R.I.P. Buddy

We had to do the hardest thing we have ever had to do this morning… Buddy is now running and playing in the plush green grass in doggy heaven.

R.I.P. Buddy

Buddy has been sick for a long time.  He has had epilepsy for many years and needed to take some pretty powerful drugs to keep from seizing.  For the past five years or so he has had trouble with his back…so bad that sometimes he had trouble walking.

He would get better, but not all the way better.  The next time his back acted up it was worse.  Again he would get better, but not better than he was before.  It was a roller coaster ride….downhill.

Despite all of his ailments and injuries he was a happy and playful dog.  Buddy got to do and see more things in his nine years than many people get to see in their lifetime.

I remember when we first got him.  He was the runt of the litter, but was the only survivor.  He had no hair on one of his paws or his tail, but had the best attitude of any puppy I have ever seen…always playful, happy, and loving.

One memory that sticks out clearly in my mind is when Buddy was little and Momma was wearing a pair of bib-overhauls.  Buddy would ride in the front pocket with his two little tiny paws hanging out over the edge.  I’ll never forget that..!

How about the time that he went running through the grass.  The grass was taller than he was and you couldn’t even see him.  He would run…and trip…and run…and trip.  Too cute!

The first time we left Buddy home alone overnight he let us know what he thought about it.  He was still very little and somehow managed to jump up on the couch, drag down a cushion (which was about 10 times his size), pull the cushion to the front door, and poop on top of it.  When we got home the first thing we saw when we walked in the door was Buddy’s welcome home gift.  😀

Another time, when we were moving out of our apartment in Colorado,  Buddy ran out the door and charged full steam at a guy walking a Pit Bull and Doberman.  Right into the middle of them Buddy went.  All I remember is the Pit grabbing him on one end and the Doberman grabbing him on the other.  It was like a fight you would see on Bugs Bunny…a cloud of dust and arms and legs protruding every now and then from the cloud.

The Pit grabbed Buddy and threw him probably 20 feet through the air.  Any other dog would have ran away, but not Buddy.  He ran full steam again and leaped onto the doberman’s back. Again the fight ensued and I had to get in the middle of all three dogs and pull Buddy out.  Somehow Buddy came out of the situation with only a few cuts and scratches.  He was one tough dog!

Buddy loved the Rocky mountains!  He loved to go hiking and camping with us.  Once we were driving down a dirt road through the mountains at about 25 MPH.  Buddy was in the back seat sticking his head out the window letting his ears flop in the wind.  Momma turned around and Buddy was no longer in the car.  I looked in my rear view mirror and he was sitting in the middle of the road all alone…probably thinking that he would now be left to fend for himself in the wilderness.

I stopped, put the car in reverse, opened my door and backed right up to Buddy.  He never moved.  His ears were hanging low and his tail was between his legs.  I’ll never forget the look on his face.  He thought he was a goner for sure.

Buddy never liked bridges or being close to the edge of any kind of drop off.  Any time we went for a walk and had to go over a foot bridge he would low crawl, with his belly about 1/4 inch off the ground, at about 100 MPH across the little bridge.  Being scared of heights didn’t stop him though.  He low crawled across the Royal Gorge Bridge (the highest suspension bridge in the US), and went to the top of Pikes Peak numerous times with us.

I know I’ve said this before, but Buddy was one tough dog!  He never gave up…and he never would have.  I feel bad for giving up on him.  I know he would have continued to fight, but he was fighting a losing battle.

It was the toughest decision we have ever had to make…to take the life of a loved one.  But, I think we made the right decision.  Buddy was not happy.  He was not the playful dog running through the plush green grass anymore.  He was not the dog that would charge two dogs that could kill him with one bite.  He wasn’t the dog who yearned to go for a hike in the woods either.  He was still our little Buddy though…

I’ll definitely miss all of the good times we had, but I’ll also miss driving through the housing complex for hours looking for a run a way dog.   I’ll miss him peeing and pooping on the carpet just after we paid to have it cleaned.  I’ll miss waking up in the middle of the night to hold down a seizing dog to keep him from hurting himself.  I’ll miss him barking like a lunatic every time someone knocked on the door.  I’ll miss stepping in his poop every time I mow the yard.  I’ll miss all of that stuff, no matter how many times I bitched and cussed about it.

All in all Buddy had a great life for a dog.  He was THE PERFECT DOG…at least in our hearts.

Buddy, I hope you are in a better place where you can run and play like you used to.  I hope you are surrounded by kids on bicycles to chase down the street.  I hope you have an unlimited supply of Pupperoni treats.  And most of all I hope you realize that we did what we did…for you.

We miss you and love you Buddy!  And always will!

Buddy Enjoying Christmas
Buddy Enjoying Christmas!

Buddy Rolling Around On Our Bed
Rolling Around On Our Bed

Playful Buddy
Playful Buddy

Jared and Buddy Lounging On The Couch
Jared and Buddy Taking A Nap

Buddy Camping In New Mexico
Camping In New Mexico

Buddy Always Liked To Sleep Under The Covers
Buddy Loved To Sleep Under The Covers

Buddy Loved To Lay By The Fireplace
He Loved Laying By The Fireplace…Nice and Hot!

We Miss You Buddy!
We Miss You Too Buddy!

We Miss You Buddy!
He Could’t Do Steps, But He Would Always Wait At The Top Until We Came Back Up

Always With His Tongue Hanging Out!
Buddy Smiling!

5 Things That Will Make You Go, Hmmm?

  1. Cheese puffs are good.  Cheese puffs are so good that Ace will eat them until there are none left.  So many, in fact, that his fingers are permanently discolored, and his digestive system shuts down.  I’m talking orange polka-dotted-poop here folks…
  2. The dog has bad breath…really bad breath.  Almost smells as bad as his silent but deadlies.  And he loooves to lick your face.  😐 So, we got him the dog food that is supposed to clean his teeth when he eats it.  It works.  Kinda.  However, Ace likes dog food.  He eats it.  All the time.  Do we still need to brush Ace’s teeth?  I mean, I wouldn’t want to over do it…ya know!
  3. Baby dolls are for girls.  Ace is a boy.  He likes baby dolls.  Not in the carry them around, feed them, burp them fashion.  More like the poke thier eyes out and lick their face while holding them down on the floor fashion.  Should I be concerned?
  4. We have digital cable.  The kind you can pause and rewind.  Ace likes to play with the remote.  A LOT!  Ace puts it on Slooooowww Moootiooon all the time.  Is he telling us that he thinks we are slow?  We can’t keep up? Is it really that obvious?
  5. Shiny, streak free windows are good…to lick, according to Ace.  Is this glass licking fetish an early sign of “kid in the back of the short bus licking the window” syndrome?  God, I hope not.

In Other News:

Special thanks goes out to Jon D for awarding DadThing.com a Graco Monthly Nod (Notice the Graco button in the sidebar).  Check out the Graco Baby Blog for some good reading!

T Minus 7 Days

Wow, how time flies! In 7 days Ace will be one year old! Can you believe it? I sure can’t!

I plan on writing a post to publish on his birthday that recaps his first year of life. Keep your eyes peeled for that one… 😀

In the meantime we Momma will be planning out all the details for his first birthday party. I think there are 30-40 people coming… This party requires much more planning than I am capable of. I’m just guessing, but I think ordering pizza and picking up a 12 pack from the drive-thru on the way would not fly on this special day. 😀

If things go well and I actually remember to bring my camera (which I usually forget) I should have some cool pics from the party for everyone to see.

We’ve already bought Ace’s birthday present. What do you buy a kid that has everything under the sun except for a wagon? You buy him a wagon, a race car, and a toy piggy bank of course. 😀

wagon

Everyone coming to the party asks what to get him. We’ve been telling everyone to by him clothes or give him money to help cover his portion of the bills for his savings account.

However, if any one I know through the blogosphere would like to get him something for his birthday you can get him a set of these…

dog-food-bowls

or one of these…

toilet

Out of all the toys he has, he would much rather eat dog food, splash in the dog’s water bowl, or play in the toilet. Go figure… 😀

Humanality

Remember, a while back when I wrote about the Gang Rivalry in my house between the kid and the dog?

Well, we have got the violence to stop, but now we have another dilemma…  The dog likes Ace a little too much!

See, Buddy, the dog, is a small dog who weighs about 25-30 lbs.  Ace weighs about 19 lbs.  They are very close to the same physical size.

Ace has become more mobile and has been crawling for some time now.  He spends a lot of time on all fours…just like the dog.

I noticed one day that Buddy was getting along with Ace really well.  He kept licking the back of Ace’s neck, licking his ears.  Ace didn’t seem to care, but was confused about what was happening and soaked with dog slobber.  It was kinda cute and a nice change of pace from the growling.  I thought it was harmless.

A few minutes later the unimaginable happened…humanality!

What is humanality you ask?  Ever heard the term bestiality?  That is where a human is sexually interested in an animal.  Humanality is my word for where an animal is attracted to a human.

You pictured it right…Buddy full on mounted Ace.  A swift hand (mine) separated the two. Buddy has been known to have many girlfriends of the stuffed animal variety, but never a human being.

Looks like Buddy will be getting a new stuffed animal girlfriend for Christmas.  Hopefully that distracts him from his attraction to Ace…at least until Ace can walk and defend himself.  😀

Aptus Insurance Quotes

Gang Rivalry Report

Ace and BuddyThere are two rival gangs in my house. The “Furs” are led by an eight year old beagle mix named Buddy, and the “Skins” are led by a seven month old boy named Ace. These two gangs are forced to share the same territory, the floor, and have been doing so for the past seven months.

The Skins have been known to be very quiet and almost invisible to their rival gang the Furs. In the past few months though, the Skins have become more mobile and agile. The Skins are testing their boundaries with the Furs and the tension between the gangs is rising.

Sharing turf is not easy on anyone. The Furs think the house is their territory. It has been for the past eight years. The Skins are new to the scene and think they can go wherever and do whatever whenever they want. The Furs and the Skins tend to butt heads every once in a while.

For the most part they share their turf. Momma and I are the Gang Squad, the keepers of peace. The Gang Squad intervenes when the tension between the Furs and Skins heightens. However, the Gang Squad has limited resources and also is in charge of other duties such as being the Accountant, the Lawn Crew, the Cook, and the Maid. There have been a few drive-by lickings and ear pullings when the Gang Squad was off doing one if it’s other duties, but luckily these were only minor incidents with no bloodshed.

The Gang Squad has noticed the tension between the two rival gangs rising. The Furs have started vocalizing their frustrations with subtle growls, and the Skins are starting to become more violent. The Skins are now tormenting the Furs by pulling tails, biting ears, and poking eyes. The Skins are scared of nothing and seem to not understand, or are totally ignoring specific instructions from the Gang Squad to leave the Furs alone. The Furs are a very resilient gang and can take a lot of torture, but the question is how much can they take before they snap?

The Gang Squad has been working overtime to praise the Furs for being calm and submissive during these stressful times, as well as working with the Skins to be less violent and give the Furs some space.

The Gang Squad has been successful at separating these two gangs during tense confrontations. It seems that the both gangs have their weaknesses and the Gang Squad can easily distract one gang or the other to get the rivalry under control. The Furs seem to be distracted by food and dog treats, while the Skins can be distracted by funny faces or noisy toys.

While these distractions are not a permanent solution they are working until the Gang Squad can figure out a way to get these two gangs to live in peace.

The rivalry continues…

Gang Squad Out!

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