Warning, seriously: reading about any part of this will f*ck you up for the rest of the day.
Butler Blue II, live mascot for the Butler Bulldogs, passed away on Tuesday at age 9. If “a lovable, beloved bulldog has died” isn’t enough to make you cry, perhaps reading Blue II’s final blog entry will. Yes, he had a blog — he was a dog with a blog, as it were — and yes, he blogged about how he was about to die. I cannot and would not make this up.
True to the prognosis I’ve recently been given, my health is now in serious decline. I sense the end is near as my heart rate is increasing in an effort to capture more precious oxygen. Frankly, it’s hard work and quite exhausting. I wish I felt better, but I’ve known for a while that my best days were behind me….
I say thank you. Over the last nine years, the Butler faithful have not only accepted me as their official mascot, but your pride in me has also made me America’s Dog. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no dog has lived such a charmed life.
…
If the humble, dying words of a lovable, beloved bulldog doesn’t get you, Butler Blue II’s final tweet will.
I can’t. I can’t with this.
Still not emotionally wrecked? Here’s what Butler Blue II, Blue II’s successor, posted shortly after II’s death.
Can I just push my face into my scanner and scan my tears or something, because I don’t even know what to say. A bulldog died, tweeted from Heaven, and is missed by everyone who ever met him, especially the poor pup tasked to replace him.
I’m going to share this video with you, presented by Butler as a farewell to Blue II, but I almost don’t want you to watch it. It starts with him as a puppy, features him in all sorts of holiday appropriate clothing (including a pilgrim/turkey couples costume), starts in with video just as your heart is completely breaking and ends with his on-court sendoff. I use a lot of hyperbole on this site and I know that, but God, this might be the saddest, sweetest video we’ve ever shared.
And don’t say I didn’t warn you.
We’ll miss you, Blue II.
[BWO Rodger Sherman]
