What's the story behind our "sorry doesn't feed the bulldog" tee?
Some of y'all have asked about our Sorry Doesn't Feed the Bulldog tee and what it means... so for those of y'all who didn't grow up in a small Texas town... here's the scoop!
Growing up in west Texas means you hear a lot of colorful, weird phrases, usually from the "old timers." "Sorry doesn't feed the bulldog" was something your coaches, teachers, or grandparents would say when you got caught breaking a rule and tried to apologize to avoid getting in trouble. It meant that your apology was not enough to make things right.
It was a favorite saying of our high school football coach (who was also the English and Geography teacher). When we apologized for being late or "cutting up" during class he'd always say "Sorry doesn't feed the bulldog." It was his way of saying we better start ACTING right because just saying "sorry" wasn't gonna get us out of trouble.
I was an animal-obsessed kid, so these kinds of sayings that included animals really captured my imagination. I would wonder to myself: "who this bulldog? why is he hungry? what does this have to do with anything?" And, the same adults who said "Sorry doesn't feed the bulldog" also said other wonderfully confusing things involving animals, like "that dog won't hunt" (meaning your idea won't work) or "that's how the cow ate the cabbage" (telling someone off)...
Funny enough, I now catch myself repeating all kinds of things I heard the "old timers" say when I was growing up. It's funny, but "Sorry doesn't feed the bulldog" is actually a really useful and appropriate phrase in certain situations. Sometimes, saying "sorry" doesn't amount to a hill of beans....
So, we figured... what better way to bring back an old Texas saying than to put it on a tee shirt? So we designed this one with a cute bulldog who looks just how I imagined him when I first heard this phrase as a kid: his chubby head cocked to one side, wondering where his gosh dang food bowl is. We also wanted this tee to have kind of a retro 90s, DIY High School Garage Band Tee vibe so it's available in black and a white ringer.
Even if you've never heard this phrase before, we think you'll love this tee because it does three important things:
- Brings back a great, old-time Texas saying
- Tells everyone around you they better ACT RIGHT
- Helps pets in need get vet care (we donate $5 from every tee sold to nonprofit, low-cost vet clinics like Emancipet).
We'd love to know if you've ever heard this phrase before and how it was used. Let us know!