Courtney's Story
I was born in 1974 in Aurora, Illinois — a regular kid who didn’t know yet that bulldogs would eventually take over my entire life, my home, my bank account, and every inch of my heart. I loved them early, long before I ever owned one. But in 2005, everything changed. That’s when Meatball and Tatertot came barreling into my world.
They arrived sick, fragile, and nothing like what I’d been promised. I found out they’d been imported from Russia by a Texas broker named epuppypro — a puppymill operation hiding behind cute photos and fake promises. Most people would’ve cried and moved on. I built a website.
I called it Bulldog Voice, and I started collecting stories from other victims. Fifty families came forward. Fifty. Eventually, a Texas state attorney picked up our case, sued the broker, and shut her down. We won a judgment — never saw a dime — but we did stop her from hurting more dogs.
That was the moment I realized something important:
When bulldogs need help, I don’t back down. I get louder.
That’s how I accidentally became an influencer back in the MySpace days. Before “influencer” was even a word, I was just a bulldog mom with a mission and a whole lot of opinions. And from that online chaos came my first rescue dog: Chubba.
Now picture this: Chubba, Meat, and Tater… all in a tiny condo in Maryland. Three One human. Zero space. A whole lot of snoring. I knew I needed land — a place where my dogs could wiggle freely without knocking over furniture or my sanity. So I packed up my life and moved to North Carolina.
That move changed everything.
I built a pet product website and began to dream of land for bulls and saving them. And then I created something that would become legendary: a bulldog Secret Santa that broke every rule of Secret Santa.
Dogs sending gifts to other dogs. People who knew each other — or didn’t — all becoming one big family. That’s when we coined the name: Bullie Nation.
From that community came the next big leap. I decided to start a rescue in North Carolina, and our group named it Bullies 2 the Rescue. Adele Batts came up with the name because on Facebook we were always talking in our dogs’ voices like they were comic book heroes.
Our first superhero?
Captain Gasalot.
Then came Major Big Love, modeled after my bulldog Howie. And just like that, the rescue had a personality — bold, funny, full of heart.
Then came the next chapter:
Carolina Pet Pantry.
A store, an adoption hub, a community center, and eventually home to The Swagger Salon, our grooming operation where we groom puppy mill dogs for free, the community to come wash their dogs and a full service grooming center building funds for the rescue and to support our management staff.
But the dream — the real dream — took ten years to build.
A sanctuary.
A safe place.
A home for the broken, the old, the medically complicated, the ones who needed more than a foster home could give.
And finally, after a decade of hustling, fundraising, crying, laughing, and refusing to quit, it happened.
Meat and Tater’s Wiggle Ranch was born.
Six acres.
Room to roam.
Climate‑controlled buildings.
A medical barn on the way.
A place where bulldogs can heal, decompress, and wiggle their way back to life.
Named after the two dogs who started it all — the ones who were sick, exploited, and used by a broker… but who became the spark for a movement.
Now the mission is bigger than ever:
Rescue 400 bulldogs in 2026.
Back to pre‑pandemic numbers.
Back to proving that community, compassion, and a little bulldog stubbornness can change the world.
And if anyone doubts we can do it, well… they’ve clearly never met a bulldog. Or me.
Click here to Support Our Mission to Rescue 400 bulldogs in 2026!
