“I’m Sorry I’m an XL Bully” — A Misunderstood Heart in a Heavy Body

He sits quietly in the corner of his kennel. Big, broad, and block-headed, with a coat that shines when the light hits just right. A hand-lettered sign hangs around his neck—uneven letters scrawled in a child’s marker: “I’m sorry I’m an XL Bully.” But oh, sweet soul, what exactly are you apologizing for?

You didn’t choose this label. You didn’t choose the weight of society’s fear or the names they call you on the news. You didn’t ask for the bans, the headlines, or the way strangers clutch their bags tighter when you walk past. You never asked to be born into a body that some see as a weapon before they see your heart.

What you did choose was trust. You chose to press your paw gently against the glass when someone walks by. You chose to wag softly, to sit patiently with those crossed paws that scream “please see me,” not “fear me.” You chose to love. Despite it all. Despite what the world keeps whispering about dogs like you.

You’re not a threat. You’re a victim—of misunderstanding, of fear-mongering, of laws that forget that behavior isn’t written into bloodlines but shaped by hands and hearts. You didn’t hurt anyone. You’ve only ever asked for a chance—to be held, to be walked, to be loved like any other.

And maybe they’ll scroll past you. Maybe they’ll glance once, read the word “Bully,” and move on. That’s okay. Let them. Because the heart that’s meant for you—the one who will look beyond labels, beyond size, beyond the noise—that heart won’t scroll past. That heart will pause. And see you.

They’ll see how your eyes soften when they reach out. How you lean in slowly, not to pounce, but to connect. They’ll see the gentle rhythm of your breath as you sleep, not a monster at rest, but a soul finally at peace.

And when that day comes—when your leash is clipped not to a shelter gate but to a porch in front of your forever home—you won’t have to apologize for anything ever again. Because love doesn’t need an explanation. It just needs a chance.