The meaning and history of my tattoos: Right Calf, Right Side

This one will be significantly less conflicted than the last.
Nothing but pure love here.

This tattoo is the tattoo I got for my best friend I've ever had on this entire planet, the handsome and always loyal Marshall Bizzle.

Just minutes after our first meeting.

I first met Marshall Bizzle on my birthday in 2009.
At first he scared me. He looked big and mean because I had no previous experience with dogs like that.
But once I took a moment to really look at him he instantly showed me who he really was.

I had been visiting the animal rescue for months just looking for the "right" dog. The right dog I had thought was a 3+ yr old female husky or golden.
But on May 9th 2009 that all changed.
I was charmed by my friend Marshall. He had already been named (the county from which he had come) and Marshall had long been my favorite amplifier company, which if you know me thats saying something.

The reason I chose Marshall is simple, I didn't.
He chose me.
Marshall had only been in the rescue for a whopping 14 minutes when I met him (I still remember clearly checking the time on my phone before walking in at 10:59 am, they opened at 11).
I started this day differently by walking around the outside of the cages first. On my first view of my friend he actually scared and intimidated me by running out and jumping on the cage. I'll never forget the first sight of those enormous nipples of his haha.
When he really charmed me though is when I walked into the main walk way in the rescue.

This will always be one of my favorites.

It was opening time so all the dogs were going nuts. Barking, jumping, scratching, all of them except one.
Marshall sat in his new home (of which he had only been in for 15 minutes if you'll recall) calm and with that perfect almost military like posture.
Just looking out curiously, majestically.
This was the point he truly caught my attention.
I looked over, kneeled slightly and said "well aren't you a good boy."
His only response to this was to adorably rest that big cute face of his on the cross bar of his cage and look up at me with those big brown eyes that could cut right through me.

That was it.
With that one look I'll never forget I was done.
He had chosen me and in reality all that was left was time before he came home with me(he needed shots, a behavior test, to be neutered, etc).

I picked him a couple days later directly from the vet. He seemed to be in good spirits for someone who had just had his balls removed.
After that the rest is history. We became fast friends and only became more inseparable with time.
My blog from the night I lost Marshall is probably the best possible descriptor of our time after that.
You can read that here: An Open Letter to Marshall Bizzle

Our last moments together.

What the above blog didn't mention was what happened after that night.
I was a wreck. I literally didn't go to work for days and cried for more of those days than I'd care to admit. If it weren't for all my incredibly supportive friends I wouldn't have so easily made it through that time. Thanks again to all of you, you are incredible gifts and I'll never forget that. There was also a song that very seriously helped me through that, more on that later.

Now most don't know this but for whatever reason Marshall had the tendency to always be by my right side specifically. I don't know why but for whatever reason he just seemed to prefer it there.
This is the reason for the location of the tattoo. To take such an extreme negative and turn it into a positive. To always have my friend at my side, my right side, right where he belongs.
Its a tribute, a memory, a reminder of what was and what should be.
All those things that a tattoo should represent.

This tattoo turned something that made me cry into something that makes me smile, and if that isn't reason enough for something like this I don't know what is.

By Kyle Berg @ The Constable Tattoo