Dear Kid,

ElephantI’ve talked about elephants before here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, but I haven’t talked very much about bulldogs except here, here, and here. It seems a fitting time to share with you

They were originally bred in England for bull baiting and were bred to be low to the ground and have lots of wrinkles. While we now think of all those wrinkles as adorable (or adorabull if you prefer) the folds were to help block flying blood from getting in the dog’s eyes during the fight. Yuck. Their wrinkles need to be wiped regularly to avoid infections and accumulation of Ick.

university-of-georgia-bulldogsBulldogs are very popular mascots meaning Uga, the mascot of the University of Georgia, is just one of many. But (imho) they’re an odd choice, because they’re not big on exercise and they have all sorts of respiratory issues. They also tend to suffer from hip dysplasia.

Bulldogs are (new word alert) brachycephalic which means short of snout and large of head. They are not water dogs. In fact, they’re in danger of drowning. Between their smooshed faces and under bite they are also generally gassy, snore and snort, drool and fart.

On the plus side, they are cute, friendly, independent, and self-confident. And they’re happy to cuddle up with their people.

Tufts-University-Jumbo-the-elephantRoll Tide.

Love, Mom