My name is Gunny!

Greetings from Chicago English Bulldog Rescue! We are one-and-only English Bulldog rescue in the state of Illinois recognized by the Bulldog Club of America and the Bulldog Club of America Rescue Network! What that means for adopters and surrendering families and shelters is that our bullies get the highest level of care and commitment. They spend their time with us in foster homes where they get daily love and attention. No cages, no institutions.



We are an Illinois licensed shelter and a 501c3 charitable organization. The care we provide our English bulldogs, including a high quality diet, the best veterinary care from a bulldog specialist, and behavioral evaluations, exceeds any rescue organization around. Your contributions to help care for our bullies would be so appreciated as each rescue typically costs us more in care than the adoption fees we collect. CLICK HERE TO DONATE. All donations are tax deductible as provided by law.



Our adoption area includes Chicago-proper and the surrounding suburbs, Northern Illinois, Southeastern Wisconsin, Northwest Indiana, Rockford, and parts of Milwaukee including the Waukesha and Burlington areas. To determine whether your town is in our adoption radius please VIEW OUR ADOPTION AREA MAP.



Hello! My name is Gunny. Check out my picture. See those adorable raccoon rings around my eyes? Well, my foster mom couldn’t name me raccoon. That’s a silly name. So she thought maybe Bandit. But there are too many Bandits in the dog world. So she went to Zorro. Ick. What a yucky name for a handsome man like me. So she looked up masked bandit in a thesaurus and say “gunner” and thought Gunny would be perfect. And boy oh boy it is! I’m a 1.5 year old Olde English Bulldog boy who came straight from a puppy mill. Yep, you read that right. Before today I didn’t have this pep in my “voice” and I never could have written this letter to you. But I’m a new me!



Chicago English Bulldog Rescue got a call to pick up some puppy mill dogs. They usually get females, but not often males. As soon as they saw me they fell in love. My big old head, beautiful coat, and lanky legs and floppy paws. What’s not to love? But being in a puppy mill for my whole life so far really broke my spirit. I have sores on my backside from sitting, sitting, and sitting, day after day after day…in a crate. Even my boy parts are raw and chaffed from sitting. I had a urinary tract and ear infection making me really uncomfortable too. But worst of all, living in that awful place made me so fearful. I couldn’t trust the humans around me. The only time I was out of my cage was when they would poke and prod me. So now I hate coming out of the cage (or going back in). My ear is tattooed with a number --- a 1 digit number. But one of the girls that came in with me had a number in the 200’s tattooed in her ear. Can you imagine being 1 of several hundred?



I don’t know how to eat hard food or take treats. So my mom mushes up hard dog food and also some puppy canned food to put some weight on me. I lick it up. Whenever she approaches I crouch to the floor. I really hope these people won’t hurt me. But you know what? Each day I realize this lady really, really likes me. She is very gentle. She pats my head and talks softly. She asks me to come outside in a silly voice and I sink low to the ground and follow her. I’m building up trust.



Day by day I get more comfortable. Yesterday I even pounced through the kitchen. She let out a squeal because it made her happy. So I’ve done it again a few times. She gets so excited that I just want to please her. I also learned about a thing called a toy. I picked up a canvas covered kitty cat and went to town! I sucked on it like a pacifier and it calmed me down quite a bit. Then all of a sudden, I had the urge to chew it. Shake it. Pull it apart. So I did. And foster mom wasn’t thrilled because I swallowed the stuffing…then promptly threw it up. If you want to check out my first experience with a toy, see the video here!





I am not potty trained and lift my leg so my mom has put on “man pants.” She calls them that. It is really a belly band which keeps me from peeing everywhere. I really want to, but she doesn’t seem to like it. But I’m a fast learner and she’s working really hard with me to help me figure things out. I also don’t know how to walk on a leash…I never hard to do that before. Stairs? I can only go up. Going down is SO scary. I did in my heels.




I am a gentle giant. Even though I don’t weight much (just 55 pounds), I look big. But I’m not intimidating at all. I am actually a very soft boy. I am really learning to love people again (they have showed me that not all humans are bad). I would be great with kids (maybe a bit bigger so I wouldn’t accidentally knock them down), and am great with other dogs too. I am currently living with 4 other dogs – quite a bunch – and get along with all of them. Sometimes I don’t know my proper manners and I sniff to close, or walk in front of them. They will growl or snap at me and I run away like a baby. It scares me!



The only thing I really don’t like is when those dogs come near my bowl. I growl and snarl at them. But if my mom comes near my bowl, I’m very gentle. So I really just want to eat by myself, in peace.



My mom is poking me as I write and wants me to tell you that I am up-to-date on my vaccines, on heartworm medication, and microchipped and neutered now (yea)!



I will make such a wonderful fur baby for someone. I just want to spend my years in love, not cages. No more tattoos, pokes and prods. Lots of love!



Thank you for reading about me.



Gunny



NOTE FROM THE HUMANS

Gunny’s adoption fee is $600. Our adoption criteria for Gunny are as follows:

-- CEBR Adoption Radius Only. NO EXCEPTIONS.

--Willing to work on potty training.

--House with yard would be preferred. Condo building won’t work.

--Very patient and gentle as he learns to walk on leash and experience the world.




Before moving forward with an application, please read our Adoption Criteria and view our Adoption Radius Map. Spending a few minutes doing this will ensure you are qualified to adopt from us. We wouldn’t want you to apply only to realize we can not adopt to your home.



Because we receive so many inquiries about our dogs, we’re sorry to say that we can’t follow up on all them. If you are interested in one of our bullies, please complete an application by visiting www.ebullymatch.com and click on Apply To Adopt. We will not be able to respond to individual phone calls or emails.