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.

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!