My Buddy, my pal!

SOMEHOW, I got him to sit still for this photo!

Our dog Buddy has been with us four 4 years today.   We braved a snow storm on February 13th, 2007 to drive to Moorestown to pick him up because we couldn't wait another day to have him in our home.   We met him in January at a pet adoption day at Petsmart.  He was being fostered by a wonderful lady thru Burlington County Animal Alliance. We talked to her for quite a while and she said if Buddy were a human she'd marry him.  She had me laughing with that one! He is handsome!  We filled out all the paperwork and had gone prepared with pictures of our other dogs (who had gone over the rainbow bridge only a month before) and of our home. It's quite an ordeal to adopt an animal.  They checked us all out and we passed.  So we set out in a snowstorm to get Buddy.  That was his name and we kept it.  It fit his personalty as we knew it and he truly is a Buddy.  The storm really wasn't that bad, but there are a few things I probably would have postponed due to the weather.   Picking up Buddy was not one of them. 
 

Buddy's Throne!

Once we had Buddy in our home for a few weeks, we realized he needed a friend.  We had had 2 dogs and had every intention of getting a second.  But decided to move a bit quicker.  My March 17th we had a second dog.  I'll write more in March about Buddy's buddy Darla.


Buddy is just the sweetest dog.   But really all dogs are sweet!  When we got him he was between 1 and 2 years old and we were his fourth owner!   He started out as a pup with a couple station at Ft. Dix in New Jersey.  When his people were deployed to Afganastan, he went into the pound and a few months later he was adopted by a 70 year woman. Mind you, he's 90 lbs and although not at all mean or aggressive, it is Buddy's world and he kind of does what he wants.   She quickly discovered he was a bit too much for her and back to the pound he went.  His next home was to a man named Ross, who as I recall, trained police dogs.  Ross taught Buddy some better habits (which I have not followed thru on, sorry Ross!).  Ross had to have heart surgery and could not give Buddy the attention he felt he needed so with tears in his eyes, he brought Buddy to the rescue agency we adopted Buddy from.  We were lucky in that we were able to communicate with Ross before and after adopting Buddy.  
   

I left a package of paper lunch bags on the counter.  Won't do that again!

It took a while for him to settle in.  No surprise there since he had moved around so much and had little stability in his life.  We had to learn what we could and could not do.  Leaving food, out, especially chocolate, was a no-no.   He got in to lots of things because there were there!  He had a package of potato rolls, a loaf of bread, he's chewed on several travel coffee mugs and had a few packages of chocolate chip cookies.  I caught him one morning with a bag of dark chocolate dipped marsh mellows, individually wrapped.  He was  SO intent on eating them he didn't even know I was there.  I totally surprised him.  And all that was within the first year.   Because he is so big, he can put his front feet on the counter and reach far.  So it is a challenge to get things far enough away or high enough.  

Then there's all the fun he had outside when we first got him.  After he was here a few months he took a liking to rolling in ground hog poop.  That was pretty nasty.  He had lots of baths and he and my husband had a bit of a difficult time developing a bond.  But, that habit passed quickly and they became good friends.  Buddy is Chuck's shadow, both inside and outside.  Outdoors is not his favorite place to be.   Unless you are outside.  And even then, he might decide he's had enough.  He has a fear of anything that buzzes.  So although he would love to lounge on the deck in the sun in the summer, the flies drive him absolutely crazy.   I can't seem to reason with him that maybe the grass would be better?   We try to spend early mornings on the deck with coffee and a book.  Some days he digs little holes and eats dirt or grass.  Boys will be boys! 

As you can see below, Buddy love the sun.  And he shares the little spots of sun with his best friend in the world, Darla. 

Happy Valentines Day!