August 12, 2026 5 min to read

Obituary of Po the Bulldog

Remembering our beloved companion

My dog, Po, passed away last year. It was a hectic time when he passed so I never got to write a proper obituary for him. Now that I finally have some time, I want to write a proper remembrance for him. He was a complicated dog, but I loved him unconditionally.

The Obituary of Po the Bulldog

Po the bulldog passed away last year. He will be missed greatly.

Po was an angel. He was a living, breathing, cute and cuddly, teddy bear. He loved to snuggle on the couch with us, and we would hug him and squeeze him like he was a big stuffed animal. Beyond that Po had an ability to sense when you were sad and he would come over to lay a comforting paw on you whenever you were not feeling well. He was truly a gentle and loving dog.

At the same time, Po was a devil. He was a big dangerous dog who would get random fits of rage and could inflict serious damage if he wanted to. He was a menace to society and a threat to public safety.

This juxtaposition between the two sides of Po made life with Po interesting.

Po came into our lives as a puppy when I got him as a present for proposing to Taylor. The first time Taylor saw him I was on my knee holding a box with Po inside and a ring tied to his collar. It was love at first sight. Taylor had always talked about getting a bulldog and naming him Po, so he was her dream dog.

Po came at a perfect time for Taylor. Her dad was going through cancer treatments that year and Taylor decided to move back to New Jersey for several months to be with him. I’m told Po slept in bed with Taylor all that time, acting as a much needed therapy dog during her time of need.

As Po grew, both his capacity for love and destruction grew with him. We worked with Po to bring out his better qualities by making lists of all his triggers that would throw him into fits of rage. Some of his triggers made sense, like he didn’t like when people touched his face or took away his bones. But some of his triggers were random, like he hated when people danced in front of him. As long as we didn’t do anything on his trigger list he was a genuinely loving dog. I would even let him lick my face sometimes.

Po was also gentle and kind to his younger “sister” bulldog, Bean. Po and Bean would frequently cuddle with each other in the same dog bed, even though we had two dog beds. Bean was younger, but more athletic than Po, so she was definitely the alpha. I know Po loved Bean.

But Po hated the vet. He would fight the vet with avengeance. One time when Po needed to go to the vet, they sent four buff vets to take Po to the back room. I waited for 30 minutes until the vets came back and told me they were unable to restrain him and that I would need to come back the next day where they would give him full anesthesia before taking him back. Clearly that was problematic, but I couldn’t help being a little bit impressed.

Deep down, Po was a good dog in his heart. He just was unable to control his temper sometimes. And whenever he lost his temper, I could tell he felt sorry about it. We never knew what caused his issues. For a while, Taylor and I thought we were the problem, until we got Bean and she turned out to be the sweetest dog on earth. So maybe Po had some form of dog bipolar. Or maybe it was because he was an only puppy, rejected by his mother at birth, so he never learned that biting people hurts them. Or maybe it is because he was a bulldog, and bulldogs were literally bred to kill bulls. We will never know for sure why he would get so angry. But honestly, what is more surprising about Po is not that he was mean sometimes, it was that he was loving and kind the rest of the time.

I don’t want to remember Po for his flaws. Instead I want to remember him for the goodness in his heart. This is how I will remember Po:

Po played tug-of-war like a champion.
Po was a cuddly couch potato.
Po’s ears would flop up and down when he ran.
Po looked fat, but he was actually a solid brick of muscle.
Po fought four veterinarians at the same time and won (bad, but still memorable).
Po’s bark sounded like an old man.
Po would get obsessed with certain toys, staring at them for hours if he couldn’t reach them.
Po got to swim in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Po would push himself to the limit to keep up when we went on walks.
Po was surprisingly smart for a bulldog.
Po understood our emotions.
Po could learn any trick in under an hour if you gave him enough treats.
Po would not perform any trick unless he saw that you were holding a treat.
Po was a stubborn boy.
Po loved food.
Po loved the beach.
Po loved to play in water.
Po loved short walks.
Po loved to take naps on the tile.
Po loved to cuddle on the couch.
Po loved people.
Po loved his “sister”, Bean.
Po loved us.