Buster

Back on Christmas Day of 2005, Teddy woke up & opened his presents quickly, then sat there looking upset & confused. When asked why, he told us he'd "secretly" asked Santa for a new dog & didn't understand where the dog was. After our good ol' dog Raider died in October of that year we'd decided: 1) we needed a break from dog ownership, 2) it'd be good to get all the dog fur out of the house, 3) we wouldn't have to get anyone to watch the dog when we went out of town, yada yada yada. As you've probably guessed by now, all those resolutions when down the toilet when Teddy said he wanted a new dog.

Alan rushed out to the Jefferson County Animal Shelter & noticed a cute little red dog that seemed very calm. He was only about 4 months old, but he'd had a previous owner already that couldn't handle having a dog anymore. I went to the shelter on January 2nd & picked him up. He came with his name, which Teddy insisted on keeping. Buster rode all the way home on my lap, refusing to get off. He knew he'd found the best family for himself.

We weren't always as sure as Buster was about him being in our family. We noticed that Teddy couldn't seem to calm down around the dog, getting overstimulated & excited even if the dog just turned around. Buster couldn't be allowed free range of the house when Teddy was home because Teddy couldn't keep his hands off Buster. We bought a kennel for Bus & that helped a lot. I also had a dog trainer come to the house & help me teach Buster how to deal with Teddy's challenges. In retrospect, Buster could have taught us a few things instead!

But it didn't seem to matter what we did, Teddy couldn't relax & enjoy Buster, & we were scared Buster would loose his patience & bite Ted. So the trainer said she could take Buster off our hands--her mother needed a new dog & the trainer said Buster was one of the smartest little dogs she'd seen. So after owning Buster for just 7 weeks, she came over one day & picked up Bus, & I thought he was out of our lives.

I was devastated. I ran through the house crying & throwing out any & all dog products that I found. Anything that reminded me that we'd ever owned a canine was tossed. By the time Alan & Teddy came home I'd collected myself fairly well. Teddy seemed confused but OK with Buster having to move in with "the old lady". Alan was a total wreck. Unbeknownst to me, he started a secret campaign to somehow, through the sheer force of his will, get Buster back to us. And I must throw out here at this point that the decision to give Buster to a new home was mutual, we knew it was in Teddy & Busters' best interests.

One week later, on a grey rainy day, I got a message on my cell phone. It was the trainer. She said her mother couldn't handle Buster & that if we wanted him back to give her a call. Otherwise, he was going to the pound. Somehow, Alan's will got Buster back in our lives. And he never left again.

That is until today. Today I watched while our sweet, good, & loving dog died. In the 5 years since he came back to us, he became a true & integral part of our family. It took Teddy many years to learn to be gentle to Bus, but Buster never once snapped at Ted. And slowly Alan & I saw that Buster knew Teddy--he knew when he could play with him, & he knew when he needed to be safe in his kennel. He knew, even when we didn't, that Teddy was going to pet him gentle. He knew that if he hung around Ted, the fun stuff happened, whether that be food generously handed out or running like crazy in the yard. And he knew that if it were up to Teddy, we would always have Buster going with us no matter where we went.

Today Buster died, & he was only 5 years old. Never would I have thought he wouldn't be with us for 5, 10 more years. He never got to grow old & get slow & cranky like most dogs do. He didn't get to live through all those future birthdays & Christmases when he got a big can of wet dog food & another squeaky toy.

Buster was struck down today, not by a car but by a foul disease. It's an autoimmune disease called IMHA & about 50% of dogs that get it don't make it. It's a sudden, horrible disease that kills dogs in the prime of their lives. No one knows what causes it.

But I know that there's one dog that will be missed for a lifetime.