How it all began

it was late September of 2018 and I was living alone and decided I wanted another English Bulldog. I had been medically retired from my local police department, in 2011, which i still to this day really miss, as I do miss being an active duty US Marine. Of course that was years ago, in another life. so, back to 2018. I was able to locate a really cool lady named Miesha, who had a litter of bully pups. I told her I wanted a boy and she had two left. she sent me a picture of the pup that would become to be known as Winston, I sent her a deposit and begged her to let me come get him, but being the responsible owner she is, the best I could do was talk her into letting me come get him, about 4 days before his 8th week birthday. On the day I arrived, I went in her house and saw three pups in a large enclosure, one girl and two boys. I saw Winston and he immediately ran up to me, squealing like he knew who I was. I picked him up and he showered me kisses and tried to chew on my ear. I knew this was the puppy that I was meant to have, and I was the human he was meant to be with! The mayhem and chaos had begun!!

The Early Years

What can I say about the early years of the phenom, known as Winston AKA "Bubbas" Almond, except pure Chaos and Mayhem. As you can see in this picture, if I was eating something, HE had to be eating something. no matter if he just had his dinner, he wanted mine as well. I usually caved in and shared my dinner with him. he was better than any garbage disposal as he would eat anything. For Christ's sake, the moron would eat raw broccoli!!

As you would expect< Winston had the normal Bulldog tendencies. Farting, eating, sleeping and snoring. however Winston was NOT the "Normal" Bulldog. For those of you that have never owned an English Bulldog, let me explain what you learn in just a matter of days & weeks of owning a bully. you will never have personal time again. Bullies will attach themselves to your hip at all times, live with it. You have no personal possessions any longer. What belongs to a Bully, belongs to a bully. What belongs to you, belongs to a Bully! No one ever allows a Bully to sleep in the bed with you, the Bully lets you sleep in the bed with them! They can sleep through a thunderstorm, tornados, hurricanes, explosions and bombings. However, try to open a slice of cheese and he will be at your feet before you get it open!!

The end of an Era

It was October of 2021 and woke up in the hospital. I found out from my family, unbeknownst to me, that I had fallen very ill and had spent the previous week on life support, all from a kidney infection that became sepsis and basically, all my organs from the neck down tried to shut down on me. I also found out that I coded twice before going on life support. I would remain in the Hospital for another 8 days.

As soon as the brain fog lifted and I was moved into a regular room, I began asking my family what had happened with everything and found out that a friend from high school, Sweet Julie, who is an English Bulldog junkie like me and owned two of her own at the time, and her husband Chuck, came and picked up Winston to take care of him while I recovered. It was so sweet of them to get Winston out of doggo jail! He was in boarding and the doctors told me that I would not be able to stay alone at my home for several weeks ahead. October 2021, turned into July 2022 and Winston was still with my friend. Winston was pretty stingy when it came to other dogs and did not always get along with Julie's Bullies so unfortunately Winston had to go into foster care with Darlene and her husband Ray, two good people as well!

I had still not recovered enough nor gotten my strength back enough to properly take care of Winston so plans were made to go to Branson, Mo., to visit, so he would know how much I loved him and missed him. Truth be told, I had every intention of "dognapping" Winston and bringing him back home with me to Arkansas, where he belonged. (Sorry Darlene!!) The trip was planned for the weekend of August 20th, Winston's birthday.

Two weeks before my trip, I got a phone call from my friend Julie in Branson. I answered with my normal excited voice because I know it was just about 10 days until my trip. I immediately knew something was wrong when there was a long silence, and when Julie finally said something, I could hear the sadness and heartbreak in her voice. I immediately thought the worse and moments later those thoughts were confirmed when I was told that we had lost Winston to a massive and inoperable brain tumor. he would have been 4 in just two short weeks. Still just a puppy.

A new beginning

It goes without saying that the loss of Winston totally crushed me. A year after losing him and I still felt like I had been kicked in the gut every day that I woke up and he was not laying beside me snoring in my ear. I still look at pictures or videos of him every day and tell him "good morning" at the start of every day as i pass by the small urn that holds his remains in my living room.

So, in mid to late 2023, I had really gotten into natural, cold process soap and really wanted to try to make some myself. So, after buying multiple books and watching too many YouTube videos to count, I made my first batch and trust me, it was nothing I wanted to show even my family. The color sucked, the texture was like apple sauce and it didn't lather worth a dime. The only good thing was, it smelled good and that's all I needed to try again.

I soon wondered if I could sell these bars and began doing a little research, wondering what it would take to make a go of it. I figured if I could support my "habit", it would be worth it.

I began looking for my niche in this business and thought what could be a better inspiration and a way to honor my baby boy Winston? I wanted everyone to know about my boy. He was the funniest, the meanest and most of all the most affectionate dog I had ever seen or had the pleasure of being a "Hooman" to! Everyone had to learn a little about the "OGB", The Original Gangster Bully!! The birth of Bully Bars Soap Co.!! more blog post will come with more of the adventures of the "OGB" so stay tuned!!

I have since learned from a couple of Soap Artisans just how much I DIDNT know! However, I am not discouraged, it is my plan to continue to learn and improve Bully Bars. I know I don't offer much now, but stay tuned, its only gonna get better! The painting of the Sistine Chapple started with the first stroke of a single brush, and Winston and I would love it if you came on this journey with us. Stay tuned............