Trooper and Gunner

In 95’, I had been home from the Army for about a year and to say I was not adjusting well would be an understatement. I was having trouble fitting back into civilian life and just seemed to be angry or on edge all the time.  

I had grown up with dogs and pets and enjoyed my Parent’s dogs. A partner that I shared a beat with as a Cop had a boxer named Jake. He was a funny dog, a little wild, but a seemed to be a great dog. Jake was my first time learning of this breed and I was sold. So a short time later around Feb. 96’ I got my first boxer. He was a cute little guy, full of energy, and a typical “fawn” type boxer. I named him Trooper, because I had been a Paratrooper in the Army.  

Troop grew into a muscular, big boxer, going way over the typical male boxer weight scale, so I would often refer to him as “Muscle Boy”. At the time he was a bit aggressive, stubborn and pig headed, much like I was. I had trouble training him and could not have him around other boxers because he was overly aggressive to them. Dealing with him and trying to get him to be a better dog, helped curb my tendency to have those same traits. He always knew when I was not feeling well or dealing with something, which always calmed me down and kept me from “blowing up.” He was my buddy for almost 13yrs. Without him, I don’t know how long it would have taken me to get past the anger issues and stress I was feeling. 

In 2010, my then wife was preparing to deploy to Iraq for a year. While we knew about this and were preparing for it, it was going to be a tough go for our little family. I had been without a dog for a while now and desperately wanted another one. Also, my 9 year old step-daughter had been asking her mom for years to get a dog. So we discussed it and decided we would look for a boxer pup. 

As I was looking I found a little brindle that immediately caught my eye. I showed the photos and bio to my wife and she approved so we went to go take a look. On the day we got him, he came bouncing into the room.  My wife  looked over at me, took one look at my face and knew we were going home with him. We chose the name Gunner, because of our military backgrounds. 

He immediately took to my wife and step-daughter and is still a full-on “ladies’ man”.  Unfortunately my marriage did not last and I soon found myself moving and taking Gunner with me. It has not always been easy and at times, I felt very much alone….until he would come over and do that thing that, boxers do….wiggle. He, like me has, no poker face. You can read him very well. My ex affectionately named him “wiggle butt” and it’s stuck. 

I’ve had Trooper for 4 years now and along with his new sidekick Bubba (a Boston terrier) I never feel alone. He helped me through a tough time and made me understand a saying I’ve come to love…. “You have never known unconditional love, until you’ve owned a dog.” 

Without my two boxers, I’m not sure where or how I would be. At the very least it probably would have taken me much longer to deal with those inner turmoil’s than it did.  Our pets can be helpful in many ways and how mine have pushed me in so many ways to be a better person all around.