for half a year, and she raised him, and he became what I can now describe as a young boy. We watched videos of him and photos until December of the same year when we took a trip to Bulgaria and stayed with him for a couple of days, so we could get to know each other before we moved in together. He was peeing and shiting everywhere, but at that point, nothing could stop me; I wanted Borilcho badly. I acted like a crazy person who knew what he wanted and how to get it. With a decent amount of obstacles, he finally showed up on February 9th.

                            what i ordered...

He traveled for a day and a half with a zoo taxi to get to me, and finally, he arrived. I have to admit the first night was a nightmare. Even though he knew us, he was afraid and scared, his orientation was all over the place, he was making sad noises. It was a long night. In the last year, I've changed so much; it's scary how much he means to me. Now, he is a huge part of the family, and we treat him as our own son, somehow equal. We have our own language and, of course, nicknames. We come up with a new song about him almost every day, even though it has no repeat value, and he acts like he doesn't like it, I love these moments. He has transformed absolutely everything in my daily routine. We both have changed, and we both put in equal effort to raise him, and it is an effort! Sometimes, we both have difficulties, but we often talk about how everything is worth it, especially when he is lying beside us and dreaming, chasing his enemies from the neighborhood.

For a long time, I tried to fight his aggression toward other dogs and sometimes humans, but after a while, I realized that I also don't like everybody, so why do I have to make him like everybody? Bobby has friends, but there are a couple of males in the neighborhood that are his sworn enemies. One of his enemies attacked him, and even though I like other dogs, I kind of enjoyed kicking this aggressor twice like a football, leaving him no other chance but to retreat with his stupid owner who thought she had control over her dog. That's the thing, we thought the same, and Borilcho was often without a leash, but after seeing his hormones explode against kids with bikes, we decided that we are not taking any chances with him. I still think about the dog that attacked Bobby; unfortunately, he had to be stopped, so I kicked him hard. I see him around the neighborhood; he hates us.

                                                       ...vs what i got

I was burned when I was young; a dog that I knew came to me; he had escaped from his house, and I thought to myself, 'I know that dog, hey Bucky!' Bucky took such a hard bite of my face that it is a miracle I do not have scars all over it. I remember lying on the ground with blood pumping everywhere, and then I was back home, lying there, and my mother found me. Because I was in shock from being bitten, I just lay on the ground. Not much more I can recall from that incident, but I went to the hospital a couple of times with the dog owner, who was the husband of my teacher at the time. He was so nice to take us to the hospital and to act appropriately that I still remember the family nicely, even though my teacher had a period of time where she hated me. If you read this, Mrs. Vacheva, I think you know what I am talking about. Anyway, because of that incident, I am always alert to animals around me. I don't trust them, and I keep an eye even on Bobby. Keep in mind that I love him, but I will never allow him to be with kids somewhere, and everybody who takes care of him while I am on a needed vacation knows that. It's easier than it sounds; I don't like kids either, so we barely have contact in the first place.

                                           копитца

My dog Bobby, with all his shenanigans, remains a part of the family that I would die for. I will be forever grateful to our friend Yana for finding this Bulgarian Hund, who, when he was little, looked like an angel, and now he could be recognized easily as the devil himself. Like I said, with all his tricks and quirks, I am all in in this relationship. Our love for Bobby has grown, and after the first year, it became easier to take care of him. A month ago, we implanted a hormonal chip inside him that will keep his hormones in check for the next five months, and after that, even though we play with the idea of continuing his legacy, we are probably going to castrate him. We love the idea of continuing the family blood, but after him, or during, if we decide that we want another dog, we will most likely adopt another one. There are a lot of Eastern European dogs that are looking for a home, and we will be happy to take another one. All of our neighbors have dogs from Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, etc., and if you need advice on how to adopt one, you can always contact me.

                                          giving me the evil eye

Iliya Badev