Esteemed 2003

Bulldog Bail Bonds first opened their doors in Ocala on March 1st, 2003.

 

Our Mission

 

It is our aim to deftly assist our clients with our extensive knowledge of the bail business in the most efficient manner possible so as to minimize their stress and time away from their loved one.

 

Our Staff

Russell S. DiPesa -- President/Owner, Limited Surety Agent

Russell was born in Hialeah Hospital and raised in Palm Springs North in sunny South Florida.  His family moved to Ocala in 1984 and he attended Dunnellon High School for his 10th and 11th grade years.  He moved back down to South Florida and graduated from Hialeah American High School in June of 1987.

 

After moving back to the Ocala area once again after his high school graduation, he began attending Central Florida Community College and achieved his AA degree in Business Administration in 1991.  He attended the University of Florida from January of 1992 through December of 1994, achieving a BS in Business Administration with a concentration on Computer and Information Science.  Once again, he moved back to South Florida and began to work for a computer consulting firm that was based in Madrid, Spain.  

 

He quickly rose through the ranks, going from programmer to project leader to project manager in just three short years.  Within five years, he became a VP at the company.  This career path allowed him to travel all over the world, with trips to Lima, Bogota, Singapore, and multiple trips to London, Buenos Aires, and Manhattan.  However, through circumstances beyond his control, the Ft. Lauderdale branch of the consulting company closed their American operations in 2001.

 

Russell immediately opened his own consulting company to keep the bills paid.  In the meantime, Rick Arenas, a good friend of his who had been in the bail business for years in South Florida, encouraged him to get his bail license.  Back then, it only took about 9 months to obtain a license and Russell figured, "What the hell!"  After only one month of being a fully licensed bondsman, Rick asked Russell to move to Key West to open a bail bond company that Russell would run.  Within a month, Russell had packed up and moved down to Key West to open Rick's Bail Bonds.  He remained in Key West until March of 2003, when he decided to return to Ocala and open Bulldog Bail Bonds.

 

Oswald "Ozzy" Bear-Paw (December 30th, 2001-November 13th, 2014) -- Official and Original Mascot

Oswald came into Russell's life several days after Russell's previous bulldog, Gator, tragically drowned on a lake in Palm Springs North on Easter Sunday, 2002.  Heartbroken, Russell asked his friend, Tony Mendez (whose house Gator passed at) to go to Gator's breeder in Ft. Lauderdale and get another bulldog. Five days later, Tony showed up with his family in Key West with an adorable four month old puppy that would soon become known as Ozzy.

 

While in Key West, Ozzy learned how to ride on the platform of a scooter and went to just about every bar and restaurant on Duval Street!  He was well-known down there by the locals and many tourists would point with amazement as Russell and Ozzy rode by on the scooter with Ozzy poking his head out.  He loved to hang out at Jerky's, a locals' dive, where he would chase and bark at pool balls while people were shooting some stick!  It was quite entertaining, to say the least, watching him hop around a pool table on his hind legs with his front paws on the pool table, barking and growling all the while.

 

Ozzy was Russell's constant companion while he lived in Ocala, also.  He spent many-a-day at the office, greeting clients and begging for some loving as if he never got it at home!  Sadly, he had to be put down on November 13th, 2014, from what the vet said was an abdominal tumor that had ruptured.  He will be sorely missed!

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Alaco's Infinite Cosmos "Cozmo" (November 10th, 2014-who knows!)

Cozmo was born three days before Oswald left us.  On the day Oswald passed, I called a local breeder that I knew (because Oswald mated with one of her bitches years earlier) to let her know that Oswald was gone and that I was looking to get another puppy as soon as possible. I'm of the mindset that although Oswald was gone and would never be forgotten, I want another puppy to help me ease the pain of him leaving.  I asked her if she had any red brindles and she said she just had two litters drop within the past couple of weeks and that she had a male red brindle with white markings that would be available in early January.  I told her to mark him as taken.  We got Cozmo on the day he turned 8 weeks old and the rest is history!  

 

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