Bill

Handsome Bill

He was on his way to dinner. Not to have dinner, but to be dinner. It was just another day in Seoul, South Korea, where dogs are often raised as pets, then sold, and eaten for their meat. 

Bill didn’t know what was going on. He quivered a bit and kept his eyes wide open. He was with about a dozen other dogs in a the back of a truck. Suddenly, a nice woman picked him up and put him a kennel - one big enough for a 44 pound Golden Retriever mix. She kept calling him Bill, and quickly transferred him and other pups to a safe place.

Bill arrives in Chicago

She was with other remarkable heroes at BunnysBuddies.org. She swept him away for an 8 month quarantine with veterinarian services, a warm bed, and plenty of healthy food. It was clear from the beginning that Bill had been a pet, as he was kind and in relatively good health - save heart worm and the trauma of his journey. Sadly, in South Korea, dogs/pets are often raised, sold for their meat, and eaten.*

Jaime loved her Golden Retrievers and was keen on adopting another from a rescue mission. When she learned about the work of BunnyBudies.org, she knew this was the road to her new fur baby. After a thorough vetting of her home and lifestyle, Jaime learned that a sweet boy was on his way from Seoul to Chicago. Would she be willing to drive to the airport and meet him?

With an excited heart and open arms, she drove to Chicago to meet Bill. Many pups were saved on this mission from South Korea. She was guided to Bill. There he was in his kennel.

It was love at first sight

Jaime looked into his scared eyes and quietly exclaimed “Omigoodness! You are so coming home with me!”

It was love at first sight.

She held him tenderly and noticed how small he was for a Golden. She later she did a DNA test and learned that he was half Golden and a mix of other breeds including: Cocker Spaniel, Japanese Spitz, Corgy, Japanese Chin and a few others.

All Jaime knew was that he was the sweetest, most gentle boy she would ever have the joy of loving. He was her Soul Dog.

“He had to be someone’s pet. He’s so perfect,” Jaime explained to Bill’s new friends at Carver Lake Veterinary Center where he was appropriately doted upon. They all agreed - his disposition was so calm and gentle it made sense. The consensus was that he was about 3 years old.

It was February, 2020 and no one knew that the Covid Pandemic was about to shut down the planet. In retrospect, it was a perfect time for Bill to be introduced to his own new world - it was calm and quiet. When he met and sniffed his sister Winnie, a fabulous Golden Retriever, Bill was happy to play, eat, and sleep with another someone like himself. Even though they didn’t become best friends, they are family. She wasn’t going to hurt him. She was his “sister.”

Winnie and Bill

He started to relax into his new home. But he didn’t talk. At all. His stressed, knitted eyebrows soon softened as he realized and accepted that this was his safe, healing, forever home.

Bill and his ball

Bill knows that Jaime saved his life. Jaime knows that Bill is her Soul Dog. So it was appropriate that her handsome boy and Winnie be honorary flower dogs at Mom and Dad’s wedding on June 2, 2023. Bill was okay sharing Mom for a bit. She looked so pretty!

Winnie and Bill with Mom and Dad

Alas, Jaime and Bryan acquiesced that they did, indeed, need a King sized bed. While both fur babies have their own soft, big pillows on the floor in the primary bedroom, Bill really feels most safe with Mom. He’s the only one who is allowed on the human bed. Bryan agrees. It’s a snuggly “threesome.”
While there’s a lot about Bill that Jaime loves, it’s his high emotional intelligence that melts her heart. It was in high gear after their beautiful son Brady was born in late 2023. Bill was there for Jaime, every moment. He was the only dog who joined her in the nursery when Brady needed Mom’s everything. Being a new mom is challenging. She was exhausted. When Bill snuggled into Jaime’s embrace, it allowed her to pull out, refocus, and realize that she, too, can get through an overwhelming time. As if on cue, Bill would then sniff and softly kiss Brady’s head.

Hi Brady, I’ll watch over you

Jaime fell more in love with Bill every day.

Babysitting Brady

Much to everyone’s delight, Bill finally began to talk. It was soft, but it was still a Woof! It took him a year but he finally used his voice. To everyone’s delight, Bill runs and barks in his sleep. His front paws begin to patter quickly and a muffled Whoof will jump out of his jowls. This alone will make Jaime, Bryan, and Brady giggle with joy - he must be having a merry time in that dream world. Have at it, Bill. You deserve it.

When Dad nom noms on a banana, he always gives the end to Bill. It’s his favorite. But it gets better when Dad then claps his hands and exclaims “Bill! Let’s go for a walk!”  He bolts up and is at Dad’s side, wriggling his rear in a New York minute. Off they go for their bonding time. When the entire family goes for a walk - the stroller and Winnie in tow - Bill is mindful and walks without a leash. He stays very close to Mom and Dad - as if he has an invisible tie to them. Actually, he does. It’s the unbreakable bond of love and devotion.

Bill and Dad time

If asked, Bill would have a difficult time identifying which activity was his favorite: the scent filled drive to the grandparent’s cabin in Wisconsin or his tennis ball. Not a regular, human tennis ball, but one with the SQUEAKER in the middle. It tickles him every time he munches down on the orb of funny noises. Actually, the *best* is having the ball in his mouth, while on the road to the lake. With his family.

In 2023, they welcomed beautiful Reese, a gorgeous Chocolate Labrador Retriever. Yes, Bill is jealous. But when Reese and Brady began hanging together, he loosened up a bit. After all, for Bill it meant more one-on-one with Mom.

Bill welcomes Reese

Reese, Winnie, Brady, and Dad are great to have in the house. He recognizes their routines, their smells, their sounds. But most of all, Bill has Mom. She saved his life so completely, so deeply, so truly. Now, and forever more, Bill will be fed healthy, delicious dinners with plenty of loves and hugs.

Winnie, Reese, and Bill

Never again will he worry about being dinner.

“Thanks for saving me, Mom. I will always love you.”

Bill and his ball

* South Korea’s parliament passed a bill banning the breeding and slaughter of dogs for consumption, ending the traditional yet controversial practice of eating dog meat after years of nationwide debate. The government passed a new law to ban the breeding, butchering, distribution and sale of dogs for meat by 2027.

-CNN, January 9, 2024

###