06/16/2026
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ค ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ โค๏ธ
Today is one of the hardest days Christina Keasler and I have had to face as breeders.
We are saying goodbye to Diamond.
Diamond was from one of our first few litters. We whelped her, raised her as a puppy, watched her grow, watched her puppies grow, and saw her become part of the foundation of Crooked Star Bulldogges and Frenchies. In many ways, Diamond grew as we grew. As our program became stronger, as our name became more known, and as Christina Keasler and I learned, sacrificed, and poured ourselves into this journey, Diamond was there.
In many ways, she represents so much of where we started and who we have become.
People often talk about the risks of being a business owner. You know, there is financial risk. There is reputational risk. There are product risks. There is the risk that no matter how much you plan, something can still go wrong.
But what people do not talk about enough is the ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.
Christina Keasler and I truly love your dogs; they are not just part of a program or "inventory," all 28 are part of us, part of our fabric, part of the family. Diamond was all of that.
She was my late-night couch buddy. She was there in the quiet hours, when the house was still. She and I would talk about things very few people will ever know. In many ways, she will take some of those secrets with her. She was often my counselor, my late-night therapist, but most of all, she was my friend.
She had no sense of personal space, and honestly, that was part of her charm. If you were watching TV, Diamond thought face-to-face staring, 3 inches from you was perfectly normal. All she wanted was acknowledgment and all I wanted was to watch the game! ๐
And if you had a sandwich, forget it - she would double down on the stare. Diamond knew exactly what she was doing, and it worked every time.
That is what makes this so hard.
Diamond is different for us, is the first!
Oh, we have had retired dogs pass later in life, and those losses hurt, so let's not pretend they don't. But Diamond is the first one we have had to walk through from beginning to end. We were there when she came into this world, and today, we have to be there as she leaves it.
This is the side of breeding most people never see. They see the puppies, the happy families, the glamour shots, the Facebook posts, funny TikTok videos and the joy. And all of that is real. But behind it are long nights, hard choices, vet visits, tears, and moments like today.
Diamond gave us so much. She gave us memories. She gave us lessons. She gave us comfort. She gave us laughter. She gave us that stubborn bulldog love that filled our house in a way nothing else can.
Today, our hearts are heavy. But we are grateful.
Grateful that we got to whelp her.
Grateful that we got to raise her.
Grateful that she was part of our beginning.
Grateful for the couch nights, the face-to-face stares, the stolen sandwich bites, and every memory in between.
The emotional risk of breeding is real.
But so is the love.
Rest easy, Diamond.
