In Memory of Buddy

First of all - Buddy was a damn fine dog. He was better than most people.

Funny enough, he came to join our family as a "third hand dog," in Summer, 2001, the other two families saying he was unmanageable. A few questions revealed he had been cooped up in a small apt and ignored for 12-16 hours a day. I'd be pretty unmanageable too!

From the first moment, he was sweet, kind and loving. His only weakness - he needed to be around his people. Somehow, that isn't really a weakness from where I'm standing.

When the war started, we had to move to a small apartment - sort of a "doggy hell," and rather than coop buddy up, we asked Steve's parents to help. They were Lab people, and had just recently lost one of their labs, so Buddy went to live with grandparents on the farm. He also got to spend about half his time at the beach. He pretty quickly decided he LIKED this kind of living! And I know he and Jack (their other lab) really got along and gave each other doggy company.

By the time we finally move out of the city and into the country again, Buddy and Jack were too used to each other to part ways, and Buddy was already HOME at the farm/beach. So Buddy would come to visit us, with the rest of the family.

Yesterday, we got the news he had gone to the vet, in a lot of pain and unable to get up. It seemed really sudden. Today we got the news that he didn't make it, and that he had a kind of cancer. I just wanted to put up a space where he is remembered on this blog, because in our family, he will always be remembered in our hearts.

In the Summerlands, it's always Spring in the mornings, and winter duck hunts in the evenings, with a warm fire to stretch out in front of at night.