by Hap
Buddy came to live with us in 1989. He was a Golden Retriver/Chow mix with the golden color of a retriver and the hooked tail and purple spot on his tongue of a chow.
We stopped at a shelter looking at all the wonderful friends that could be. When we got to the cage that he was in he looked so pitiful sitting there in the back while his sister's were at the front looking cute and giddy. Our eyes met and I knew he had to come home with us. He had that look that pierced my heart and told me that he will be a loving and trusted friend to my family. My wife and girls looked at all the rest but I knew that he needed us as much as we needed him.
That was 14 years ago. During his life with us he was one of the family. He endured the moves required of him since he was part of a military family. We moved not just accross town but to several locations in the country. He made the moves like a trooper with that ever constant look of "OH BOY new places to check out, new smells to find and new places to romp at. He was so much a part of our life that we always made sure that he had a home, even if it ment that we would buy a house just to make sure he was with us. He was the one constant in our lives that will be sorely missed. He was a playmate to my girls and a friend that would welcome those that came to visit. He would occasionally go to work with me and loved meeeting new people. He was a people person. But when he was called on to protect his girls he was right in the thick of it. When my grand daughter was born he would sleep outside her door if it was closed and in the room if he could. He knew that she needed a protector. He endured the problems that a child could inflict, the tail pulling, the crawling on him, the chasing him when she was able to walk. All with a passion in his eyes for her. She was his baby too.
Buddy also had to endure the occasional interruptions in his life caused by strays that would show up in our home. He had to share his family with them and did it with all good spirits. They would come and go as we would find homes for them but Our Buddy would always be with us.
As time went on Buddy started showing his age. It was getting harder for him to get up in the morning and if we touchhed him wrong it would hurt. We could see the pain in his eyes that were starting to cloud over with cataracks. It pained us to realize that his hearing was going too. But when he developed a swollen ear from hitting his ear on the coffee table it was too much for him. We asked several vets what to do and thought that we had gotten the best advice but it was not so. When he started getting a feavor from the infection that was spreading we knew we had to do something. We couldn't allow such a loving and trusting friend to suffer anymore.
On Saturday, November 8th, we made the decision to free him from the confines of his painful body and allow him to pass on to a hopefully wonderful existance. It was hard taking him to the Humane Society that day. It was hard because of standing in line watching others give away their friends like it was nothing. When it came our turn to tell the attendant why we were there the others in line got very quiet. We asked that we be allowed to be in the room with him so that he wasn't without his family as he passed. We were lucky to have a wonderful caring Tec that allowed it to happen. When they insurted the needle he looked into my eyes with a look like why but then softened like it's ok now. I know that you love me. He passed away at 2:07 pm.
Buddy you will be missed but I know that when you are playing with the other souls in that wonderful place you will find my other very much loved and missed friends Gus and Tigger. They too were my friends and confidants in life.